Rationing healthcare in some form is inevitable, even in wealthy countries, because resources are scarce and demand for healthcare is always likely to exceed supply. This means that decision-makers must make choices about which health programs and initiatives should receive public funding and which ones should not. These choices are often difficult to make, particularly...

The ageing of Australia’s population will call for the provision of aged care services to much larger numbers of people over the next few decades. Services will also need to meet the challenges posed by the increasing diversity of older people in terms of their care needs, preferences and affluence. It is clearly important that...

Asylum seekers go through an extensive assessment process in Australia. Those who are found not to be refugees are removed from Australia by process of law. For those who are seriously ill, removal is a particularly distressing event, leading to a future heavy with the suffering of untreated or under-treated illness.