Public Health

Victoria expanded its Community Pharmacist Program to let pharmacists prescribe and dispense two hormonal contraceptives and an impetigo treatment. The change builds on a rollout that began last year,...

The Queensland Medical community is debating how opioid dependence treatment should be accessed. A consultation paper from AMA Queensland proposes starting opioid dependence treatment in emergency dep...

In late December NSW moved to end referral of surgery related deaths to CHASM, the state’s independent review body. The CHASM program will be replaced by a new model led by the Clinical Excellence Com...

Health Minister Mark Butler has confirmed that the number of bulk billing GP clinics in Australia is rising quickly. A recent report from Cleanbill shows that over 1200 practices have switched to full...

The Northern Territory government has announced a ban on puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormone treatments for adolescents. This move follows similar restrictions in Queensland, which extended...

Dementia Australia has launched a new round of Community Engagement grants to fund up to 12 projects that focus on creating dementia-friendly communities. The grants offer up to $10,000 each to commun...

A recent international study analysed over 9000 participants across 37 studies to understand the long-term effects of weight-loss medications, including GLP-1 receptor agonists. The findings show that...

The US has released new dietary guidelines for 2025–2030, marking a significant shift in nutrition policy. While these guidelines apply to Americans, their influence extends globally, including Austra...

A recent analysis in the BMJ shows that stopping weight-loss drugs, especially GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide and tirzepatide, leads to quick weight regain. Patients tend to regain about 0.4...

Nestlé has recalled five batches of ALFAMINO infant formula in Australia and New Zealand after detecting cereulide, a toxin produced by Bacillus cereus, in the product. The affected batches are intend...

In 2023, about 1.1 million Australians, or 4.5% of the population, live with an eating disorder. Research shows that LGBTQIA+ people are at a higher risk of developing these conditions. For example, i...

The Australian government is moving to list Wegovy, a weight-loss drug containing semaglutide, on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). This follows a recommendation from the Pharmaceutical Benefi...

Health Minister Mark Butler is moving to expand PBS access to GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy for obesity treatment. Currently, these medications are only subsidised for type 2 diabetes. The government is con...

The US CDC has changed its guidance on vaccines and autism. It now suggests that studies supporting a link have been ignored and that the claim vaccines do not cause autism is not backed by evidence....