Public Health

The Department of Health Disability and Ageing launched a nationwide campaign to promote expanded bulk-billing incentives and the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program. The campaign carries the tagl...

Australia Day honours recognise 949 Australians across a range of awards, with the 2026 list including the Order of Australia in General and Military divisions, meritorious awards and recognitions for...

Ten GPs were honoured in the Australia Day honours list. Nine current or former GPs feature across rural care, obstetrics, aged care and public health. Eight received the Medal of the Order of Austral...

Shingrix joined the National Immunisation Program in November 2023, replacing Zostavax. The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance tracked uptake in the first year and found a stro...

Queensland’s medical association AMA Queensland has raised strong objections to proposed changes that would alter who can administer immunisations. The plan would amend the Medicines and Poisons Regul...

A Productivity Commission inquiry on delivering quality care more efficiently has been finalised. It argues that investing in prevention and early intervention can reduce long-term health and social c...

Australian general practice shifted heavily to telehealth after the COVID-19 period. A study in the Journal of Health Economics used MBS and PBS data from 2017 to 2022 to compare antibiotic dispensing...

A La Trobe University led study analysed more than 70 years of Australian data on mortality, alcohol use, tobacco use and health expenditure. It shows long term alcohol exposure is a causal factor in...

A UNSW Sydney team analysed 15 tattoo inks from major brands bought in Australia. Using advanced analytical techniques, the study found metals and other substances that exceed EU safety limits in at l...

The Productivity Commission released its final report from the inquiry into delivering quality care more efficiently. It argues that a stronger focus on prevention and early intervention can reduce lo...

Australian genomic researchers from Monash University have renewed calls for a nationwide DNA screening program. The complete results from their 10 000-person pilot show 2% carry a high risk genetic v...

Researchers at the Australian National University analysed more than 1.4 million emergency department ED visits in the Australian Capital Territory from 2000 to 2021. They found extreme weather is alr...

Researchers analysed data from more than 36,000 GPs across 103 local areas in Australia, covering before, during and after the COVID period. GPs who used telemedicine more intensively prescribed aroun...

ATAGI has updated measles vaccination guidance for infants travelling overseas. Infants aged 6–11 months who get an MMR dose before travel must have that dose repeated. They should then receive two mo...

The United States has issued its 2025–2030 dietary guidelines, released by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The headline message is to eat real food. Key shifts include more protein at every mea...

After a major disaster, leadership shifts from quick action to bearing witness. The piece argues that true statesmen carry the weight of trauma to help survivors feel seen and to bind a community in g...

From 1 January 2026 the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) no longer requires prior financial approval for selected health services delivered to Veteran Card holders. These items will be added to t...

ATAGI has updated its guidance to protect infants travelling overseas. Children aged six to 11 months should receive an additional dose of a measles-containing vaccine before international travel. Thi...

Influenza activity surged in Australia in 2025 with more than 500,000 laboratory confirmed cases, up from about 365,000 the year before and 290,000 in 2023. In the first 15 days of 2026, the National...