Key government events and outcomes
Health promotion
Victoria
Victorian Health Priorities Framework 2012-2022 (May 2011)
The purpose of the State Government’s framework is to lay out a clear, coordinated agenda for the future of the entire Victorian health system. It covers the spectrum from primary, secondary and tertiary health services to health promotion. The framework is the basis for three supporting plans:
Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2011-2015 (September 2011)
The plan specifically addresses action for the health promotion and protection parts of the Victorian Health system it describes the health and wellbeing needs of Victorians, the systems, settings and interventions for health promotion over the next four years, and monitoring and review. This is Victoria’s first public health plan to tackle chronic disease.
Victorian Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (June 2009)
In June 2009, the Victorian Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) provided a response to the Victorian Auditor General’s 2007 review of Victorian health promotion activities. PAEC identified the following areas for improvement: health promotion funding, capacity-building, data, research, performance indicators, evaluation and social marketing. The PAEC report is available here.
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Commonwealth
Australian National Preventive Health Agency (January 2011)
The Australian Government established the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) to strengthen Australia’s investment and infrastructure in preventive health. ANPHA’s job is to be the catalyst for strategic partnerships, including the provision of technical advice and assistance to all levels of government and in all sectors, to promote health and reduce health risk and inequalities.
National Preventative Health Strategy (September 2009)
The Strategy, produced by the National Preventative Health Taskforce, provides a blueprint for tackling the burden of chronic disease currently caused by lifestyle risk factors obesity, tobacco use, and excessive consumption of alcohol. It is directed at primary prevention and addresses all relevant arms of policy and all available points of leverage, in both the health and non-health sectors. It recommends a range of interventions aimed at reducing the chronic disease burden associated with these lifestyle risk factors.
The Australian Government released its response to this report in May 2010.
National Preventative Health Taskforce (April 2008)
The Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing announced the establishment of the Taskforce and mandated it to develop a strategy to address obesity, tobacco and the excessive consumption to alcohol. The Taskforce delivered its report to the Commonwealth Government in June 2009.
National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health (November 2008)
The Coalition of Australian Governments (COAG) committed to a National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health as a part of a broader package of reform for the health and hospital system. This resulted in $872 million invested in prevention activities over the following six years. A key commitment outlined in the agreement was the establishment of a national preventive health agency.
At the same meeting, COAG committed to an Indigenous Health National Partnership in order to reduce health inequities, close the life expectancy gap, and halve the under-five child mortality gap. The proposal includes targeted prevention activities to reduce the burden of chronic disease in addition to expanded primary health care. $1.6 billion was allocated over four years.
National Health and Hospital Reform Commission (February 2008)
The NHHRC was established on 25 February 2008 by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health and Ageing and tasked with developing a ‘long-term health reform plan for a modern Australia’. The NHHRC’s final report was delivered to the Commonwealth Government in June 2009.
Among the 123 recommendations in this report, there were a number that related to health promotion and prevention, including:
- Establishment of a new Australian Health Promotion and Prevention Agency;
- Healthy Australia Goals 2020 – everyone taking responsibility for health;
- Shifting the curve of government spending on health towards prevention;
- Building prevention and early intervention into our health system and other sectors
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Equality Council (March 2008)
In March 2008 the Australian Government announced the establishment of this Council. It is an important component of the Government’s commitment to Closing the Gap and tackling the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
More information: www.natsihec.gov.au