CHF has provided this submission to the Commonwealth Government with recommendations for policy proposals and funding initiatives to be included in the 2021-22 Budget to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for Australian health consumers.

The submission draws on the work of CHF's 2020 Consumer Commission, the recommendations of the Productivity Commission's final report into mental health and the work of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. CHF calls for the establishment of an independently governed national health consumer leadership academy and the adoption of a Health in All Policies approach to address the social determinants of health. Due to the significant disruption and change experienced in the health system in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health is also prominent with CHF calling for the Federal Government to fund a network of digital navigators and digital navigation platforms to support consumers to access care.

We also see significant opportunities to use this moment of change to adopt new models of care and reorient towards a focus on prevention through both the 10 Year Primary Health Care Plan and the National Preventive Health Strategy.

The full submission is available below.