This study provides an up-to-date picture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s access to major health programs. It also considers a range of Australian government initiatives that have been implemented since the submission of an earlier report on Indigenous access to Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs made 128 recommendations in its report, the Road to Recovery: Report on the Inquiry into Substance Abuse in Australian Communities. The report has informed government policy in many areas, including the development of the National Drug Strategy 2004-09, and continues to inform the government’s...

Commonwealth, state and territory health ministers met in Brisbane to discuss a range of priority health issues including remote area renal services, national health call centres, pandemic influenza, childhood obesity, quality and safety, and a range of health workforce issues.

The third annual report on the state of Australian hospitals shows that more people were admitted to Australian public hospitals in 2004–05 than in any previous year. Of the 4.3 million Australians admitted to public hospitals, 86 per cent were treated as public patients, a similar proportion to 2003–04. Private hospital admissions, which totalled 2.7...

This federal government consultation paper seeks comment on the proposed community service obligation arrangements for the wholesale distribution of medicines subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. These arrangements form part of the Fourth Community Pharmacy Agreement between the Government and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, which will come into effect from 1 July 2006. The...