Hot topics discussed at the November 2025 Advisory Group Meeting
Healthcare Sustainability
- All four Faculty of Health Institutes are progressing work in this area.
- The Australian Commission in Safety and Quality in Healthcare (ACSQHC) is piloting health sustainability standards which will be incorporated into the existing accreditation for all health services.
- The Greener hospital projects (UK) identify 10 focus areas and this may be helpful in considering potential niche areas.
- The Victorian Department of Health have appointed a lead and it is worth Deakin writing to the Department for an update on progressing work in this area.
- IHT should consider positioning of service offerings to target niche areas within the crowded market.
- The Victorian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development leads the building related climate resilience initiatives.
- Victorian Government financial constraints continue to dominate discussions. There are opportunities for IHT to contribute to current strategy development around health system sustainability.
Update from the Sector
Primary Healthcare Networks
- There are cross PHN discussions being progressed on pooling data capability.
- The Final Report of the national review of the Primary Health Care Networks have not yet been made publicly available.
- An Accreditation framework for PHNs is currently being developed.
AMA Key focus areas
- Tobacco control
- Immunisation
- Health disinformation
Barwon Health
- Anam Cara facility at Deakin will soon be closing and Barwon Health will be reallocating some of their Palliative Care Service there.
- The Barwon Health and Deakin’s Clinical Trial Alliance is progressing well with signing expected by December 2025.
- Barwon Health is expanding facilities at the University Hospital Geelong precinct to improve women’s and children’s health services. The project is due for completion in 2027.
- Professor Cate Nagle has been appointed as the inaugural Chair of Midwifery at Barwon Health.
Consumer engagement
- NHMRC Guidelines for Consumer Engagement in Research have undergone several revisions and are still in development.
More information on the IHT Advisory Group Members is available on the IHT Website.
Go back to the December 2025 Newsletter
