The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
 Issue 01 / 27 January 2026

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We are looking forward to our first Members’ Forum of the year on 4 February! This event provides an opportunity for members to meet one another, engage with HCCA staff, and learn about the latest developments in healthcare. This is in-person event and a great opportunity for members to meet our new Executive Director, Lachlan Atyeo.

Each year HCCA identifies policy priority areas. This helps in the allocation of resources so that we have strong and considered consumer perspectives to inform our advocacy. The HCCA priorities identified for the 2024 ACT election continue to be a useful focus. This includes:

• improving access to outpatient health services
• advocacy on improving care of older people in health services
• implementing the Disability Health Strategy to improve access to and experience of care for people with disabilities.
• responding to climate emergencies by changing the way care is delivered to reduce carbon emissions and waste
• improving communication with consumers and their families from multicultural communities 

In 2026 there are additional areas that require focus and engagement with the membership and networks. This includes:

• Voluntary Assisted Dying implementation and community consultation on capacity. This is an issue identified by the Health of Older People Consumer Refence Group and in members forums.
• Quality and safety of maternity services (hospital acquired complications). This has been an emerging issue identified in the Quality and Safety Consumer Reference Group.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your experiences of care with us. We use this to inform our advocacy and can also raise issues with colleagues at Canberra Heath Services for their attention.

Last year we introduced a Pharmacycle blister pack recycling bin at the HCCA office, making it easier to reduce your environmental footprint.

Blister packs, commonly used for packaging medications, are difficult to recycle due to their combination of plastic and aluminium materials. Through Pharmacycle’s recycling program, these materials can now be processed sustainably, preventing them from ending up in landfill. This small action contributes to a greener planet.

We can only take empty packets and unused medication should be returned to your pharmacy for destruction. For more information on the Pharmacycle initiative, visit https://www.pharmacycle.com.au/.

This has been extremely well used. However, this is not cost neutral – and we want to hear from people about the value they see in HCCA continuing to provide this service. We will continue this service until June 2026 but will need to make a decision about continuing this as we frame our next budget. Please share your feedback with us via [email protected]
We will also continue to advocate with the Pharmacy Guild for more local pharmacies to invests in this program. It only seems fair that they do their bit. I encourage you all to talk to your local pharmacists about this.

I’m signing off as Executive Director on 30 January. I’ve been spending time with Lachlan this week as we do a handover and the organisation is in safe hands. I will return to a (very) part time role with HCCA in April and look forward to continuing my involvement.

Darlene Cox
Executive Director

In this Issue

• Upcoming HCCA Events
• Policy and Research Update
• Health Literacy Update
• Consumer Involvement and Representative Opportunities

Upcoming HCCA Events

HCCA’s first Member’s Forum for 2026 will be held on Wednesday 4 February. This in-person event is a chance for members to meet our new Executive Director Lachlan Atyeo.

Members will have received an email invitation with a link to register. If this has gone astray, please contact the HCCA office on [email protected] or 6230 7800 for assistance.

Thursday 19 February, 2pm – 4pm

In-person at Chifley Health and Wellbeing Hub

Join us to learn how to make your health care choices known if you couldn't speak for yourself. You'll leave with everything you need to make your plan and share it with others.

This event is filling up fast so you may be placed on a waitlist. If you would prefer an online session, fill in this form to help us plan one!

Policy and Research Update

The Standing Committee on Social Policy in the CT Legislative Assembly is holding an inquiry into endometriosis and other chronic pelvic pain conditions in the ACT. The inquiry will look at how many people are affected, how easy or hard it is to get a diagnosis and treatment, and what supports are available.

It will also examine issues such as long wait times, access to specialists and pain management, the impact of gender bias in healthcare, and the social and economic effects on people’s education, work and daily lives. Education for health professionals, current research, and future opportunities in the ACT are also part of the inquiry.

HCCA is preparing a submission and wants to hear directly from people with lived experience, their carers, and other community members. Your stories and insights will help ensure consumer voices are heard.

If you would like to contribute to this submission, please get in touch with Jessica Lamb via [email protected] or by phoning 02 6230 7800.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is asking for community feedback on proposed changes to how information about medical device shortages and supply problems is shared.

The aim is to improve how potential and actual supply issues are identified and managed, and to make sure patients have better access to information about the medical devices they use.

We encourage you to have your say by making a submission through the TGA consultation website using the link below. Please also share this information with your networks so more people can take part.

Consultation link: https://consultations.tga.gov.au/tga/improving-device-supply-disruptions-transparency/
 Consultation closes: 20 February 2026

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

Health Literacy Update

Welcome to 2026! Lots of new services and information are coming through and we’re scrambling to keep up. Here’s a quick list of things to know:

• Prices for PBS medicines have been updated so filling a prescription will now cost a maximum of $25 ($7.70 for concession card holders)
• Medicare Mental Health Check In is a new online program to help people with mild mental health concerns build self-management skills
• Women’s Health Matters have launched a service map to help users find health services, abortion services and free period products.
• Canberra Health Services have updated their Walk-In Centre webpage with clearer information about what they can and can’t treat.
• 1800MEDICARE’s phone line and app have launched (more on this below)
• The GP-led Woden Urgent Care Clinic is now open (more below as well)

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

You may have seen a flurry of media about the launch of 1800MEDICARE. This might look like a new service, but it is really a rebrand of some familiar services.

Calling 1800MEDICARE (1800 633 422)

The 1800MEDICARE phone line is run by Healthdirect. You can call them to get advice from registered nurses about your symptoms and where to go for health care. But now, they can also connect you to an after-hours GP by phone or video between 6pm and 8am. This service is FREE for anyone in Australia, including visitors, international students and people without Medicare.

Note: The Healthdirect phone number, website and app still work for now, but expect to see some changes in the coming months as they re-brand.

Using the 1800MEDICARE app

The my health app has now been rebranded as the 1800MEDICARE app. This app lets you see key information from your My Health Record like:

• pathology results (e.g. blood tests)
• vaccination records
• medicare claims
• electronic prescriptions
• your advance care plan (if you have uploaded it)

Learn more about the app at www.digitalhealth.gov.au/1800MEDICAREapp

If you had the my health app before, the name and logo will change when you update the app. Your login and the app features are all the same.

Last month, the Woden Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) opened at 33 Colbee Court, Phillip. It provides bulk-billed urgent care for non-life threatening conditions. They are open 10am-8pm, 7 days a week.

This adds to the existing 5 Nurse-Led Walk-in Centres that are a part of the Medicare Urgent Care Network in the ACT. The Woden UCC is GP led, which means they can:

• treat children under 12 months of age
• prescribe medicines for more conditions
• treat flare ups of some chronic health conditions, e.g. migraines
• refer you to specialists (only if it’s related to the current issue)

With the opening of the new clinic, Capital Health Network is running a survey to find out how people choose where to go for urgent care.

We will be advising them on how to raise awareness of the new urgent care clinic across different communities, so if you have more thoughts or feedback, reach out to [email protected].

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.

The new year is upon us and health service committees are starting to look for consumer representatives. Whether you’re a newly trained representative or an experienced consumer representative looking for a new committee, we can help you find something that suits your skills and interests.

If you have questions or concerns, or you’d like to have a chat about committee work, you are always welcome to contact our Consumer Representatives Coordinator Av on 6230 7800 or [email protected]

We anticipate the following opportunities for consumer representatives in the coming months:

• Canberra Health Services, Oral Health Services Clinical Governance
• Canberra Health Services, Blood Management Committee
• ACT Human Rights Commission, Elder Abuse Prevention Network

If you're interested in any of the above committees, contact Av ([email protected]) and he will send you more information when it becomes available.

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

© 2026 Health Care Consumers' Association Inc, All rights reserved. Edited by Darlene Cox.

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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