The Albanese Government has introduced legislation to deliver on its commitment to establish an independent Australian Centre for Disease Control.
The Australian CDC will be an independent statutory agency that brings together critical information and experts to protect Australia from diseases and other threats to public health.
The Australian CDC will provide high quality analysis and advice on public health risks to governments and the Australian community. It will also promote and coordinate action to prepare for, and respond to, these risks.
The Australian CDC will be led by a Director-General, and following the passing of legislation, will be operational from 1 January 2026.
Before we came to Government, Australia was the only OECD country without a CDC equivalent.
The former Government had not led a national pandemic drill for 12 years and we were woefully under prepared for the COVID pandemic.
As the COVID-19 Inquiry Report highlighted, Australia went into the COVID pandemic with no playbook for the pandemic, limited readiness of the National Medical Stockpile, and badly stretched aged and health care systems.
The COVID-19 Inquiry called for an Australian CDC and that is what the Albanese Government is delivering.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"The Albanese Government is establishing an Australian Centre for Disease Control - delivering on our commitment to create an independent agency that will help protect Australia from diseases and public health threats.
"We know there will be another pandemic and the Australian CDC will make sure we are better prepared."
