Stroke Foundation welcomes the Senate's passage of the legislation bill to establish a permanent Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) on November 5 - marking a significant milestone in our nation's public health infrastructure.
The new permanent Australia CDC will commence work in January 2026 and will replace the current interim CDC that has been operating since January 2024.
Stroke Foundation CEO Dr Lisa Murphy said the establishment of a permanent CDC represented a momentous day for public health in Australia.
"This is a most welcome announcement. A permanent Australian CDC will strengthen Australia's public health capability, provide national leadership and coordination for effective public health responses, pandemic preparedness and chronic disease prevention."
Stroke Foundation looks forward to working with the new CDC Director-General and the Government to help tackle the growing burden of preventable chronic disease, including stroke", Dr Murphy added.
With around 46,000 stroke events occurring in Australia each year, and evidence showing that 80 per cent of strokes can be prevented, the CDC can help play a crucial role in helping tackle this. Stroke is among Australia's top five causes of death and disability.
The establishment of an Australian CDC has been long advocated for by public health experts, and was also a key recommendation in Australia's COVID-19 Response Inquiry, which highlighted critical gaps in the nation's pandemic preparedness and public health coordination.
Stroke Stats in Australia:
- Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers. It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer
- In 2023, there were an estimated 45,785 stroke events in Australia (one stroke every 11 minutes), including 34,793 first-ever strokes.
- When a stroke strikes, it attacks up to 1.9 million brain cells per minute.
- More than 80 percent of strokes can be prevented.
- In 2023, 1 in 4 strokes occurred in people under the age of 65 years.
- Stroke is estimated to cost the Australian economy over $9 billion a year
