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The Australian Government welcomes the appointment of Mr Robert Heferen to lead the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
With more than 30 years’ experience in the public service, Mr Heferen will take on the role of Chief Executive Officer from early July, 2021.
Mr Heferen brings a deep knowledge of policy and programs as a former Deputy Secretary in the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, the Department of the Environment and Energy, and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. He has also held leadership roles at the Australian Tax Office, Treasury and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
Mr Heferen’s extensive experience will be vital to the AIHW, who continue to play a critical role in health and welfare policy and program development across Australia. The independent agency is internationally recognised for its expertise and proven track record in producing information and statistics which underpin our health and welfare systems.
The Government extends its thanks to outgoing CEO, Mr Barry Sandison, who oversaw significant reforms at the agency and has positioned AIHW successfully for the future.
Mr Sandison’s contributions have transformed the agency, expanding the suite of products and services and overseeing significant improvements in the way data is presented, making it more accessible and easier to understand.
The Government congratulates Mr Heferen on his appointment, who we expect will continue this program of reform and improvement, ensuring we have access to authoritative information and statistics to underpin our world-leading health and welfare systems.

The Australian Government will extend one of the nation’s premier rural health workforce initiatives, following an evaluation of the programme highlighted its effectiveness in addressing workforce shortages.
Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton, said Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program will continue to provide more than $200 million per year over three years to fund a network of rural clinical schools, university departments of rural health, and regional training hubs across rural and remote Australia.
“Extending the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Program reaffirms the Government’s commitment to addressing health workforce shortages in rural areas.
“The RHMT is one of our most effective rural workforce initiatives and I’m pleased to see it continue with the funding and settings it needs to deliver better outcomes for rural communities,” Mr Coulton said.
“The evaluation demonstrates that universities continue to provide health students with quality rural clinical training experiences and that the presence of universities in regional, rural, and remote communities has social and economic benefits to these communities and their health services.”
The review’s recommendations aim to build on the success of the 20-year-old program. These recommendations recognise the teaching innovations and maturity of the program, while allowing for some areas of reform.
The reforms, to be phased in from 1 January 2022, will focus on key program outcomes such as student selection and quality placements, strengthening research networks, and responding to community and workforce need.
“The RHMT program has been with us for two decades,” the Minister for Regional Health, Mark Coulton, said. “These reforms will open a new chapter in its success story.”
“They will further enhance its key role in increasing the number of qualified health professionals in rural, regional and remote Australia, providing high quality training and helping to bridge the city-country divide in access to health services.”
“We will work with the stakeholders to further strengthen and develop rural training opportunities and to keep building on this program for the future.”
The RHMT program is one of several Commonwealth rural health workforce programs supporting more health professionals to work in the bush.
It funds a network of rural clinical schools, university departments of rural health, dental faculties offering extended rural placements, and the Northern Territory Medical Program. The RHMT program also supports 26 regional training hubs.
Twenty-one universities currently participate in the program and the Australian Government’s annual investment is more than $200 million.
A closed non‑competitive grant opportunity will be undertaken to facilitate this three-year extension.

The Australian Government continues to deliver on its commitment to reduce the number of younger people living in residential aged care.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck and Minister for Government Services, Linda Reynolds CSC said the Government is investing $10.1 million in a national network to help younger people and their families find age-appropriate accommodation and additional support.
“The aged care system was designed to best support the needs of senior Australians, not younger people,” Minister Colbeck said.
“We remain deeply determined to ensure younger people in need of care can find the support outside of the aged care environment.”
As part of the 2020–21 Budget, the Morrison Government committed to funding a national network of up to 40 Younger People in Residential Aged Care System Coordinators.
Minister Reynolds said thanks to a recent competitive grant opportunity Ability First Australia will bring the knowledge, skills and expertise to this important reform.
“Ability First will work with younger people and their families to help them access disability services, health services, housing and social supports,” Minister Reynolds said.
“This will ensure younger people who want to live on their own terms and with independence in the community will have the support they need to live their best life.”
Ability First Australia is one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit strategic alliances, with 14 member organisations working across all states and territories.
Its members have expertise in supporting and advocating for people with disability.
In its initial response to the Royal Commission Interim Report, the Morrison Government announced strengthened Younger People in Residential Aged Care targets and an intention to develop a strategy to meet those targets.
Apart from exceptional circumstances, the Government is committed to ensuring:

• Nobody under the age of 65 enters residential aged care by the end of 2022;
• No one under the age of 45 is living in residential aged care by the end of 2022; and
• No people under the age of 65 are living in residential aged care by the end of 2025.

Minister Colbeck said the latest steps illustrated the Government’s ongoing commitment to providing better options for what can be a deeply emotional and complex issue.
“We know the impact this can have on individuals and their families who have too often been left with no other choice,” he said.
Minister Reynolds said the Government is committed to ensuring the individual needs of younger people are met.
“This is an issue very close to my heart. The first Senate Inquiry I championed was into this issue as I firmly believe that no younger Australian with a disability should be forced to live in aged care because there is no alternative,” Minister Reynolds said.
More information about the Younger People in Residential Aged Care Strategy 2020–2025 can be found on the Department of Social Services website.

The opening of a new state-of-the-art change room and recovery facility has given Australia’s women’s hockey squad, the Hockeyroos, a huge boost ahead of the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games.
The “Roos’ Retreat” was officially opened by the Federal Member for Swan the Hon Steve Irons at Perth Hockey Stadium today on behalf of the Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck.
The $600,000 upgrade to the hockey facilities was funded as part of the Morrison Government’s $11.5 million commitment to high performance sport infrastructure.
The upgraded Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University now includes equal change rooms for the Australian men’s and women’s hockey squads as well as recovery areas with an ice-bath and spa area and a gymnasium.
It comes as The Hockeyroos are set to challenge for a podium finish and a fourth Olympic gold medal at next month’s Games.
Minister Colbeck and Mr Irons said the investment was key to support one of Australia’s best-loved and most successful teams.
“The Hockeyroos carry the status as one of Australia’s iconic sporting teams and they deserve world-class facilities, which the Morrison Government is proud to support,” Minister Colbeck said.
“This is more than an investment in bricks and mortar.
“It also signals confidence in the sporting champions who represent and continually inspire our nation.
“Our female athletes and teams are incredibly important role models, inspiring and empowering more young girls to see the benefits of sport participation.
The Australian Government, through the Australian Institute of Sport, has increased funding to the Hockeyroos for their Tokyo Olympic campaign, delivering more than $12 million since 2016 to support the national squad.
Mr Irons said the investment would cement Perth’s status as Australia’s home of high performance hockey.
“Perth has been home to Australia’s national hockey squads since 1984, which has attracted so many athletes to relocate here and become part of the community,” Mr Irons said.
“This stadium is also home to Hockey Western Australia and caters for developing players as well as national team members.
“These facilities will be a beacon for aspiring hockey players across the country who have dreams of representing Australia at the highest level.”

An Albanese Labor Government will improve transparency in the child care sector for Australian families and taxpayers, building on Labor’s Cheaper Child Care for Working Families policy.
The Commonwealth will spend around $9 billion on the Child Care Subsidy this year, yet there is very little oversight or public reporting of how this taxpayer money is spent.
While not-for-profit providers are already required to report to the National Charities Commission, large for-profit providers, particularly those owned by private equity, do not have the same accountability.
Part of the Morrison Government’s failed child care changes in 2018 was the introduction of www.childcarefinder.gov.au. The website does not provide real-time child care fee and quality data and some providers do not display any fee information at all.
Australian families need improved transparency around what is driving their fee increases and the ability to easily and accurately compare providers in order to make an informed decision.
The lack of oversight of the sector has also allowed for the practice of non-educational enrolment inducements, with some for-profit providers offering incentives such as cash or iPads to entice families to enrol at their centres. These marketing gimmicks are being funded by taxpayers and are an inappropriate use of government support.
Child care fees are out of control under the Morrison Government, having soared by 37 per cent since the election of the Coalition. Increased transparency about cost drivers and profits is necessary to stop this trend and put downward pressure on fees.
That is why an Albanese Labor Government will:

• Require large child care providers (more than 25 services as defined by ACECQA) and landlords owning more than 10 child care centres to publicly report their child care revenue and profit results to www.childcarefinder.gov.au;
• Mandate that www.childcarefinder.gov.au includes every Child Care Subsidy approved provider, real-time child care fee data and quality ratings and average year on year fee increases so parents can make an informed choice; and
• Ban providers from offering non-educational enrolment inducements.

This policy builds on Labor’s Cheaper Child Care for Working Families plan, in particular our commitment for the ACCC to investigate price regulation to ensure all benefit goes into the pockets of families.
Labor’s plan for cheaper child care will deliver an additional $6 billion investment in the sector, which will leave 97 per cent of families in the system better off.
We want to ensure this additional support flows through to families, which is why we want a stronger focus on transparency.
Only Labor is committed to genuine, enduring reform of the child care sector that brings costs down for families and keeps them down.
The Morrison Government’s half-hearted child care policy falls lightyears short of what is required to properly reform the system and includes nothing to keep fees down.
This Government’s poor attitude towards child care has been on display this week, with members of the Coalition party room labelling it outsourced parenting.
The difference could not be more stark – Labor is committed to ensuring every Australian child deserves access to affordable and high quality early learning.