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Australia’s new Centre for Disease Control, a national safeguard for public health

Written by Tom Veale

 

In the wake of multiple public health emergencies, including the 2019-2020 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian Government announced their plan to establish a national authority dedicated to public health and disease control to better prepare for and respond to future emergencies. The authority that was set up to achieve this is the Australian Centre of Disease Control (CDC).

 

 

In this article, we explore the responsibilities, achievements and future goals of the Australian CDC and how it plans to guide future public health interventions in Australia.

 

 

The need for CDC

 

The announcement of the Australian CDC followed from the COVID-19 Response Inquiry Report. This report found that a national CDC could help Australia identify prevention strategies and improve its preparedness for future health emergencies, as well as address critical gaps that were identified during Australia’s health response to the pandemic.

 

 

The interim Australian CDC was launched on 1 January 2024 as the first step in the government’s phased approach, with plans for the Australian CDC to be formally launched on 1 January 2026.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CDC’s responsibilities

 

Functionally, the interim CDC has taken over key areas from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Among these include:

 

  • Publishing health alerts: alerting Australians about outbreaks within Australia as well as those that may affect Australians travelling overseas
  • Monitoring and reporting communicable diseases: developing national policies, strategies and guidelines
  • National and international disease surveillance: detecting emerging or re-emerging disease via, e.g., wastewater
  • Improving environmental health: providing guidelines for air and water quality, or through reports on effective pest and disease control
  • Emergency health management: including the management of the National Medical Stockpile which contains a supply of vaccines, antidotes, and PPE in the event of a national health emergency.

 

 

Current achievements

 

Since its establishment at the beginning of 2024, the interim Australian CDC has already conducted a number of initiatives to strengthen Australia’s preparedness for future health emergencies and improve the health of Australian’s. These initiatives include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public health plans

Developing partnerships

Following its establishment, the CDC hopes to improve the national response to public health emergencies by developing stronger partnerships across Commonwealth agencies and between the individual states and territories. With national capabilities, the CDC will be able to complement the roles and responsibilities of the Commonwealth and state/territory governments, as well as enhance international connections.

 

 

Future and ongoing initiatives

The Interim CDC has also outlined a range of future initiatives. For example, the National Wastewater Surveillance Program is expected to begin later in 2025 and will help detect priority diseases like COVID-19 and influenza by monitoring wastewater across Australia. While wastewater surveillance already occurs across individual states and territories in Australia, the CDC will be running the three-year national program to evaluate its efficacy and determine whether it should continue.

 

 

Furthermore, an ongoing initiative is the One Health unit, which isn’t a specific program but a broader approach to public health that positions the health of humans, animals, and the environment as interdependent and intrinsically linked. The One Health approach has been promoted by the World Health Organisation as beneficial for addressing the full spectrum of disease control, as well as enhancing global health security. The Australian CDC’s One Health approach will guide Australian policies and programs for an effective response to future health challenges.

 

 

Public trust

Another key feature of the Australian CDC is the hope that having a national authority dedicated to public health and disease control will increase population trust in public health interventions, as there will be a clear authoritative voice when it comes to expert knowledge on disease prevention and control in Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closing remarks

 

With the establishment of an Australia Centre for Disease Control, Australia should hopefully be better equipped to manage future public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside this, having an expert voice on disease and pest control will be important in maintaining a strong national biosecurity.

 

 

While the interim CDC has already commenced certain responsibilities and initiatives, the Australian CDC should officially commence 1 January 2026 once legislation has passed.

 

 

 

 

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