Australia: The Healthiest Country by 2020

The Preventative Health Taskforce was established in April 2008 to develop a National Preventative Health Strategy, focussing on the preventable risk factors of obesity, tobacco use and the harmful consumption of alcohol.

The National Preventative Health Strategy Fact sheet

The Strategy
Targets
Key recommendations

Obesity
Tobacco
Alcohol
Infrastructure

The Preventative Health Taskforce was established in April 2008 to develop a National Preventative Health Strategy, focussing on the preventable risk factors of obesity, tobacco use and the harmful consumption of alcohol.

In developing the Strategy, the Taskforce released its discussion paper Australia: the healthiest country by 2020 in October 2008. The Taskforce received around 400 submissions in response to the discussion paper and conducted 40 consultations with almost 1,000 stakeholders in capital cities and select regional centres. The views of all consulted parties and all submissions were considered in the development of the Strategy.

The Strategy

The Strategy was submitted to the Government on 30 June 2009, and the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP, released it publicly on 1 September 2009.

The Strategy will be considered within the broader health reform agenda and in conjunction with the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s report, and the draft Primary Health Care Strategy.

The National Preventative Health Strategy seeks to curb the lifestyle related risk factors driving the growth in preventable chronic disease and specifically targets obesity, tobacco and the excessive consumption of alcohol. The Strategy:

• sees markets and environments supporting people to make healthy choices;
• proposes the close engagement of industry, employers, the non-government sector and other stakeholders; and
• addresses prevention across the life course from conception to ageing.

Targets

The Strategy puts forward a number of recommendations aiming to make Australia the healthiest nation by 2020. Specifically, the Strategy aims to:

• halt and reverse the rise in overweight and obesity
• reduce the prevalence of daily smoking to 10% or less
• reduce the proportion of Australians who drink at short-term risky/high-risk levels to 14%, and the proportion of Australians who drink at long-term risky/high-risk levels to 7%
• contribute to the ‘Close the Gap’ target for Indigenous people, reducing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people These targets have been aligned with similar targets set by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) for the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health and the National Healthcare Agreement.

Key recommendations from the Strategy:

Obesity

• A new Prime Minister’s Active Living Council to lead reforms to the built environment, transport and sport and active recreation to help restore physical activity to daily living; and preparation of a Business Case for an “Active Living National Partnership Agreement” for COAG consideration.
• A Healthy Food Compact between governments, industry and non-government organisations with voluntary targets to drive change; work with industry, health and consumer groups to introduce food labelling on front of pack and on menus to support healthier food choices.
• Phase out television advertising to children of unhealthy food & beverage products within four years through a staged approach commencing with monitoring effectiveness of voluntary industry codes.
• Implement a comprehensive, sustained social marketing strategy to increase healthy eating, physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour, building on the “Measure Up” campaign.
• Implement comprehensive workplace health programs, including development of a national accord to promote best practice
• Establish a national series of comprehensive five-year intervention trials in low SES and Indigenous communities
• Incorporate Health and Physical Education for all Australian children into the second stage of National Curriculum development; monitor a requirement for at least two hours of physical activity per week for students K–10; and expand coverage of out-of-school-care programs.

Tobacco

• Ensure that the average price of a packet of 30 cigarettes is at least $20 within three years;
• Develop and implement effective and sustained national social marketing campaigns to reduce smoking (building on COAG Preventive Health Partnership tobacco initiative).
• Eliminate the promotion of tobacco products through design of packaging and amend the Trade Practices CPIS (Tobacco) Regulations 2004 to specify exact requirements for plain packaging.
• Place specialist Tobacco Control Workers in Indigenous community health organisations to build capacity at the local health service level to develop and deliver tobacco control activities.

Alcohol

• States and Territories to harmonise liquor control regulations by developing and implementing best practice nationally consistent approaches to the policing and enforcement of liquor control laws; and develop a business case for a new COAG National Partnership Agreement on policing and enforcement of liquor control laws and regulations.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive and sustained social marketing and public education strategy, building on the National Binge Drinking Campaign and state campaigns to help build a national consensus on healthy alcohol consumption, and raise awareness and understanding of NHMRC guidelines.
• In a staged approach, phase out alcohol promotions from times and placements which have high exposure to young people aged up to 25 years, including advertising during live sport broadcasts and sponsorship of sport and cultural events.
• Commission independent modeling for a rationalised tax and excise regime for alcohol based on a tiered volumetric approach that discourages harmful consumption and promotes safer consumption; and direct a proportion of revenue from alcohol taxation towards initiatives that prevent alcohol-related societal harm.
• Develop a more comprehensive network of alcohol-related referral services and programs to support behaviour change in primary healthcare, including in Indigenous communities.

Infrastructure

• Establish National Prevention Agency to implement comprehensive social marketing strategies, provide a national clearing house for monitoring and evaluation of national prevention policies and programs, and publish annual reports on the state of preventative health.
• Create web-based register to share good practice in prevention, and conduct periodic surveys of barriers and enablers to action. Establish national recognition and awards scheme for outstanding contributions, large and small, to making Australia the healthiest country by 2020.
• Undertake a workforce audit and develop a preventive health workforce strategy.
• Establish prevention as priority for Health Workforce Australia Agency.
• Implement and extend the National Health Risk Survey program.
• Develop a National Strategic Framework for preventive health research supported by strategic research fund, research register and network of prevention research centres.

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