public health

Australians wait 12 months for aged care

A new federal report shows older Australians are now waiting more than a year for aged care support, with experts…

Australia’s pandemic preparedness tested

The MV Hondius outbreak, which killed three passengers, has revived memories of the Ruby Princess disaster, but experts say swift…

Online trial helps older adults cut risky drinking

A major Australian trial has found that an online program designed for older adults can significantly reduce risky drinking, offering…

Alzheimer’s drugs are not the breakthrough promised: Review

A review of more than 20,000 participants found that plaque‑clearing Alzheimer’s drugs offer minimal clinical benefit and carry notable safety…

When is the best time to get your flu shot?

Flu is spreading earlier than usual, driven partly by the new H3N2 “super‑K” variant, with experts recommending vaccination now to…

Free vaccines for WA aged care residents

The Cook Government has announced a significant new health initiative, providing free respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations to older West…

The climate crisis is a health crisis: WHO

The World Health Organization has declared that the climate crisis is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st…

State, territory leaders hold emergency aged care talks

State and territory leaders met for an hour-long emergency meeting on Wednesday, united in pushing Canberra to fix Australia’s aged…

These changes could save hospitals billions – and fund extra hospital visits

The states are angry because hospitals are under intense pressure. Demand is rising, emergency departments are packed, and workers are…

Good homes vital to remote indigenous health

For people living in metro areas, a broken hot water system or washing machine is a nuisance. But it can…

Aus CDC bill passes Senate

The Australian government has voted to pass legislation that will see a permanent Centre for Disease Control (CDC) established on…

National public healthcare peak body collapses

The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) has reportedly collapsed into liquidation, allegedly owing creditors, including staff, hundreds of thousands…

Gov’t delivers $8.5bn bulk billing overhaul

On November 1, the Medicare Benefits Schedule was expanded to include all Medicare-eligible patients, when cover was previously limited to…

No pressure to vaccinate as flu cases soar

Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has said he was comfortable with current flu vaccination rates and would “deal with” the…

Free RSV jabs for Victorians in aged care

In a nation first, the Allan government announced on Monday that it will invest $2.2m to provide free Respiratory Syncytial…

GPs urgently renew push for flu vaccinations

Australian health experts are sounding the alarm over low flu vaccination rates as winter sets in, warning children and older…

“Enough is enough”: NSW doctors strike enters third day

Thousands of public hospital doctors across NSW walked off the job this week, calling for pay and conditions to be addressed. Doctors…

‘Major win’: Albanese promises to cap cost of PBS medications

Prescription medicines will be capped at $25 per script under a major cost-of-living election promise set to be unveiled by…

5 years since Covid was declared a pandemic, we’re still poorly prepared for the next one

On March 11 2020, as Covid continued to spread rapidly around the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared…

Help for aged care residents in Alfred’s path, providers’ duty of care

While the impact of Ex-Cyclone Alfred is still being felt in many communities in northern NSW and southeast Queensland, the…

50 new urgent care clinics are on the cards. But are the existing ones working? Here’s what we know so far

Over the weekend the Australian government announced $644 million to build an extra 50 Medicare urgent care clinics around Australia.…

Hospitals will get $1.7 billion more federal funding. Will this reduce waiting times?

Henry Cutler, Macquarie University Last week, the federal government announced it will pay states and territories an extra, one-off, A$1.7…

Albanese’s “cracker” announcement: $1.7B in additional funding for public hospitals and health services

The Albanese government has unveiled a $1.7bn funding boost for state-run hospitals amid “pressures” hampering the country’s health system. The…

Mpox cases in Australia are less severe than in Africa. Here’s what to know about the strain spreading here

Adrian Esterman, University of South Australia Western Australia and Victoria both issued health alerts this week over cases of mpox.…

Public health physician discusses how hospitals can tackle climate change

This week climate change has been thrust to the forefront of national debate with catastrophic fires engulfing parts of the…