[Australia]: Department of Health Media Centre

[Owen]

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Overview​

The Department of Health is an Australian Government department responsible for funding and regulating health care, aged care, sport and recreation. The portfolio also includes government agencies such as the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, the Australian Centre for Disease Control, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Mental Health Commission, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the Australian Digital Health Agency, Cancer Australia, the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency (Sport Integrity Australia), the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, the National Blood Authority, the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority, the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and the Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care. It also administers various programs and schemes such as Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme. The functions of the department are broadly classified into the following matters as laid out in an Administrative Arrangements Order: Public health, including health promotion, health protection, and disease prevention Health and medical research Primary health care and mental health care systems Hospital funding and policy, including oversight of the National Health Reform Agreement and the National Health and Hospitals Network framework Private health insurance Pharmaceutical and Medicare benefit schemes Hearing services funding and policy, and the Australian Hearing Services program Specific health services and human health biosecurity, such as human quarantine Alcohol and other drug strategy Services for older adults and their carers Therapeutic goods and industrial chemicals regulation Gene technology Health provider compliance Blood and organ donation policy and funding Health workforce capacity, regulation and insurance indemnification Blood, organ policy and funding Active and healthy ageing policy and research, other than employment policies Sport and recreation