Consultation Hub

Welcome to the Consultation Hub. This site will help you find, share and participate in consultations that interest you. Below you will find links to the consultations we are currently running.

Alternatively you may search for consultations by keyword, interest or status. Once finalised, decisions will be published under Closed Consultations.

Open Consultations

  • NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee Consultation February 2026

    The NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee (EAC) was established in an ongoing capacity by the Australian Government in response to the NDIS Review . The EAC will make recommendations to government on the safety, suitability and value for money of supports for NDIS funding , drawing on the best...

    Closes 29 March 2026

  • Have Your Say: New Public Immunisation Dashboards

    We are seeking your feedback to help design new public immunisation dashboards that make data from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) easier to find, understand and use. Your feedback will help shape the design and content of the dashboards to ensure they are useful, clear and meet the...

    Closes 31 March 2026

  • Strengthening disability safeguards through Community Visitor Schemes

    The Australian Government is working with states and territories to make disability Community Visitor Schemes (CVS) more consistent across Australia. This follows the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability ’s recommendation for...

    Closes 3 April 2026

  • Restricting Infant Formula Marketing in Australia

    In October 2024, the Australian Government announced its intention to mandate the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers (MAIF) Agreement . The MAIF Agreement was a voluntary agreement between infant formula manufacturers and importers to not advertise and...

    Closes 17 April 2026

  • Aged Care Reform Sector Pulse Survey

    The Aged Care Reform Sector Pulse Survey is an opportunity for the aged care sector to tell us how things are going and what support you need from us. We want to hear from aged care providers, assessors and workers to understand: your experience with the recent changes to aged care...

    Closes 20 April 2026

Forthcoming Consultations

  • Drug and Alcohol Program Consultations - Stage 2

    Overview Thank you to everyone who provided feedback as part of the Stage 1 consultations on the Drug and Alcohol Program (DAP) Reforms. When this stage closed on 13 March 2026 the department received over 70 detailed responses that it is currently working through. Updated...

    Opens 27 March 2026

Closed Consultations

  • Weekly Bed Availability Request - 20 March 2026

    Please complete the survey by close of business today. Bed availability information will be submitted to the Tasmanian Health Service (THS) by close of business Tuesday 24 March 2026. It will assist discharge discussions and pathways from acute care to aged care for older...

    Closed 24 March 2026

  • Spinal cord stimulator post-listing review impact assessment

    We are completing an impact assessment on the proposed outcomes of the spinal cord stimulator post-listing review. We invite stakeholders to provide feedback on how the proposed changes might affect them. Spinal cord stimulators (SCS) are implanted under the skin and treat certain types of...

    Closed 23 March 2026

  • Have Your Say: Regulatory Options for Counsellors and Psychotherapists

    You are invited to participate in a consultation on regulatory models that could be used to implement the National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists. Nous Group has been engaged by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (the Department) to undertake research and engage...

    Closed 20 March 2026

  • Weekly Bed Availability Request - 13 March 2026

    Please complete the survey by close of business today. Bed availability information will be submitted to the Tasmanian Health Service (THS) by close of business Tuesday 17 March 2026. It will assist discharge discussions and pathways from acute care to aged care for older...

    Closed 17 March 2026

  • Drug and Alcohol Program Consultations - Phase 1

    Responsibility for alcohol and other drugs (AOD) policy is shared by the Australian and state and territory governments, with distinct but complementary roles. States and territories have primary responsibility for AOD services at the jurisdictional level. This includes leading the...

    Closed 13 March 2026

We Asked, You Said, We Did

Here are some of the issues we have consulted on and their outcomes. See all outcomes

We asked

Between 27 November 2025 and 14 January 2026, we sought your feedback on the consultation version of the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) prepared for the DIR 221 licence application (Clinical trial of a genetically modified (GM) Escherichia coli for the treatment of ulcerative colitis from Melius MicroBiomics Pty Ltd).

You said

During the 7-week consultation period, we received advice from prescribed Government agencies, and the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee.

We heard support for:

  • the overall conclusions of the RARMP
  • the licence conditions for DIR 221.

We heard concerns for:

  • potential negative impacts on people and the environment
  • the limits and controls proposed in the draft licence.

We did

We analysed the feedback provided during the public consultation process in finalising the RARMP. The issues raised and how they were addressed can be found in Appendix A of the final RARMP.

The Gene Technology Regulator issued a licence to Melius MicroBiomics Pty Ltd for the clinical trial with the GM E. coli on 4 February 2026. More details, including the final version of the RARMP and the licence, are available at DIR 221 | Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.

We appreciate all those who provided input to the consultation – your feedback will help to ensure that any risks posed by gene technology to people and the environment continue to be managed

We asked

Between 28 October 2025 and 10 November 2025, we sought feedback on proposed improvements to the Health Insurance (Bonded Medical Program) Rule 2020.

You said

We heard from over 300 current and former legacy and statutory Program participants, universities and professional bodies who provided feedback on the proposed changes.

We heard support for:

  • Removal of the ‘fellowship’ requirement, enabling all participants to commence and complete their Return of Service Obligation (RoSO) earlier in their career.
  • Increased flexibility for former Bonded Medical Places Scheme participants with a 52 week RoSO by allowing pro-rata part time RoSO.
  • Minimising evidence administration to reduce the administrative burden for participants.
  • Altering telehealth eligibility to the location of the provider only.

We heard concerns about changes:

  • To location eligibility impacting participants’ ability to return service.
  • Being applied inconsistently to legacy and statutory Program participants.
  • Adding to existing administration and communication challenges.

We did

Feedback from this survey shaped the advice provided to the Minister. Should changes be made to the Rule, they will commence the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. We will keep participants informed about implementation progress.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this consultation.

We asked

Between 8 September and 3 November 2025, we sought your feedback on the consultation version of the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) prepared for licence application DIR 218 for the commercial release of a genetically modified (GM) tomato from All Aussie Avocados Pty Ltd, trading as All Aussie Farmers.

You said

During the 8-week consultation period, we received advice from prescribed Government agencies, the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee, and the public.

We heard support for:

  • the overall conclusions of the RARMP
  • the licence conditions for DIR 218

We also heard concerns for:

  • the potential negative impacts on people and the environment
  • the potential for horizontal gene transfer of the antibiotic resistance gene
  • the potential for increased weediness as a result of the introduced genes.

We did

We analysed the feedback provided during the public consultation process in finalising the RARMP. The issues raised and how they were addressed can be found in Appendices B and C of the final RARMP.

The Gene Technology Regulator issued a licence to All Aussie Avocados Pty Ltd for the commercial release of a GM tomato on 6 January 2026. More details, including the final version of the RARMP and the licence, are available at DIR 218 | Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.

We appreciate all those who provided input to the consultation – your feedback will help to ensure that any risks posed by gene technology to people and the environment continue to be managed.