Health

Health is affected by physical, mental, cultural, and social well-being, as well as the presence or absence of disease or impairment.

Principles

The Australian Greens believe that:

  1. The publicly-funded health system is the most equitable and efficient way to resource and deliver health services.
  2. Access to quality health care is a basic human right.
  3. Social, economic, environmental, political, cultural, behavioural and biological factors determine health outcomes.
  4. Mental health and wellbeing depend on the complex interactions between the social, environmental, psychological, physical, economic, political, cultural and spiritual aspects of life.
  5. The Australian healthcare system has a legacy of misunderstanding and stigmatising mental health issues and under-resourcing mental health services.
  6. Human health and wellbeing are inextricably linked with the health of the natural environment.
  7. The climate crisis is an existential threat to global human health and urgent action is required to avoid catastrophic health impacts.
  8. Governments have the responsibility to improve and maintain individual and community health and well-being, including through the provision of resources and services.
  9. Fee-for-service funding of services does not address the health needs of many communities.
  10. Health promotion and disease prevention approaches and measures are essential to improving community health and addressing inequality.
  11. Investment in prevention should be long-term, across all levels of government, based on community need and address health inequalities and the social determinants of health.
  12. People have the right to choice and control over the health care they receive.
  13. Health care should be designed, implemented, and evaluated with the collaboration of people who use the service.
  14. Individuals own their personal health information so it can be collected, used (including research use) and retained only with their prior and express consent. Individuals have a right of access to their personal health information.
  15. Access to clean water is a human right. All people should have free and accessible clean water from a reliable and safe supply.
  16. An effective health care system depends on a skilled, well-resourced and supported workforce with high-quality training pathways.
  17. Disabled people should have universal, timely and equitable access to health care that is relevant and safe. Healthcare systems should be able to be navigated by disabled people without barriers.
  18. Healthcare systems must be funded and designed to provide patient-centred and integrated health care across organisations and sectors in the health system.
  19. Palliative care should be free and accessible to all, recognising its importance in ensuring person-centred, quality care to improve quality of life for people with life-limiting illness and at end-of-life.
  20. People experiencing a terminal or degenerative illness have the right to plan for their end of life in a dignified, peaceful way, at the time of their choosing.
  21. Evidence-informed allied health services are critical to holistic health care and prevention.
  22. LGBTIQA+ people should have universal and equitable access to safe, responsive, culturally appropriate health services in all parts of the health system, free from stigma or discrimination.
  23. Access to affordable, available and adequate food is a human right. People should have food available that adequately meets their individual health and dietary needs, including their cultural and religious requirements.
  24. Reproductive health care should be universally accessible, including for issues relating to contraception, menstruation, abortion and fertility.
  25. Medicinal cannabis has therapeutic benefit for a range of health conditions and should be available through mainstream health services.
  26. Culturally and linguistically diverse communities should have safe, culturally responsive and equitable access to all aspects of the health system.
  27. First Nations peoples have a right to culturally safe, self-determined community-controlled care and should have health outcomes and life expectancy equal to other Australians.
  28. First Nations health is directly connected to the dispossession of lands through colonisation which has produced intergenerational trauma that must be recognised as a health impact.
  29. First Nations people know that when Country is healthy, they are healthy; therefore, First Nations health is tied directly to their custodianship of their Country and access to their sites of significance. 
  30. First Nations people have an equal right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical, emotional, cultural, social and mental health as self-determined by them. 
  31. First Nations peoples have a right to First Nations local and regional groups' community-controlled care. 
  32. First Nations people who are incarcerated suffer higher mental health stress when they have been removed from family and country, thus access to family and support systems from community-controlled health services must be implemented.
  33. The health and lives of First Nations peoples are particularly at risk in watchhouses, prisons and youth detention centres. Incarceration of First Nations people should be a last resort and alternatives must be actively pursued.
  34. First Nations people who are incarcerated should have access to culturally safe, community-controlled health care, including mental health care and Indigenous health checks.
  35. First Nations peoples must have access to all health services without discrimination.
  36. All jurisdictions' health policies must enable First Nations peoples to access and utilise their traditional medicine practitioners in all areas of health and in mainstream health services, including in mental health services.

Aims

The Australian Greens want:

  1. Prevention prioritised through definitive, all-of-government action to address the social, cultural, economic and environmental determinants of health.
  2. Action to address the environmental determinants of health including the right to clean air, water, sanitation, and natural light. 
  3. Measures to build health resilience in the community and public health systems, including addressing the health impacts of the climate crisis. 
  4. Action to address the social determinants of health particularly the cost of living, housing and inclusivity.
  5. Universal, publicly funded health care that provides free and equitable access to health services for everyone.
  6. The impacts on health to be considered, measured, and responded to across all aspects of government policy development.
  7. A coordinated, collaborative approach across all levels of government to address the increased risks to wellbeing associated with public health emergencies and the climate crisis.
  8. A rigorous risk management regime for epidemics, pandemics and other public health emergencies which is grounded in an approach to health that recognises the interconnected relationship between animal, human and plant health in a shared environment, to prevent transmission from wild and domestic animals to humans.
  9. To establish a standardised national public health training program for all jurisdictions, and fully resource the public health workforce to maintain expertise and ensure a surge capacity.
  10. The development of a peer-workforce, including training, accreditation and establishment of national representative groups.
  11. Public policy and its impact on health and wellbeing to be reviewed in the context of wellbeing rather than economic indicators.
  12. To establish a publicly-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer to guarantee an affordable and reliable supply of critical medicines and vaccines.
  13. Governments to invest in public hospitals to meet community demand; including the Federal Government committing at least 50% of hospital funding and development of a flexible funding model that supports innovative models of care.
  14. The establishment of a well-funded National Centre for Disease Control.
  15. Long-term, cross-government funding for health promotion and prevention that is responsive to inequality and based on community need.
  16. Health services that are centred around need, accessibility, and universal access to collaborative multidisciplinary care, regardless of when and where required.
  17. Aggregated health data or information to be used after de-identification or with the express consent of the individuals who own the personal information. 
  18. Health information and data linked to identifiable individuals to be stored with the best, up-to-date security systems and protocols whether by government agency or private organisations.  Any breach of systems holding health information linked to identifiable individuals to be notified to the individuals concerned and to the relevant government privacy agency within 48 hours of discovery.
  19. Effective care pathways to promote greater cooperation and coordination between health services and systems, achieved through funding research to identify gaps and inefficiencies.
  20. The promotion of good health and a ban on the media advertising of alcohol, nicotine products and junk food.
  21. To shift government funding of health services beyond fee-for-service to models that prioritise health outcomes and address health equity. 
  22. Universal access to primary care and prevention services delivered in locally-run community health centres or appropriate community-based settings.
  23. Free and universal access to primary health care professionals, especially general practitioners, across Australia.
  24. Free and universal access to medically necessary specialist consultations, diagnostic tests, procedures and devices.
  25. Everyone to have free access to ambulance services.
  26. The redirection of all public funds currently subsidising private health insurance, including the tax rebates, to the public health system.
  27. Introduction of national rules to mandate disclosure of costs including private health insurance fees, charges, and out-of-pocket costs.
  28. Accessible Information for health service users, general practitioners and medical specialists to improve understanding of out-of-pocket costs and informed financial consent.
  29. Everyone, particularly people with chronic and complex conditions, to be able to access patient-centred, multi-disciplinary, comprehensive and community-based care for free.
  30. Investment in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to ensure approved medicines, drugs and treatment options are accessible and free for all medical conditions.
  31. A well-resourced Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme free from political and commercial interference.
  32. An independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee to be composed of independent experts, clinicians and community representatives.
  33. Medicinal cannabis to be easily available as a genuine treatment option to everyone with a medical need by appropriately easing prescribing regulations and listing medicinal cannabis products on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, as well as increasing funding for clinical research to establish the full scope of its efficacy.
  34. Robust restrictions on the promotion of pharmaceuticals to health professionals, including students. These restrictions to be rapidly updated to reflect new research findings.
  35. A fully resourced system for the assessment, approval, regulation and marketing of pharmaceuticals, therapeutic goods, medical devices and other health therapies and technologies. This system should be rigorous and timely.
  36. A national approach to the expansion of the alcohol and other drugs harm reduction sector with increased capacity in the peer workforce.
  37. A harm-reduction approach towards vapes and e-cigarettes, including funding of education campaigns and regulations regarding production, supply and sale.
  38. A comprehensive program of health and medical research, including research into preventive health and primary care.
  39. Universal access to publicly funded and clinically relevant dental care.
  40. Equity of access between metropolitan and rural, regional and remote areas to health professionals, including more First Nations specific positions in mainstream health services.
  41. Free universal access to legal and safe pregnancy termination services, including non-directive counselling.
  42. Free universal access to a full range of conception and birthing services for all individuals who are seeking to become pregnant or who are pregnant.
  43. Nationwide access to and distribution of free menstrual products.
  44. Eligibility for human tissue and fluid donation (including blood) is to be determined by individual risk assessment.
  45. Continuing professional development to include anti-discrimination training for healthcare professionals and students.
  46. A more effective national approach to the prevention of work and road related accidents and provision of injury rehabilitation services.
  47. People with a terminal or degenerative illness to have the right to seek assistance from physicians to have a dignified death at a time of their choosing with appropriate safeguards, based on international best practice models.
  48. All working people, including employees, contractors, casual workers and sole traders, to have access to paid sick leave or equivalent public compensation.
  49. Safe indoor and outdoor air including stronger national pollution standards, with an exposure reduction framework, expanded air monitoring networks and public release of monitoring data. 
  50. Strengthening and implementation of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines with public monitoring to identify adverse impacts on human or ecological health.
  51. Appropriately accredited and community-controlled allied health services to be available for the prevention and treatment of injury and illness through the public health system.
  52. Support for doctors undertaking postgraduate qualifications such as specialist college fellowships to be made available to all doctors working in Australia.
  53. First Nations people to have access to self-determined community-controlled health services for First Nations peoples that will raise their health status to a level comparable to other Australians.
  54. Education and training of First Nations health professionals including doctors, nurses, health workers and practitioners to be accredited via Universities, TAFEs, Colleges and other Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and be fully publicly funded at national, local and regional levels.
  55. A national First Nations Suicide Prevention Strategy that fully funds First Nations services in community-controlled health services and First Nations community services that utilise the knowledge of intergenerational trauma that are First Nations designed and implemented in local and regional communities.
  56. Any First Nations suicide prevention and mental health strategies to take into account the socio-psychological developmental stages of child development and family recovery in order to prevent suicide in young people in First Nations communities.
  57. Specific services for First Nations women that include traditional birthing practitioners and traditional knowledges of women’s business.
  58. First Nations family-led decision-making to self-determine access to birthing of children on their own country.
  59. Recognition of the impacts on First Nations communities and extended communities of public health emergencies that require domestic border closures which make access to sorry business, family and country increasingly difficult.
  60. Plans of action developed by governments, health departments, chief health officers and emergency services that address public health emergencies to take into account and mitigate the impacts on First Nations communities.
  61. The establishment of standards so that the built environment, including homes and schools, is free from environmental risk factors, including dampness and mould.
  62. Gender affirming medical care including access to surgical procedures, prescribed hormones, products and services to achieve authentic gender identity and expression all to be provided at no out of pocket costs.

(Health policy as amended by National Conference October 2023.)

The Australian Greens recognise that many people may experience co-occurring mental and physical disability and alcohol and other drug issues, and understand the importance of connected, wrap-around supports. Please refer to related policies for further information. 

Related policies: