According to the new 2025-2030 National Immunisation Strategy, "This consultation paper outlines an approach to the National Immunisation Strategy (NIS) 2025-2030. It has been informed by consultation with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and selected key stakeholders in late 2023 and 2024."
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Aged Care has confirmed that the other "selected key stakeholders" were the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation and the government-funded National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.
The government effectively consulted with itself on the new strategy. It did not consult with a single patient or clinician organisation.
Stakeholders have been given two weeks to provide input on one of Australia's most important public health strategy documents. Their ability to contribute to the online consultation process depends on them knowing it exists.
The two-week consultation was launched on the Department of Health and Aged Care's (department) consultation hub on 22 May. On the same day, the department launched a six-week consultation process on a review of the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989. The department issued a media release announcing the consultation on the Australian Sports Commission's governing legislation. Yet, it was silent on Australia's new National Immunisation Strategy.
The department's website does not reference the National Immunisation Strategy review.
In response to questions about the review's terms of reference, a spokesperson for the department said, "The next National Immunisation Strategy (2025-2030) will outline a shared mission to protect Australians from the harms of vaccine-preventable diseases. It will outline shared challenges and areas to focus national efforts, building on achievements from previous national strategies. It will also draw on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and recent emergency outbreaks and be a roadmap for national action on key priorities in immunisation in Australia."
Shared by whom?
