Health
FOI Papers Show 78,000 Older Australians May Quit Private Health by 2030
Health department modelling released under FOI nearly doubles the government’s public estimate of over-65s who would drop cover if rebate changes pass the Senate.
House byline
Connor Blake
Health correspondent
Connor Blake is a house byline for InfoHandle’s Health desk.
Health
Semaglutide Price Cut Lands On PBS As Endocrinologists Clear Melbourne Backlog
A lower-cost semaglutide strength has been listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, helping Melbourne endocrinology clinics clear winter booking backlogs for weight and diabetes care.
Health
Victorian Ambulance Union Tables Paramedic Ratio Motion Before State Election
The Victorian Ambulance Union has tabled a state election motion mandating minimum crew ratios after code-one response times slipped in outer Melbourne.
Health
Nirsevimab Bookings Surge at Victorian GP Clinics Ahead of RSV Season
Victorian clinics report fuller appointment books for Beyfortus shots as the state-funded nirsevimab season runs through 30 September.
Health
GP Clinics Raise Consult Fees After Checkout Surcharge Ban Hits Practice Software Bills
General practices and private hospitals are lifting out-of-pocket fees as the nationwide ban on card surcharges removes a pass-through that once covered terminal and software costs.
Health
PBS October Reduction Day Trims Listed Medicine Prices While Co-Pays Stay at 25 Dollars
Price-disclosure reductions took effect on 1 October for hundreds of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme brands, lowering ex-manufacturer prices while general patient co-payments remain capped at $25 and concessional at $7.70.
Health
Federal Figures Show 6,436 Older Australians Died Waiting for Support at Home Packages
Health department data released after Senate pressure shows more than 6,400 approved clients died on the Support at Home queue last financial year, averaging seventeen deaths a day.
Health
University of Sydney Rolls Pain Smart Lessons Into Schools After Global Lifespan Pain Study
University of Sydney researchers are recruiting schools for Pain Smart, a classroom program launched as global data show chronic pain affecting one in six adolescents.
Health
ACT Pharmacists Gain Authority to Dispense Contraceptive Pill Without GP Visit
ACT pharmacists can now initiate ongoing contraceptive pill prescriptions for eligible adults after a territory regulatory change took effect Monday.
Health
ACT Pharmacists Gain Authority to Dispense Contraceptive Pill Without GP Visit
ACT pharmacists can now resupply certain low-risk oral contraceptives without a new GP script if patients meet age and continuity rules under a 24 April authorisation.
Health
Baker Institute Launches Cardiovascular Data Commons After Federal and NCRIS Backing
The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute opened the Australian Cardiovascular Disease Data Commons, a cloud platform linking national heart and stroke cohorts after $2.9 million in MRFF funding plus NCRIS support.
Health
Nirsevimab Lands on PBS for Premature Babies as Winter Virus Season Approaches
From October, the PBS will subsidise nirsevimab for eligible premature infants as hospitals prepare for winter RSV admissions.
Health
Victoria Tests 59 Dead Ibises at Bendigo Lake Weeroona for H5N1
Wildlife rescuers counted 59 dead birds on an island at the popular lake after a sick ibis report Wednesday; Agriculture Victoria is testing samples as authorities stress no H5N1 case has been confirmed in the Bendigo region yet.
Health
Melbourne Royal Childrens Hospital Reviews Chemotherapy Glove Standards After WorkSafe Alert
Victoria’s workplace regulator flagged gloves at the Royal Children’s Hospital that were not certified for cytotoxic drugs, triggering a decade-long exposure review and a statewide procurement audit.
Deep DiveHealth
Why Medicare Won't Pay for Your Ambulance Bill
Universal hospital cover stops at the kerb because ambulance was never on the Medicare Benefits Schedule—and each state funds the sirens with fees, levies, or waivers.
Health
ATAGI Annual Statement Flags Sub-22% Flu Uptake Among Under-Fives
ATAGI’s 2025 annual immunisation statement shows only 21.1 per cent of children under five had received an influenza vaccine by mid-2024, urging GPs to push shots before spring peaks.
Health
Victorian Public Hospital Doctors Walk Out for Four Hours as Allied Health Strike Hits 43 Sites
Thousands of physicians and radiographers stopped work Thursday after more than a year of bargaining, with the state government still unable to confirm it has tabled a pay offer.
Health
Exotic Root Rot Fungus Found in NT Melon and Cucumber Crops in First Australian Detection
Northern Territory authorities confirmed Australia's first cases of Monosporascus cannonballus in melon and cucumber fields, warning growers the soil-borne pest cannot be eradicated.
Health
NDIS Community Participation Budgets Halve From October 1 Amid 2.8 Billion in Plan Cuts
Thousands of NDIS participants saw community participation budgets cut by roughly half from 1 October as reassessments align plans with tightened reasonable-and-necessary tests.
Health
Six Queensland Babies Die From Congenital Syphilis in Three Years as Pregnancy Cases Rise
Queensland Health figures show six infant deaths linked to syphilis passed in utero since 2024, with 55 pregnant women diagnosed this year alone as infectious cases run 20 percent above the five-year average.
Health
Victorian Hospitals Log Record September Influenza Presentations on Super-K H3N2 Lineage
Victorian emergency departments recorded their busiest September week for influenza presentations as the Super-K H3N2 subclade drove a late-season surge.
Health
NDIS Community Participation Budgets Halve From October 1 Amid 2.8 Billion in Plan Cuts
From 1 October, reassessed NDIS plans will cut social and community participation allocations by 50 per cent as the government implements $2.8 billion in support resets.
Health
ASMOF and AMA Call Statewide Doctor Stoppage at Victorian Parliament Steps
Up to 10,000 public hospital doctors will stop work for four hours on Thursday, rallying at Spring Street after 14 months of enterprise bargaining without a written pay offer.
Health
Northern Territory Pharmacies Pilot Pharmacist-Led COPD Checks Under 60AHT Contract
Northern Territory pharmacies began pharmacist-led COPD spirometry checks funded under a 60AHT contract, aiming to keep exacerbations out of wet-season emergency departments.
Health
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Wing Named in Expanded Southern Adelaide Virus Trace
SA Health listed Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s emergency fast-track wing on a 28-site measles trace as Holdfast Bay clinics reopened for southern Adelaide students returning Monday.
Health
SA Health Lists Seven Exposure Sites as Brighton Measles Cluster Forces Weekend Clinic
Four students at Brighton Secondary are now linked to a measles cluster spanning seven exposure sites, with SA Health running a pop-up vaccination clinic and the state's 2026 case count reaching eight.
Health
Brighton Secondary School Measles Cluster Prompts Holdfast Bay Vaccination Pop-Up
Four measles cases at Brighton Secondary School triggered a Friday vaccination pop-up at Holdfast Bay and renewed two-dose messaging, as South Australia's 2026 tally reached eight — its highest year-to-date count since 2016.
Health
Frontline Groups Brace for Domestic Violence Spike Over AFL Grand Final Weekend
Victoria Police and frontline services warn family violence reports rise over AFL grand final weekend, citing 315 incidents on grand final day last year—a 5 per cent increase—as Brisbane and Fremantle prepare for Saturday’s decider amid alcohol and gambling sponsor scrutiny.
Health
PBS Lists New RSV Infant Immunisation as Winter Ward Admissions Ease
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme listed a long-acting RSV immunisation for eligible infants as winter ward admissions eased, giving GPs and maternity hospitals a new tool before the southern hemisphere respiratory season peaks.
Health
RACGP Urges RSV Shot Uptake as WA Expands Remote Clinic Vaccine Fridges
The RACGP is pressing Western Australian GPs to book eligible patients into RSV programs while WA Country Health Service rolls out additional vaccine fridges to remote clinics that cannot rely on daily courier runs.
Health
Health Literacy Framework Pushes Pharmacies to Standardise Medicine Labels
Australia’s National Health Literacy Framework is pushing pharmacies toward plainer dispensing labels, building on ACSQHC standards that spell out dosing intervals, active-ingredient signposting and minimum label sizes.