Policy and Advocacy Library
The library is the culmination of the collaborative work of RACP members and comprises a comprehensive range of evidence-based, published RACP position statements, policies and submissions.
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Topic
Occupational and environmental health
Description
This RACP feedback, led by AFOEM, together with the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) and the Australian and New Zealand Society of Occupational Medicine (ANZSOM) provides comments on the 12-month review of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry (NORDR). The NORDR was established in May 2024 and collects data on silicosis (mandatory reporting for occupational and environmental medicine physicians and respiratory medicine physicians). The feedback highlights how the NORDR could play a larger role in the prevention of occupational respiratory diseases, describing the solutions, and ways physicians can be further engaged.
Description
The RACP submitted to the Education and Workforce Select Committee’s Inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders encounter online, and the roles the Government, business, and society should play in addressing those harms. Our submission advocates for a public health approach to regulating children/tamariki and young people/rangatahi’s online activity and calls for the Government to ensure that social media platforms are accountable for creating safer online environments for children and young people, as well as enabling safer online environments into adulthood.
Description
The RACP and the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) have published their shared priorities to advance Australia’s digital health transformation. These include upskilling the health workforce, funding mechanisms that incentivise the use of digital tools, and implementing the AI in Healthcare National Policy Roadmap. Together, these priorities strengthen national digital health strategies and position Australia as a global leader in digital innovation and better care for all Australians.
Description
Our feedback to Ahpra on its draft - Guidance: Sexual Misconduct and the National Law emphasises the need for clearer definitions, proportionality, strong evidentiary standards, and safeguards to ensure fair, transparent, and trauma-informed regulation in the interests of physicians, trainees and patients. It calls on Ahpra to clearly differentiate serious criminal or predatory behaviours from lower-level or inadvertent conduct to avoid conflating conduct issues and undermining regulatory credibility. The feedback stresses that legitimate human interactions, empathy and appropriate clinical care must not be over-regulated and that the Guidance must be subjected to routine evaluation and consultation.
Topic
Occupational and environmental health
Description
The RACP provided feedback to Safe Work Australia on the draft model Code of Practice on managing biological hazards at work, for employers of all workplaces. This Code addresses hazards which include viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi such as mould, and is critical to safeguarding workplace health. Key points in the feedback underlined the complexity of these hazards in the workplace, referenced to a risk model, and noted where the value of employers seeking expert advice should be highlighted in the document.
Topic
Child health and young adult medicine
Description
The RACP, ASDP and ACAH wrote to The Hon. Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Ageing and Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and Senator the Hon Jenny McAllister, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, regarding the Thriving Kids initiative.
Topic
Palliative medicine
Description
The RACP submitted to Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora on their proposal for a National Model for Integrated Adult Palliative Care, saying the proposed model provided a useful model of care, with potential to transform the delivery of palliative care in Aotearoa New Zealand. The submission also called for sustained government funding for both the primary and specialist palliative care components, to support this model and improve palliative care services.
Description
Our feedback on the ACSQHC draft Foundations of High-Quality Care advocates for a practical clinical governance model that strengthens safe, high-quality care while protecting workforce wellbeing. Our response calls for reducing duplication, embedding protections against misuse of governance processes, and ensuring adequate staffing, supervision, and culturally safe environments. We emphasise the need for integrated care and collaborative commissioning, promote value-based care, and highlight the emerging challenges of artificial intelligence for clinical governance.
Description
The RACP submitted to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) on their draft Working with AI in healthcare policy for ACC-registered health providers. The submission focused its feedback on the key principles proposed by ACC, including maintaining human oversight, transparency, training and education, legal and regulatory requirements, ACC policy requirements, and informed consent. The RACP noted that equity was not mentioned in the policy and advocated for its inclusion as a key principle.
Description
This RACP submission provides College feedback to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s review of legislative instruments underpinning the My Health Record system. It highlights barriers to specialist engagement, including limited incentives, technical challenges, and privacy concerns. The submission recommends targeted reforms to improve usability, interoperability, and access controls, alongside enhanced education and support for clinicians. It also outlines implementation enablers such as specialist-specific incentives, structured data standards, and monitoring frameworks to ensure My Health Record evolves into a secure, inclusive, and clinically valuable tool for coordinated care.
