Governments will target greater use of discharge summaries and Healthcare Identifiers before turning to a new national health data governance framework and system under the five-year reform strategy.
Governments have put a timetable around digital health and data reforms under the new National Health Reform Agreement, beginning with greater uptake of discharge summaries and Healthcare Identifiers.
The 2026-31 National Health Reform Strategy, endorsed by health ministers on Friday, includes a national priority to “modernise and connect our systems through data and digital health”.
The strategy says the aim is to deliver “a modern, digitally connected health system to support faster, safer and more consistent sharing of patient information”.
Governments will develop and implement roadmaps between 2026-27 and 2028-29 for better uptake of discharge summaries and Healthcare Identifiers, intended to support smoother transitions between public hospitals and other care settings.
The strategy then provides for governments to “adopt and expand digital enablers” across the later years of the agreement.
It does not, however, specify in the strategy what those digital enablers will be or provide detailed implementation targets for their adoption.
National health data system
The digital work will be accompanied by a separate program to change how health data is governed and shared nationally.
Governments are expected to develop a National Health Data System Governance Framework for authorised data sharing during 2027-28 and 2028-29.
That will be followed in 2029-30 and 2030-31 by work to “design and develop a National Health Data System”.
The commitments sit within the strategy’s broader governance objective to improve whole-of-system measurement and support evidence-informed decision-making.
Related
The strategy also requires the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to develop a new Health System Performance Assessment Framework and produce its first annual reports by June 2027.
Regular reporting under that framework, including health system and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander report cards, will subsequently be provided to health ministers.
The five-year strategy is the implementation roadmap for reforms agreed under the 2026-31 National Health Reform Agreement and will be reviewed as implementation progresses.
Read the 2026-31 National Health Reform Strategy.