Frequently asked questions

The Agency was established on 1 January 2011, following the commencement of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Act 2010 on the same day.

The Agency will contribute to improving health outcomes for Australians by helping to turn the tide on the rising prevalence of preventable chronic diseases. The Agency will support all Australian Health Ministers in managing the complex challenges of preventable chronic diseases.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Agency is responsible for supporting Australian Health Ministers in their efforts to combat preventable disease. The functions of the CEO are set out in section 11 of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Act 2010
(the Act) and are:

• if requested to do so by the Minister for Health and Ageing, or on his or her own initiative, to advise and make recommendations to the Minister on matters relating to preventive health;
• if requested to do so, in writing, by the Chair of the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference, to advise and make recommendations to the Ministerial Conference on matters relating to preventive health;
• if requested to do so, in writing, by a state or territory government or the Australian Local Government Association, to advise and make recommendations to the state or territory government or the Australian Local Government Association, as the case may be, on matters relating to preventive health;
• to collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate information relating to preventive health;
• every 2 years, starting in 2013, to publish a report on the state of preventive health in Australia;
• to conduct educational, promotional and community awareness programs relating to preventive health, including:
  • the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition;
  • reducing tobacco use;
  • minimising the harmful drinking of alcohol;
  • discouraging substance abuse; and
  • reducing the incidence of obesity amongst Australians;
• to make, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, grants of financial assistance relating to preventive health;
• to encourage initiatives relating to preventive health matters through partnerships with industry, non-governmental organisations and the community sector;
• to develop national standards and codes of practice relating to preventive health matters;
• to manage schemes that provide awards to participants to recognise excellent performance in matters relating to preventive health;
• to perform any other function relating to preventive health that is set out in a legislative instrument made by the Minister; and
• to do anything incidental to, or conducive to, the performance of any of the above functions.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to establish the Agency in November 2008, as part of the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health. The creation of a national preventive health agency was also recommended in the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s Report (released in July 2009) and in the final report of the National Preventative Health Taskforce (released in September 2009).

The Australian Government committed $872 million over six years (commencing in 2009-10) under the COAG Prevention NP for a range of initiatives targeting the lifestyle risk factors of chronic disease. ANPHA received $133.2m of this funding over four years, allocated to social marketing campaigns ($102.0m), Agency functions ($17.6m), the research fund ($13.1m), and a workforce audit ($0.6m).

The COAG NP initiatives include:

• settings-based interventions in early childhood centres, schools, workplaces and communities to support behavioural changes in the social contexts of everyday lives, and focusing on poor nutrition, physical inactivity, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption (including binge drinking);
• social marketing aimed at obesity and tobacco; and
• the enabling infrastructure to monitor and evaluate progress made by these interventions, including the Agency.

The Agency will be responsible for some of the initiatives under the Prevention NP, including:

• national-level social marketing campaigns targeting obesity and smoking;
• a preventive health research fund focusing on translational research to support policy development; and
• an audit of the preventive health workforce available to support the implementation of the settings-based interventions funded through the Prevention NP and a strategy to address any identified gaps.

Good and bad health are unevenly distributed and Australians with less money, less education, and insecure working conditions are much more likely to experience illness and to die earlier. These disparities are especially acute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, those with poor access to prevention and health services, those with limited access to affordable healthy lifestyle choices, people living with a mental illness and people with other disabilities.

Prevention is, of course, better than cure. Investing in health prevention also makes economic sense. We have an ageing population. The cost of and demand for health care is rising. People in poor health – often from avoidable conditions – generally have lower rates of labour market participation, retire earlier and are less productive if at work. We know much ill health is unavoidable but where it can be avoided this offers enormous benefits for individuals, families, the health care system and the economy more generally.

This is not just the view of the Australian Government – it is the message coming through internationally, from bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank www.worldbank.org and the World Health Organization.

The Australian National Preventive Health Agency Act 2010 provides that the Agency’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) must cause a copy of any advice given or recommendations made in undertaking the CEO’s functions to be published on the Agency’s web site within 12 months of providing the advice or making the recommendations.

Under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, the CEO must manage the affairs of the Agency in a way that promotes the efficient, effective, economical and ethical use of resources in a manner that is not inconsistent with the policies of the Commonwealth Government (for example, Commonwealth procurement guidelines.) The Agency is also subject to the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 and reports in accordance with the Finance Minister’s Orders for financial reporting.

The CEO must also, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, prepare and give to the Minister for Health and Ageing, for presentation to the Parliament of Australia, a report (an annual report) on the Agency’s operations during that year.

Staff of the Agency are engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 and must uphold the APS Values and the APS Code of conduct.

The Agency’s governance arrangements are spelled out in the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Act 2010. The Agency is a statutory authority consisting of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Agency staff. The Agency is also a prescribed agency for the purposes of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 and staff are engaged under the Public Service Act 1999. These three Acts provide important governance requirements for Agency staff, the Advisory Council and the CEO.

Specifically, the Act outlines the governance and accountability framework in relation to the drafting and approval of the Agency’s five-year strategic and annual operational plans, and annual financial reports.

An Advisory Council, which is ministerially appointed and consists of Australian government, state and territory government representatives and individuals with preventive health expertise, will support the CEO by providing advice and recommendations on preventive health matters, particularly focusing on those identified in the Agency’s five-year strategic and annual operational plans.

Under section 30 of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Act 2010,

1. The Advisory Council’s function is:
   1. on its own initiative, to provide advice and make recommendations to the CEO in relation to the CEO’s functions under section 11; and
   2. at the request of the CEO, to provide advice and make recommendations to the CEO in relation to the CEO’s functions under this Act.
2. When acting on its own initiative, the Advisory Council must carry out its function in a manner that is consistent with the strategic plan and annual operational plan (including any interim plan) that is in force.
3. The Advisory Council has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connection with the performance of its function.
4. To avoid doubt, the Advisory Council cannot give any directions to the CEO.

Example: The Advisory Council could not direct the CEO in relation to the management of the ANPHA.

The CEO and Advisory Council members are appointed by the Minister for Health and Ageing in consultation with the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference.