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The Australian government is calling for stakeholder input following the opening of the consultation period for the draft Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan.
Primary health care matters to everyone.  It is the front line and first point of contact with the health care system for most Australians, and it is central to keeping people healthy and well in the community, wherever they may live and across all stages of their lives. Our primary care system is world class and has been a central driving force at the heart of our COVID-19 response.
Over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled healthcare systems around the world to change the way they operate and deliver health care practically overnight.  The Primary Care sector has underpinned our COVID response in communities across Australia, we have accelerated the use of telehealth as part of usual care and highlighted the value of local collaboration across providers and systems to save and protect lives.
We need to ensure that our system can continue to deliver the best, contemporary health care, to meet today’s and tomorrow’s health challenges.
The Australian Government recognises the immense value of primary health care in providing high quality outcomes and experiences for all Australians.  In August 2019, the Government announced the development of a Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan as part of Australia’s Long Term National Health Plan.
While the pandemic represents a once-in-a-generation challenge for healthcare systems, it also represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to harness this unprecedented momentum, to work with an industry that has been primed for change through its experience of operating in the conditions of a global pandemic.
The Plan draws on input from consultations with individuals and organisations across the country from late 2019, and during 2020 and 2021. It represents a high-level response to the draft recommendations of the Primary Health Reform Steering Group, which has been working since October 2019 on future directions for primary health care reform.
The focus of the 10 Year Plan is on Australia’s primary health care services provided through general practices, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS), community pharmacies, allied health services, mental health services, community health and community nursing services and dental and oral health services.
The Plan also focuses on the integration of primary health care with hospitals and other parts of the health system, aged care, disability care and social care systems.
You can now provide feedback on the draft plan, and individuals and organisations with an interest in primary health care and what a future focused system can deliver for all Australians are encouraged to share their views.  Written submissions can be provided until 11:59pm, 9 November 2021 at https://consultations.health.gov.au/primary-care-mental-health-division/draft-primary-health-care-10-year-plan

The Australian Government today announced the first of two grant opportunities for research into developing and delivering improved hearing health support services, which will better assist one in six Australians who are experiencing some form of hearing impairment.
Federal Regional Health Minister, Dr David Gillespie MP announced that applications are now open for the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Targeted Call for Research on Hearing Health: evidence-based support services.
“The Federal Government wants to ensure that all Australians with hearing loss, wherever they live, can get top-quality assistance to help them get the best out of their lives,” Dr Gillespie said.
“This call seeks to support research that develops an evidence base for future policies, interventions and initiatives to support the Hearing Services Program.”
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said the NHMRC funds research where Australia’s highest-performing health and medical researchers set out to solve the health problems they see in their community to help improve the lives of their fellow Australians.
“NHMRC’s Targeted Calls for Research are one-time requests for grant applications to address a specific health issue where there is a significant research knowledge gap or unmet need,” Minister Hunt said.
Dr Gillespie said the funding was part of the Australian Government’s $21.2 million investment to support activities under the Roadmap for Hearing Health, developed by the Hearing Health Sector Committee, published in February 2019.
The NHMRC is managing $7.3 million in grant funding for hearing research under this measure; the total funding available under the call for research applications announced today is $4 million.
The Targeted Call for Research on Hearing Health will:

• Inform development and delivery of hearing health services in the future.
• Improve the evidence base for health seeking behaviour on hearing health, especially in vulnerable populations.
• Assure providers and consumers that hearing program support services are based on the best available evidence to adapt to client needs and technology changes.

A subsequent Targeted Call for Research grant opportunity on hearing health will occur in 2022 as part of this Budget measure. All other relevant information is available on the NHMRC website and GrantConnect.

The Morrison Government is today launching the world’s first National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
The Strategy provides a framework to guide the development of a comprehensive, integrated system of services to maintain and support the mental health and wellbeing of children aged 0-12 and their families.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the Strategy was part of the Morrison Government’s long-term national health plan.
“Caring for the mental health and wellbeing of our younger children, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, is critical. We know that proper support can improve long-term outcomes and can help children achieve their full potential in life,” Minister Hunt said.
“To ensure that every child has the opportunity to grow up in a healthy and supportive environment that helps them, and their families and communities, to thrive, we need a mental health and wellbeing system that is well-designed, comprehensive, and nationally consistent.”
“This strategy shows us how, and will be crucial to our current ongoing reform of the mental health and suicide prevention system. It is about ensuring the best for our children at each and every step and I’m honoured to launch it today.”
The Strategy provides a roadmap through coordinated investment and program development to ensure that children aged 0-12 can have all the opportunities for growth and development possible.
Through four focus areas, the Strategy outlines the requirements for an effective system of care for children:
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, MP said the aim of this universal approach will bring lasting benefits for Australia and for generations to come.
“Half of all adult mental health challenges emerge before the age of 14, yet few children below the age of 12 receive professional support. As a nation, we need to acknowledge this and do everything we can to change it. Our Government is committed to the task,” Assistant Minster Coleman said.
“This is the first time a national government has developed a strategy that considers mental health and wellbeing of our children, as well as their families and communities who nurture them.”
Importantly, several key priorities identified in the strategy received funding in the 2021-22 Budget, which provided a record $2.3 billion for the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan aimed at transforming Australia’s mental health system. Specific initiatives dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and their parents and carers included:

• $54.2 million to create new Head to Health Kids mental health and wellbeing centres for children up to 12 years, in partnership with the state and territory governments;
• $42.3 million to support access to parenting education and support, to build parenting strategies and help parents to identify problem behaviours early;
• $26.8 million to support Kids Helpline and meet the increased demand for services;
• $47.4 million for perinatal mental health initiatives; and
• $111.4 million to allow family members and/or carers to access up to two of a patient’s available Medicare-subsidised psychological therapy sessions, and to expand access to group sessions where appropriate.

The development of the Strategy was undertaken by the National Mental Health Commission, supported by an expert advisory group.
National Mental Health Commission Chair, Mrs Lucy Brogden AM and CEO, Ms Christine Morgan thanked the many people who helped make the strategy a reality.
“This is one of the most important and meaningful and significant pieces of work we have done at the Commission,” Ms Morgan said.
“This Strategy proposes a fundamental, cultural shift in the way we think about the mental health and wellbeing of our children, including a change in language and the adoption of a continuum-based model of mental health and wellbeing.”
“We could not have done it without our advisory group led by our co-chairs, Professors Frank Oberklaid and Christel Middledorp, and I would like to thank them for their incredible work. Through them and others, we have engaged with hundreds of people who care deeply about the mental health and wellbeing of our children and understand the immense benefits that flow from protecting and nurturing it.”
The Strategy is available on the Commission’s website www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au
Australians looking for support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic can access the Beyond Blue Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service anytime via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline
(13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health (www.headtohealth.gov.au).

Around 250,000 Australian families will now benefit from increased Child Care Subsidy (CCS) from 7 March 2022, four months earlier than first expected. On average, these families will be more than $2,200 a year better off.
The additional subsidies for families with two or more children in care were due to start on 11 July 2022, but the Morrison Government has been able to work across Departments and service providers to make necessary technical changes sooner.
Families with two or more children aged five years and under in care will have their CCS rate increased by 30 percentage points for their second child and any younger children, up to a maximum rate of 95 per cent.
More than half of eligible families will receive the maximum 95 per cent subsidy.
A family earning $110,000 a year with two kids in care, four days a week, will be better off by around $100 each week.
The $10,655 annual CCS cap will also be scrapped on 10 December 2021 and applied retrospectively for the whole 2021-22 financial year. Anyone who reaches the cap before this date will have any additional out-of-pocket costs for the 2021-22 financial year reimbursed.
Minister for Education and Youth Alan Tudge said the changes would ease pressure on working families and encourage more parents into work.
“These changes are good for families and great for the economy, and it’s significant that we are able to deliver them sooner,” Minister Tudge said.
“Removing the cap and increasing subsidies means more parents, particularly mothers, can return to work or take on more hours if they choose to.
“There are 280,000 more children in child care than when we came to office and this additional support will take our total investment to $11 billion a year.
“Importantly, our support is targeted to those who need it most. We are reducing the out-of-pocket child care costs which really add up when you have two, three or more children in care.”
Minister for Women’s Economic Security Senator Jane Hume said the package would particularly support mothers looking to get back into the workforce or take on more hours.
“Treasury estimates the additional subsidy will mean the equivalent of 40,000 parents are able to work an extra day per week, boosting the economy by up to $1.5 billion per year,” Minister Hume said.
“The Morrison Government is committed to increasing economic opportunities for Australian women and this additional child care support will remove disincentives for primary carers, particularly mothers, to participate in the workforce.
“Under this government women’s workforce participation has increased steadily and reached a record high of 61.9 per cent in March 2021.”
The Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) Bill 2021, which enables the additional payments, was passed on 12 August 2021.
The changes build on the Morrison Government’s Child Care Package, introduced in 2018, which is still keeping out-of-pocket costs low for families using child care.
Latest data shows the average out-of-pocket cost is just $4 per hour – around 90 cents per hour cheaper than before the Child Care Package was introduced more than three years ago.
More than 70 per cent of families pay less than $5 per hour, while almost a quarter pay less than $2 per hour, thanks to our system of providing the most support to those on lower incomes.
The Morrison Government has also recently paid out around $180 million in support payments to more than 6,000 child care services across areas of New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns.
These payments are keeping services open, staff in work and providing financial relief for families by encouraging services to waive gap fees for children not attending care during COVID lockdowns.