The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
Volume 12 / Issue 10 / 12 June 2025

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Are you interested in health infrastructure and the way it supports people to access health care?

The Territory Health Infrastructure Consumer Reference Group (HICRG) is seeking new members with diverse lived experiences to provide consumer input and advice to health infrastructure projects planned or currently underway in the ACT.

Since its establishment in November 2023, the HICRG has played an important role in advising on topics such as patient and visitor needs, accessibility, all-gender amenities, wayfinding and more. 

You don’t need specialist infrastructure knowledge- just the ability to consider consumer needs in health care, and participate in constructive discussion and advice with a diverse range of people. If you're interested in this opportunity, you can find more information under Consumer Opportunities.

We are thrilled to release the ‘Self-Advocacy in Healthcare’ online learning module. It’s a collection of HCCA’s ‘greatest hits’ of information and resources on self-advocacy and health literacy - all combined in one handy location!

This module is free to use and can be found on our website with other e-learning resources. There is no log-in or sign-up required, you can view it as many times as you like and share it to anyone you think would benefit. The topics covered in this module are:

1. What is self-advocacy and why is it important in healthcare.
2. Your rights in healthcare.
3. Skills you need to advocate for yourself.
4. Stigma and discrimination – what to do about it.
5. Feedback and complaints – how to raise your concerns effectively.

Let us know what you think!

Darlene Cox
Executive Director

In this Issue

• Upcoming HCCA Events
• Infrastructure Update
• Policy and Research Update
• Health Literacy Update
• Chronic Conditions Network Update
• Consumer Involvement and Representative Opportunities
• Items of Interest

Upcoming HCCA Events

Online and In-person

Join HCCA and a qualified pharmacist to learn about common medicine problems, questions to ask your doctor, how to keep track of your medicines and where to get help.

Infrastructure Update

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Health Infrastructure webpage!

This new section of our website is dedicated to being a central hub for both health providers and consumers. It brings together our work and recommendations on ensuring health infrastructure projects across the ACT meet the diverse needs of our community.

On this page, you will find updates on current and upcoming infrastructure projects, advice papers, reports and resources to support your understanding of how health infrastructure affects service delivery and patient care.

Construction has officially begun on the Watson Health Precinct redevelopment. This is a big step forward for health services in the ACT, especially for young people and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This $49 million redevelopment will replace old buildings with modern, fit-for-purpose facilities designed to provide culturally appropriate and inclusive care.

The precinct will include:

• Alcohol and Other Drug Rehabilitation Services – Run by the Ted Noffs Foundation, these facilities will offer live-in rehabilitation services for young people.
• Youth Residential Mental Health Care - Managed by Marymead CatholicCare, this centre will provide residential care for young people experiencing mental health challenges.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Residential Rehabilitation Facility - A new 24-bed residential facility, run by Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services. This facility will promote rehabilitation and recovery in a culturally safe and inclusive environment.

Construction is due to be completed by mid-2026. For more information on this project and other government health projects, visit the Built for CBR website.

— Yelena
(Infrastructure Project Officer)

Policy and Research Update

There’s been growing concern about people accessing their superannuation early to pay for dental treatment. This issue has recently been in the media following a dental care provider going out of business leaving consumers unable to complete the dental treatment they have paid for with their superannuation.  This has left some consumer with ongoing poor dental health and significantly out of pocket. You can read about the issue in this article on the ABC News website.

The Health Consumers’ Council of WA is running a national survey to collect stories from people who have used or considered using their super for dental care. Your experience can help shape national advocacy efforts.

Canberra Health Services (CHS) is seeking consumer input to their revised Clinical Risk Screening, Assessment and Care Planning Procedure. The Procedure is used by CHS staff to complete clinical risk screening and assessments for all patients. This assessment is then used to inform individualised Comprehensive Care Plans.

If you are interested in providing feedback on the Clinical Risk Screening, Assessment and Care Planning Procedure please contact Jessica Lamb via [email protected] or on 02 6230 7800 by Monday 23 June 2025.

Canberra Health Services are planning to make some structural changes to their Older Persons Mental Health programs – including amalgamating their inpatient and community-based programs.

If you would like to review their consultation documents and provide feedback on the proposed changes to older people’s mental health services, please let us know.

You can email Jessica Lamb via [email protected] or phone 02 6230 7800.

The Australian Medical Council (AMC) is reviewing the standards used to accredit specialist medical programs across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

HCCA will be making a submission and welcomes your input. If you are keen to know more, the AMC’s consultation paper is available on the AMC website.

If you’d like to share your thoughts, please contact Jessica Lamb at [email protected] or call 02 6230 7800 by Monday 16 June 2025.

— the Policy and Research team
(Jess, Stephen, and Shivana)

Health Literacy Update

It has been a very busy fortnight for the health literacy team with several events out in community:

• ‘Ageing Well’ mini-expo at Communities at Work Tuggeranong
• Advance Care Planning with Parkinson’s ACT
• MC Citizenship ceremony
• Canberra Multicultural Community Forum (CMCF) community leaders meeting with Assistant Minister for Multicultural Jullian Hill
• Africa Day celebrations
• A stall at the Welcome2Canberra Expo
• A stall at Reconciliation Day in Commonwealth Park

Here are some photos showcasing the events we've been at these past two weeks: 

C at the Communities at Work Expo

Ivapene with Andrew Braddock MLA, Thomas Emerson MLA at the Citizenship Ceremony

Ivapene at the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum (CMCF) community leaders meeting with Assistant Minister for Multicultural Jullian Hill

Ivapene, Yvette, Purity and Zakia at the 2025 Africa Day Celebrations

C, Yelena and Ivapene at the Welcome2Canberra Event

Charlotte and Av at the Reconciliation Day Event

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

Have questions about antidepressant medicines? Antidepressant medicines – What do you need to know? is now available on HCCA’s Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) Hub. It answers many frequently asked questions about antidepressant medicines, including:

• What antidepressant medicines are and how they work
• Possible side effects
• What to consider when starting or stopping them

Visit the new Antidepressants FAQ page on the QUM) Hub website. You can also visit the Antidepressants in Older People page on the QUM Hub for more information.

The Council of Australian Therapeutic Advisory Groups (CATAG) has worked with consumers to create new factsheets to help health professionals explain novel and emerging medicines. These medicines are not approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration but might be considered for rare or life-threatening health conditions when there is some evidence they could work better than alternatives.

Download the factsheets:

• Factsheet 1: Guide to understanding novel and emerging medicines
• Factsheet 2: Accessing novel and emerging medicines

Last week the NSW Statewide Health Literacy Hub held a seminar about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can affect health communication and health literacy. Dr Julie Ayre and Professor Michelle Barakat-Johnson discussed how AI is already being used in health, as well as the future possibilities and concerns. If you make an account (for free) with the NSW Statewide Health Literacy Hub, you can watch the seminar here. Some key ideas discussed were:
 

• AI can be a good tool to support simple health communication. The issue is that it needs very clear prompts and must be pulling from reliable sources. Ultimately a human will need to proofread or edit anything it creates too!
• Consumer input is needed for ethical, effective and safe AI use in healthcare.
• Co-designed, plain language AI tools could be a good way to improve consumer's health literacy.
• Culturally appropriate tools, including those suitable for non-English speaking communities, should be developed.

The Health Care Consumers Association (HCCA), as part of the QUM Alliance, are now working on a new project to help young people who are prescribed antidepressants. We want to hear from young people aged 16 to 24 who have experience with antidepressants for anxiety or depression. This experience can be current or in the past.

If you are a parent or carer for someone who fits these criteria, we would also love to hear from you. Your insights will help us to create easy-to-understand resources that explain how to manage anxiety, depression, and the use of antidepressants safely and effectively.

How can you get involved?

• Take part in a 30–45 minute online interview (May – June 2025)
• Join a focus group discussion (June – August 2025)
• Help test resources and provide feedback (August – Nov 2025).

As a thank-you, participants will receive a gift voucher.

If you’re interested or want to learn more, please contact HCCA, or complete a short eligibility survey in one of the links below:

• For online consumer/parent or carer interviews: Start survey
• For focus groups or user testing: Start survey

Chronic Conditions Network Update

We had a fantastic in-person networking event for the Chronic Conditions Network recently. It was great to connect face-to-face and see how, even though our organisations focus on different conditions, we share many of the same advocacy challenges.

One key takeaway is the need for better referral information and stronger links between hospitals and community health organisations. People living with chronic conditions often need more support after leaving hospital, and our community services can play a big role in that.

I'm working on coordinating some shared messaging from across the sector to help make this happen.

Watch this space!

— Michelle
(Chronic Conditions Network Coordinator)

Consumer Involvement and Representative Opportunities

Please visit Consumer Opportunities on the HCCA website to learn more about, and nominate for, any of the following opportunities.

 New!  Closing date: Friday, 27 June 2025

The ACT Health Directorate and the Health Care Consumers’ Association are seeking consumer representatives to join the ACT Health Territory Health Infrastructure Consumer Reference Group (HICRG).

The HICRG provides an opportunity for people who use health care in the ACT and region to contribute a consumer perspective and advice to health infrastructure projects.  Health infrastructure refers to the buildings themselves used by patients and their families, health care consumers, clinicians (doctors, nurses, allied health professionals), including the design of these buildings, the look and feel of the buildings and the location.

Download the information sheet for more information.

You can nominate for this opportunity using the online form, or by calling the HCCA office on 6230 7800. Please note that you will need to have completed consumer representative training to be endorsed by HCCA to this group.

HCCA, as part of the QUM Alliance, are now working on a new project to help young people who are prescribed antidepressants. We want to hear from young people aged 16 to 24 who have experience with antidepressants for anxiety or depression. This experience can be current or in the past.

If you are a parent or carer for someone who fits these criteria, we would also love to hear from you. Your insights will help us to create easy-to-understand resources that explain how to manage anxiety, depression, and the use of antidepressants safely and effectively.

How can you get involved?

• Take part in a 30–45 minute online interview (June 2025)
• Join a focus group discussion (June – August 2025)
• Help test resources and provide feedback (August – Nov 2025).

As a thank-you, participants will receive a gift voucher.

If you’re interested or want to learn more, please contact HCCA, or complete a short eligibility survey in one of the links below:

• For online consumer/parent or carer interviews: Start survey
• For focus groups or user testing: Start survey

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is seeking applications from professionals with relevant expertise in medicine and science, and consumers with relevant expertise in consumer perspectives and issues. the application period has been extended to ensure that everyone who may interested has an opportunity to apply. Applications will now close at 11.30pm on Tuesday 10 June 2025.

If you are interested in being involved in safeguarding and enhancing the health of Australians, and have relevant expertise, the TGA would like to hear from you. We also invite you to come and hear first-hand from past and current members, and have your questions answered about the experience and expectations of this exciting role. 

An information webinar was hosted on 7 May 2025. To view the recorded webinar please click here. 

Items of Interest

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, can affect any part of the colon or rectum. Bowel cancer is the fourth most common type of newly diagnosed cancer and second deadliest in Australia. June is bowel cancer awareness month, start a conversation about bowel cancer to help create meaningful change. 

For more information, go to bowelcanceraustralia.org

WWDACT presents Arthritis ACT CEO Bec Davey for a workshop on ‘Living well with chronic pain and/or debilitating fatigue’. This session will include information on services including individual and group supports, exercise, and allied health. These services are designed for people with arthritis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. Exercise options include tai chi, yoga, hydrotherapy, Pilates, and All in! LGBTIQA+ exercise classes 

**FREE interpreter services available over the phone via the Australian Government’s Translation and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450**

© 2025 Health Care Consumers' Association Inc, All rights reserved. Edited by Kate Gorman.

Our mailing address is:
70 Maclaurin Crescent Chifley ACT 2606
02 6230 7800

Consumer Bites is the newsletter of the Health Care Consumers' Association. Consumer Bites provides a small snippet of health related articles our members might find interesting to consider and analyse. The HCCA does not endorse any opinions or the claims contained within the articles.

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