Australian Commonwealth Government Research Articles

From carrot to stick – the impact of a changing landscape of CCS policy and funding in Australia since 1999

Since 1999 successive Australian Commonwealth governments have provided direct funding for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects, notably the carbon capture and storage (CCS) Flagships Fund (Rudd government, 2009). The most recent CCUS Hubs and Technologies Fund (Morrison government, 2022) was later revoked (Albanese government, 2022) marking a shift from direct funding (‘carrot’) to emission reduction through a strengthening of the Safeguard Mechanism, the introduction of a 43% emissions reduction target by 2030, and the establishment of the Net Zero Authority (‘stick’). Reports such as the ‘Net Zero Mobilisation Report’, have delineated the need for, and size of, the role of CCUS in Australia, especially for hard-to-abate sectors and the report states ‘private investment in a CCUS industry requires targeted government support’ i.e. funding. As government focus moves from direct funding support for CCS to CCU and direct air capture (DAC), the development of underground geological storage of carbon dioxide will be largely left to fossil fuel emitters, especially large liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies, reflected in current Western Australian government policy (Cook government, 2023) to develop CCS strategy as part of the LNG Jobs Taskforce. The only current exception is CarbonNet, operated by the Victorian government and one of the early CCS Flagship funded projects.

Aboriginal plant foods policy in Australia: a critical discourse analysis

ABSTRACT The Australian continent has over 6500 edible endemic plant species, fourteen of which have been certified for commercial consumption. This paper seeks to critically analyze select Australian Commonwealth Government policy relating to these Aboriginal plant foods. The aim is to purposefully examine the positioning of non-Indigenous people in Aboriginal plant foods policy discourse and reveal tacit settler colonial power relations. This is in response to a call to action from Indigenous scholars to examine how settler colonialism manifests in regulatory mechanisms, such as government policy. This paper offers a theoretically informed critical discourse analysis methodology for examining Australian Commonwealth Government policy relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. Analysis comprised an explanation of the socio-political context of Aboriginal policymaking in Australia, textual analysis of policy texts related to Aboriginal plant foods and an interpretation of discourse practice to reveal how policy discourse tacitly promotes ideological agendas. This analysis revealed that Australian Commonwealth Government Aboriginal plant foods policy is framed according to settler terms and upholds neoliberal interests. Considerable rethinking is required about how power is exercised in Commonwealth Government policy relating to Aboriginal plant foods to ensure it does not replicate and perpetuate unjust settler colonial power relations.

Accounts of harm and conflicts of interest in transvaginal mesh: Professional evaluations during an Australian Senate Inquiry

Transvaginal mesh (TVM) surgeries were introduced as an innovative treatment for stress urine incontinency (SUI) and/or pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in 1996. Years after rapid adoption of these surgeries into practice, it emerged that TVM-associated adverse events were uncommon but potentially severe. This initiated global action, including an Australian Commonwealth Government Senate Inquiry, in 2017. This inquiry was both a causal factor in, and surrounded by, a significant epistemic shift towards recognition of women's own accounts of their experience. The Inquiry generated copious data, mostly publicly available. There has been no systematic investigation of how professional stakeholders—clinicians, health services, regulators and manufacturers—contributed to the epistemic environment of this inquiry. MethodWe analysed 42 submissions made by professional stakeholders to this inquiry, and documents from 5 public hearings. We used framework analysis methods, applying deductive and developing inductive codes from the documents, and charting patterns across the documents.Our aim was to map:1. Professionals’ contribution to the epistemic environment of this inquiry;2. How professional actors constructed TVM-associated problems and proposed potential solutions; and,3. The relevance of conflicts of interest in TVM-associated harms. ResultsWe categorised the reasoning of professionals into two groups:a. Contesting the significance of, or evidence for, TVM-associated harms; andb. Denying or minimising conflict of interest.Professionals’ advocacy regarding policy solutions emphasised incremental change, aiming to retain TVM procedures to treat SUI and, under certain conditions, POP. ConclusionContestation regarding harms led to a testimonial quietening of TVM-affected women's interests. The close and normalised relationship between treating professionals and TVM manufacturers may have created a conflicted environment for practice. It seems unlikely that self-regulation will be adequate to ensure that harms are minimised, conflicts of interests well-managed, and patients' interests are the first priority when innovative surgical treatment options become available to practice.

Patients’ perspectives on quality and patient safety failures: lessons learned from an inquiry into transvaginal mesh in Australia

BackgroundTransvaginal mesh (TVM) surgeries emerged as an innovative treatment for stress urine incontinency and/or pelvic organ prolapse in 1996. Years after rapid adoption of these surgeries into practice, they are a key example of worldwide failure of healthcare quality and patient safety. The prevalence of TVM-associated harms eventually prompted action globally, including an Australian Commonwealth Government Senate Inquiry in 2017.MethodWe analysed 425 submissions made by women (n = 417) and their advocates (n = 8) to the Australian Senate Inquiry, and documents from 5 public hearings, using deductive and inductive coding, categorisation and thematic analysis informed by three ‘linked dilemmas’ from healthcare quality and safety theory. We focused on women’s accounts of: a) how harms arose from TVM procedures, and b) micro, meso and macro factors that contributed to their experience. Our aim was to explain, from a patient perspective, how these harms persisted in Australian healthcare, and to identify mechanisms at micro, meso and macro levels explaining quality and safety system failure.ResultsOur findings suggest three mechanisms explaining quality and safety failure: 1. Individual clinicians could ignore cases of TVM injury or define them as ‘non-preventable’; 2. Women could not go beyond their treating clinicians to participate in defining and governing quality and safety; and. 3. Health services set thresholds for concern based on proportion of cases harmed, not absolute number or severity of harms.ConclusionWe argue that privileging clinical perspectives over patient perspectives in evaluating TVM outcomes allowed micro-level actors to dismiss women’s lived experience, such that women’s accounts of harms had insufficient or no weight at meso and macro levels. Establishing system-wide expectations regarding responsiveness to patients, and communication of patient reported outcomes in evaluation of healthcare delivery, may help prevent similar failures.

The Healthcare and Societal Costs of Familial Intellectual Disability.

Most of the studies on the cost of intellectual disability are limited to a healthcare perspective or cohorts composed of individuals where the etiology of the condition is a mixture of genetic and non-genetic factors. When used in policy development, these can impact the decisions made on the optimal allocation of resources. In our study, we have developed a static microsimulation model to estimate the healthcare, societal, and lifetime cost of individuals with familial intellectual disability, an inheritable form of the condition, to families and government. The results from our modeling show that the societal costs outweighed the health costs (approximately 89.2% and 10.8%, respectively). The lifetime cost of familial intellectual disability is approximately AUD 7 million per person and AUD 10.8 million per household. The lifetime costs to families are second to those of the Australian Commonwealth government (AUD 4.2 million and AUD 9.3 million per household, respectively). These findings suggest that familial intellectual disability is a very expensive condition, representing a significant cost to families and government. Understanding the drivers of familial intellectual disability, especially societal, can assist us in the development of policies aimed at improving health outcomes and greater access to social care for affected individuals and their families.

Industrial intelligence, reparations, and German expertise: the Australian Scientific and Technical Mission to Germany, 1945-1950

ABSTRACTAmong the multiplicity of missions that the Allied governments and armed forces sent to Europe towards the end and after World War II to document and exploit Nazi Germany’s wartime scientific and industrial progress was the Australian Scientific and Technical Mission to Germany. Composed of less than a dozen personnel, the Mission was a modest but important component in the Australian Commonwealth Government’s post-war foreign policy towards Germany and expansion of scientific and industrial development. Based at Australia House in London, the Mission worked in close cooperation with British Government departments, and was instrumental in the transnational transfer of German science and technology to Australia between 1946 and 1950 – initially under the auspices of the British Intelligence Objectives Sub-committee, and later through the Inter-Allied Reparation Agency and the Employment of Scientific and Technical Enemy Aliens scheme.

Why the Australian Commonwealth Government has a Central Role in Addressing Concussion Concerns in Australian Sport

The neurological sequelae of repetitive head impacts (RHIs) in Australian sport has come under intense public scrutiny. Class action litigation against the Australian Football League (AFL) is shaping up to be a ‘battle of the experts’ and could examine long term neurodegenerative disease. The Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into Concussions and Repeated Head Trauma in Contact Sports has conducted public hearings, due to report its recommendations in August 2023. As a high-profile public health concern, we strongly support a central role for the Australian Commonwealth Government to engage its agencies representing public health, sport and education towards a national approach.

Depot buprenorphine as an opioid agonist therapy in New South Wales correctional centres: a costing model

BackgroundIn 2019 daily liquid methadone and sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone were primary opioid agonist treatments for correctional centres in New South Wales, Australia. However, both had significant potential for diversion to other patients, and their daily administration was resource intensive. An alternative treatment in the form of subcutaneous depot buprenorphine became a viable option following a safety trial in 2020 – the UNLOC-T study. Depot preparation demonstrated advantages over current treatments as more difficult to divert and requiring fewer administrations. This paper reports the results of economic modelling of staffing costs in medication administration comparing depot buprenorphine, methadone, and sublingual buprenorphine provision in UNLOC-T trial facilities.MethodsThe costing study adopted a micro-costing approach involving the synthesis of cost data from the UNLOC-T clinical trial as well as data collected from Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network records. Labour and materials data were collected during site observations and interviews. Costs were calculated from two payer perspectives: a) the New South Wales (state) government which funds custodial and health services; and b) the Australian Commonwealth government, which pays for medications. The analysis compared the monthly-per-patient cost for each of the three medications in trial-site facilities during July 2019. This was followed by simulation of depot buprenorphine implementation across the study population. Costs associated with medical assessment and reviews were excluded.ResultsThe monthly-per-patient New South Wales government service costs of depot buprenorphine, methadone and sublingual buprenorphine were: $151, $379 and $1,529 respectively while Commonwealth government medication costs were $434, $80 and $525. The implementation simulation found that service costs of depot buprenorphine declined as patients transitioned from weekly to monthly administration. Costs of treatment using the other medications increased as patient numbers decreased alongside fixed costs. At 12 months, monthly-per-patient service costs for depot buprenorphine, methadone and sublingual buprenorphine—which would be completely phased out by month 13—were $92, $530 and $2,162 respectively.ConclusionsDepot buprenorphine was consistently the least costly of the treatment options. Future modelling could allow for dynamic patient populations and downstream impacts for participants and the state health system.Trial registrationACTRN12618000942257. Registered 4 June 2018.

Public Health Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: The Role of the Morrison Government.

The Australian Commonwealth government has four health-related responsibilities during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: to provide national leadership; to manage external borders; to protect residents of residential aged care facilities; and to approve, procure and roll-out tests and vaccines. State governments are responsible for determining what public health measures are appropriate and implementing them—including managing the border quarantine arrangements and the testing, tracing, and isolation regime—and managing the hospital response. This paper analyses the national government’s response to the pandemic and discusses why it has attracted a thesaurus of negative adjectives.

Past, present and future challenges for Australia's indigenous heritage management national policy

PurposeAustralia appears to be encountering a crisis in the protection of certain heritage places, despite its strong reputation in heritage conservation built up since the 1970s. Consequently, this paper examines changes to national cultural heritage management policy over the last few decades to understand more about this crisis.Design/methodology/approachIndigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage) was selected as the key focus. This paper applies a cultural heritage management framework tested first in Hong Kong to measure Australian paradigm change over 45 years.FindingsIt found the 1990s shift away from the provision of independent technical advice on national heritage policy has had a major impact. This shift is based on a change in ethos away from the earlier Whitlam/National Estate broader vision of heritage responsibilities towards a narrower more conservative one at the national level. Also, it found that studies and policymaking should allow for Indigenous voices. More Indigenous input in heritage policy formulation at all levels of government would further decolonise Indigenous heritage governance to deal justly with Indigenous Australians and their heritage.Research limitations/implicationsResources did not allow for comparative studies of the non-Indigenous (historic) and natural heritage as part of the current study.Practical implicationsThe study also included a consultation paper and an online conference presentation that have raised questions about the efficacy of current national policy on Indigenous places, on which a national conversation is urgently needed. The recent review of the National Heritage Strategy by the Australian Commonwealth Government based some of its proposed options on those listed in the consultation paper to initiate this conversation in a limited way.Social implicationsOne finding is that attention to heritage policy and protection must be ongoing at all levels of government and inclusive of First People's human rights, particularly those concerning their heritage. In regard to Australia, most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents in this study would like to see targeted funding return for more than just iconic Indigenous places and for the creation of a more independent heritage body that allows them more self-determination in the care of their heritage.Originality/valueThe paper's value is that it investigates the Australian Heritage Commission's impact in the development of Australian cultural heritage management and associated national policy. Also, it provides insights for other postcolonial or New World settler societies dealing with the same issues or any decision-makers considering establishing a national independent body to oversee heritage protection and policymaking.

Infection prevention and care bundles addressing health care-associated infections in neonatal care in low-middle income countries: a scoping review.

SummaryBackgroundHealth care-associated infections (HCAI) in neonatal units in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are a major cause of mortality. This scoping review aimed to synthesise published literature on infection prevention and care bundles addressing neonatal HCAI in LMICs and to construct a Classification Framework for their components (elements).MethodsFive electronic databases were searched between January 2001 and July 2020. A mixed-methods approach was applied: qualitative content analysis was used to build a classification framework to categorise bundle elements and the contents of the classification groups were then described quantitatively.Findings3619 records were screened, with 44 eligible studies identified. The bundle element Classification Framework created involved: (1) Primary prevention, (2) Detection, (3) Case management, and Implementation (3 + I). The 44 studies included 56 care bundles with 295 elements that were then classified. Primary prevention elements (128, 43%) predominated of which 71 (55%) focused on central line catheters and mechanical ventilators. Only 12 elements (4%) were related to detection. A further 75 (25%) elements addressed case management and 66 (88%) of these aimed at outbreak control.InterpretationThe 3 + I Classification Framework was a feasible approach to reporting and synthesising research for infection-relevant bundled interventions in neonatal units. A shift towards the use in infection prevention and care bundles of primary prevention elements focused on the neonate and on commonly used hospital devices in LMIC (e.g., self-inflating bags, suctioning equipment) would be valuable to reduce HCAI transmission. Detection elements were a major gap.FundingThis work was made possible in part by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies, The Children's Investment Fund Foundation UK, The Lemelson Foundation, and the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation under agreements to William Marsh Rice University. The project leading to these results has also received the support of a fellowship from the “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434). The fellowship code is LCF/BQ/EU19/11710040. EJAF is an Academic Clinical Fellow whose salary is funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NES receives a Research Training Program Scholarship (Australian Commonwealth Government).

Australian podiatrists' understanding and current practices of reablement for older people: a qualitative exploratory study

BackgroundThe ageing of Australia's population is placing significant pressure on health and social aged care services due to increasing demand for the provision and a relative decrease in the healthcare workforce. Reablement has been introduced by the Australian Commonwealth Government and is aimed at increasing older people's independence to age in place and decreasing dependency on aged care services. To date, research on reablement practice has focussed on interventions from physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and nurses, with no data available on podiatrist involvement. The aim of this research was to explore Australian podiatrists' understanding and current practice of implementing a reablement approach to older clients.MethodsA qualitative exploratory study was conducted with Australian podiatrists who had experience working with older people and were familiar with the reablement model. Podiatrists were recruited after completing a prior web-based survey. Promotion of the web-based survey was via professional networks and Twitter. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Braun and Clarke's approach to thematic analysis.ResultsFourteen podiatrists were interviewed. Using thematic analysis, three themes were generated: (i) Thinking and practicing differently, (ii) Reconciling practice with competing pressures, (ii) Funding influences on podiatry practice and reablement. Rather than identifying practice examples that demonstrate involvement by podiatrists in older peoples reablement, our analysis identified system level barriers which gave negative influence on podiatrists' ability to implement the reablement model.ConclusionsThe participants in this study considered their role in reablement for older people was limited. While some participants felt unskilled to implement the reablement model, it is factors such as inadequate funding arrangements and clients' perceptions of podiatrists' roles have a more significant impact on current practice and are seemingly more intractable.

Access and allocation in fisheries: The Australian experience

In fisheries management, decisions regarding access (which users can fish) and allocation (what share of the resource they can use) often raise issues of justice, fairness and equity. In Australia, ecologically sustainable development (ESD) has been prioritised in fisheries legislation, policy, and management. However, the desired optimal community outcomes arising from determination of access and allocation are difficult to ascertain as few metrics of economic or social benefits are available. Here, we interviewed fishery managers and other prominent stakeholders responsible for advising Australian state, territory, and Commonwealth governments on access and allocation. This information was augmented with reviews of available information and case study analyses. Whereas access and allocation are highly constrained for commercial fishers, this is much less so for recreational and Indigenous fishers. Relatively high participation rates for recreational fishers command high implicit social value reflected in political power and commercial fishing is prohibited near major population centres in most Australian jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions, such as South and Western Australia, have explicit access and allocation policies, with shares of popular species such as rock lobster, abalone, and snapper allocated to the recreational and Indigenous sectors. Allocations to the commercial sector and, when applicable to the recreational sector, generally reflect estimates of their catch history rather than an evaluation of optimal benefits. Furthermore, allocation among jurisdictions is inconsistent and seemingly reflective of political rather than economic decision making. Strategic intent exists in many jurisdictions to incorporate social value into allocation decision making. However, few social metrics exist in management plans and these factors are rarely considered in formal access and allocation decisions. Thus, determining the best use of fisheries resources remains elusive in Australia and the utility of ESD and its application to sustainable fishery management and optimal community benefit remains unresolved.

Ecological consequences of Australian "Black Summer" (2019-20) fires: A synthesis of Australian Commonwealth Government report findings.

During the summer of 2019-2020, more than 15 000 wildfires burned up to 19 million hectares of forest and woodland regions across Australia. These fires culminated in the worst Australian fire season on record, producing what has come to be known as the Australian "Black Summer." The fires have been described as an "ecological disaster," but the scale of the impacts is so extensive that the full ecological consequence may take years to assess. In the immediate aftermath of the Black Summer fires, two major national investigations were established by the Australian Commonwealth Government. By reviewing reports produced by these two investigations, high-level insights into the scale of the ecological consequences of the Black Summer fires have been obtained and are summarized here. Through these insights, the urgency for action to reduce the occurrence, and improve the management, of future comparable fire events is made clear. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:1136-1140. © 2021 SETAC.

Coronavax: preparing community and government for COVID-19 vaccination: a research protocol for a mixed methods social research project

IntroductionAhead of the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccination programme, the interdisciplinary Coronavax research team developed a multicomponent mixed methods project to support successful roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine in Western...

Discover - Communicate - Collaborate

EdNA Online is a unique national collaboration between the Australian Commonwealth government Department of Education, Training and Science and the state Education Departments. This collaboration unites learning communities as it provides free resources and online services to all education sectors, including tertiary, schools, vocational training and adult education. There is access to evaluated curriculum resources in a safe environment. The use of standards to enable sharing between states, territories and national education departments has extended knowledge networks. Free communication tools link teacher librarians, teachers and students and assist engagement in professional development.

Australian private practice metropolitan telepsychiatry during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of Quarter-2, 2020 usage of new MBS-telehealth item psychiatrist services.

Objective:The Australian Commonwealth Government introduced new psychiatrist Medicare-Benefits-Schedule (MBS)-telehealth items in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to assist with previously office-based psychiatric practice. We investigate private psychiatrists’ uptake of (1) video- and telephone-telehealth consultations for Quarter-2 (April–June) of 2020 and (2) total telehealth and face-to-face consultations in Quarter-2, 2020 in comparison to Quarter-2, 2019 for Australia.Methods:MBS item service data were extracted for COVID-19-psychiatrist-video- and telephone-telehealth item numbers and compared with a baseline of the Quarter-2, 2019 (April–June 2019) of face-to-face consultations for the whole of Australia.Results:Combined telehealth and face-to-face psychiatry consultations rose during the first wave of the pandemic in Quarter-2, 2020 by 14% compared to Quarter-2, 2019 and telehealth was approximately half of this total. Face-to-face consultations in 2020 comprised only 56% of the comparative Quarter-2, 2019 consultations. Most telehealth provision was by telephone for short consultations of ⩽15–30 min. Video consultations comprised 38% of the total telehealth provision (for new patient assessments and longer consultations).Conclusions:There has been a flexible, rapid response to patient demand by private psychiatrists using the new COVID-19-MBS-telehealth items for Quarter-2, 2020, and in the context of decreased face-to-face consultations, ongoing telehealth is essential.

Shared leadership, value and risks in large scale transport projects: Re-calibrating procurement policy for post COVID-19

Before the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the Australian Commonwealth and State Governments invested significantly in the upgrade and construction of large-scale transport infrastructure projects (>AU$500 million). However, two trends prevail in Australia. Concessionaires/contractors face a requirement for fixed-price contracts, high levels of risk, and low margins. Concomitantly, an increasing number of projects have experienced significant cost blowouts, with adverse impacts on both the public and private sectors. Calls for the public sector to engage with collaborative procurement approaches to deliver large-scale transport projects, however, have gone unheeded. In this paper, we critically review existing policies and practices used to procure large-scale transport projects and examine the challenges they pose in a post-COVID-19 world. We suggest that the public and private sectors need to work in unison to overcome the significant economic hurdles that COVID-19 presents to the nation's infrastructure demands. We then proffer that governments need to re-calibrate their procurement policies to future-proof their large-scale transport infrastructure projects. To facilitate the process of re-calibration, we develop a theoretical procurement framework for consideration based on the concepts of shared leadership, value creation, and risks. It is envisaged that our procurement framework will provide a platform for engendering economic value and accounting for all-important societal costs and benefits in a world post pandemic.

What are the perceptions of stakeholders on the utility of the nKPIs for Indigenous services?

Abstract Background The Australian Commonwealth Government has introduced national key Performance Indicators, (nKPIs), for Indigenous primary health care services, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs). The nKPIs aim to assist in the monitoring of Indigenous people's health and aid ACCHOs to monitor their service delivery. The nKPI development and its ongoing implementation have involved stakeholders including the Council of Australian Governments; national and jurisdictional ACCHO peak bodies; government departments; software developers, and researchers. While high-level information is available about the nKPIs, there is very little publicly available information about how they were developed and implemented. This presentation discusses perspectives from stakeholders on the development and implementation of the nKPIs. Methods Stakeholder interviews (n = 15) aimed to understand the utility and appropriateness of the nKPIs and barriers/enablers to implementation. Stakeholders with knowledge of the development, management or reporting of the nKPIs were recruited. The analysis was conducted inductively and deductively and organised using NVivo. Results The interviews focused on the history of the nKPIs and the context within which these are collected and managed. Several key themes and sub-themes arose from the stakeholder interviews. These themes included the nKPI purpose, development, implementation, and appropriateness. Several interviewees considered the nKPI development process to be flawed, leading to poor data quality and an increased burden on ACCHOs. Conclusions The ACCHO sectors' needs and perspectives were mostly ignored in the development process. Numerous research papers and government documents highlight the need for active engagement of Indigenous people to be actively engaged in the design of policies, programs, and frameworks seeking to improve the health of Indigenous people. Key messages The nKPI implmentation issues could have been avoided had they been developed in partnership with Indigenous organisations. Indigenous policy development needs to be developed in partnership with Indigenous people.

Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors Affect Fish Abundance: Relationships Revealed by Automated Cameras Deployed by Fishers

This project was funded by the Australian Commonwealth Government through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Project reference: 2011/021.