The newsletter of the Health Care Consumers’ Association Inc.
 Issue 15 / 19 August 2026

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to learn more about joining HCCA's internal advisory committee, the Consumer Participation Committee. This is a key way in which you can be actively involved in helping to shape HCCA’s work around consumer participation and consumer representation.

Building 5 on the Canberra Hospital campus (also known as the Critical Services Building) was opened in August 2024. It provides the Main Entry and reception to the whole hospital and houses critical services including the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and inpatient medical wards. 

HCCA is running a short survey on consumer-led improvements to Building 5. During the design of this building, consumers and carers made many suggestions for improvements that would assist families, carers and patients when they are using Building 5.  

We want to understand what is working well in the new building and making a positive difference for people. We also want to identify what could be improved and what should be considered in future projects.

Your feedback is important and highly valued. It helps us to provide strong, clear advice to current and future health infrastructure projects.  Members can keep an eye on their email inbox for the opportunity to participate and tell us your thoughts.  

Please reach out to Kate ([email protected]) or Bernadette ([email protected]) if you need assistance or would like to discuss this. 

Lachlan Atyeo
Executive Director

In this Issue

• Upcoming HCCA events
• Health Literacy Update
• Chronic Conditions Network Update
• Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) Update
• Policy and Research Update
• Consumer Representation and Advocacy Opportunities
• Members Spotlight
• Items of Interest

Upcoming HCCA Events

Wednesday 26 August, 10:00am – 12:30pm at Southern Cross Club Woden 

Come along to Palliative Care ACT and HCCA’s morning tea for Dying to Know Day 2026! This is a relaxed opportunity to hear from experts and ask questions about topics like palliative care, Advance Care Planning, aged care, community support and respite, death doulas, and more.

3rd Tuesday of the month, 12:30pm - 6pm at Chifley Health and Wellbeing Hub 

Making an Advance Care Plan means your loved ones and health care team will know your wishes if you can't speak for yourself. Book in for 1-on-1 support to write your plan with Canberra Health Services.

Consumer Participation Update

Health Literacy Update

While Pene is off on some well-earned leave, C has been out and about presenting on: 

• Advance Care Planning for University of the Third Age ACT (U3A) Cook’s fabulous course on Voluntary Assisted Dying
• Finding good health information at the Early Morning Centre
• Using the health system for the Whitlam Mingle at Heartbeat Café.  

We welcome you to come to the next workshop at Whitlam where we will be talking about Advance Care Planning. Come enjoy the sun and have a chat. Keep an eye on the Whitlam Mingle Facebook page for details. 

There is a major update to our Staying Safe in Hospital booklets. Thank you to the members who have commented so far! If you would like to give feedback on the draft, contact [email protected]. 

Caption: C at Whitlam Mingle

— the Health Literacy team
(C and Ivapene)

Chronic Conditions Network Update

Michelle has been busy learning about strategies to influence politicians and the legislative assembly. The next step is to have the ideas of the Chronic Conditions Network turned into action! We had a great session with political and communications strategist, Jennifer Faerber, and learnt a lot. With the recent cabinet shuffle and a new health minister, CCN is looking to take action on what we have learned! 

— Chronic Conditions Network Coordinator
(Michelle)

Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) Update

• Gout Care Plan – create your plan for managing gout 
• Gout Decision Aid – decide how to manage your gout  

A new suite of menopause resources is now available, developed by Jean Hailes for Women's Health as part of the Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) Alliance.  

The resources include:  

• information on applying Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) 
• the latest evidence on testosterone  
• resources on MHT and breast cancer to support women and their health professionals in conversation and decision making 

Each resource is backed by rigorous assessment of the current evidence and clinically reviewed by menopause experts. Explore the new resources on the Jean Hailes QUM hub, or through HCCA’s QUM hub where you can find all the resources from our QUM topics. 

— the QUM team
(Kathryn, Nadia and Darcy)

Policy and Research Update

The Policy and Research Team have a range of exciting consultations underway over the next couple of months. We want to hear from you and with so many consultations happening (including our Individual Health Advocacy Scoping Project), it will be a great time to connect with our new team members, introduce yourself and share your thoughts on the diverse policy issues we are working on. 

The Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Health Care (the Commission) is seeking for community feedback on their draft National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (Third Edition). These Standards are used to assess whether hospitals and health services provide safe, high-quality care. We want to make sure the Standards reflect what matters most to consumers.  

You are invited to join a workshop at HCCA’s offices in Chifley to share your feedback on the draft Standards. 

Workshop details: 

• Date: Friday 21 August 2026 

• Time: 10am – 12pm 

• Location: HCCA Chifley office 

• Lunch provided 

To attend, please RSVP to Fiona Sivyer via [email protected] or by phoning the HCCA office on 6230 7800, by no later than Friday 14 August. 

If you can't attend the workshop, but want to provide input, please contact Fiona or Jessica Lamb via [email protected]. You can email your feedback or arrange a chat with a member of our Policy and Advocacy Team. 

Feedback can also be provided directly to the Commission. The ‘Third Edition Engagement Hub’ has all the documentation available for review and you can complete a survey on the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care website. 

Canberra Health Services (CHS) is seeking feedback on their draft Disability Inclusion Plan. The purpose of the Disability Inclusion Plan is to improve the experience and outcomes of people with disability, their families and carers. This includes both those accessing health care, and those who work within CHS.  

We want to hear your thoughts on the draft Disability Inclusion Plan. If you are interested in reviewing the Plan, please contact Jessica Lamb via [email protected] or by ringing the HCCA office on 6230 7800. 

Consultation closing date: Friday 14 August 2026. 

The Australian Government’s House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability is conducting an inquiry into access to and affordability of medical specialist care (the Inquiry). HCCA will be drafting a submission to the Inquiry, and we are keen to hear your thoughts and experiences around access and affordability of specialist care – in both the public and private systems. 

The Inquiry will cover: 

• availability of and access to specialist care, 

• effectiveness and equity of referral pathways, 

• affordability of services including out-of-pocket costs, 

• costs and barriers to access through the public system, 

• the impact of these issues on patient outcomes, and 

• innovative and emerging models of care that may improve access for patients. 

To contribute to this submission, please share your experiences and suggestions for improving the system by contacting Jessica Lamb via [email protected] or calling 6230 7800. 

The Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN) is reviewing the Workforce Standards for Intensive Care Nursing.  

ACCCN is seeking community feedback to ensure the Standards reflect what matters most to people receiving intensive care and those supporting them. 

The Standards will guide hospitals, health services and governments on the nursing workforce required to deliver safe, high-quality care in Australian Intensive Care Units (ICUs). 

For a copy of the Draft Standards, please contact Fiona Sivyer via [email protected].  

Consultation closing date: Tuesday 11 August 2026.

— the Policy and Research team
(Jess, Scott, Debbie and Fiona)

Consumer Representation and Advocacy Opportunities

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

HCCA Internal Opportunities

The Consumer Participation Committee (CPC) is an internal HCCA committee of experienced consumer representatives. Its purpose is to advise and oversee the consumer participation work of HCCA, including the Consumer Representatives’ Program. 

The CPC is seeking up to two new members. The committee meets monthly (currently on Mondays) for an hour. If you are an active consumer representative (and HCCA member) with a good understanding of this role, and have a little time to spare, please consider submitting an expression of interest to join the CPC. 

We invite you to get involved. Please contact Av De Vries through [email protected] and he can discuss the opportunity with you and provide guidance on your Expression of Interest. 

Please note this opportunity is not reimbursed. Please express your interest by the 14th of August.

HCCA is seeking expressions of interest from consumers and carers who may be interested in joining a ‘Consumer and Carer Project Advisory Group’ that will help inform and guide a new 12-month Scoping Project. The Scoping Project, funded by ACT Health and Community Services Directorate, aims to explore options for strengthening individual health consumer advocacy services in the ACT. 

For more information, please visit the Consumer Opportunities page on our website. 

ACT Opportunities

National/Interstate Opportunities

• Reviewing plain language participant materials 
• Attending quarterly research meetings (online or in person)
• Helping us share our findings with the community

No research experience is needed - just lived experience and a willingness to make ICU care better for others. This opportunity is open to anyone with relevant experience throughout Australia. 

Time commitment: Approximately 6 to 8 hours per year across two years.

Please express interest and any questions to Dr Kiran Gudivada at [email protected] or contact Av at [email protected] 

Other Opportunities

The University of Sydney is looking for 20–30 people from different backgrounds across Australia to join a Citizen Science project. As part of the project, you will send the research team any social media posts that may contain misleading medical information. 

Dr Ray Moynihan & Dr Booke Nickel from The University of Sydney and Darlene Cox, former Executive Director of HCCA are leading the project. 

The project runs from mid-August to October. Participants will receive a $50 gift voucher for attending a 1-hour training session on Zoom. After that, you will need to spend a few minutes now and then sharing relevant posts that come in your feed. 

If this interests you, please email Dr Ray Moynihan at [email protected] for more information.  

Members Spotlight

A strong advocate for health literacy, Karin is passionate about ensuring consumers have access to clear, practical information, particularly following a new diagnosis. She believes consumers and healthcare professionals are on the same team, working towards the shared goal of better healthcare for everyone. She is also keen to highlight that healthcare is not just about hospitals. It is also about community-based healthcare, something she believes HCCA understands well.

One achievement she is particularly proud of was advocating for the development of Haemochromatosis HealthPathways resources. HealthPathways, run by Public Health Networks (PHNs) and Local Health Districts (LHDs), is an online resource that GP use at the point of care to access local clinical guidance, services and patient resources. What some patients may think is “the doctor Googling” is often the GP consulting this trusted resource (much as they once referred to medical textbooks and encyclopaedias).

Through HCCA, Karin has gained a deeper understanding of the health system and used that knowledge to provide constructive feedback that ultimately contributed to a teaching resource for junior medical officers.

Her advice for new members is simple: “HCCA is very welcoming. You don’t need prior experience! It’s a learn-as-you-go experience with plenty of opportunities and training along the way.”

Items of Interest

Researchers from the University of Canberra have developed a short media literacy course to boost the media literacy of older people by an average of 23%. Read more in this article from The Conversation or the full report on Australian Policy Online

Street Side Medics has opened a new free health clinic in Civic to support people experiencing homelessness in Canberra. To celebrate the launch, they are holding a community event at Federation Mall, Capital Hill ACT, on 11 August from 11:00am to 11:30am. To register for the event, please visit this Humanitix event page.

The ACT Government is carrying out its second review of the Motor Accident Injuries (MAI) Scheme, which has been in place since February 2020. Feedback from injured people, insurers, service providers and the wider community will help identify any improvements needed. Community consultation is now open and will include submissions, forums and other engagement activities. You can email written submissions to [email protected] by Friday 18 September 2026. 

For further information, please visit the Motor Accident Injuries Commission website.

Asthma Australia is inviting children, families, carers and anyone involved in supporting children with asthma to share their experiences and ideas. You can complete the survey if asthma affects you, your family or the people you support. 

To take part in the survey, please visit these SurveyMonkey pages for parents, carers and over 18 and for kids under 18 years. 

Advocacy for Inclusion (AFI) is looking for people with disability to take part in a paid workshop and share their lived experience. The workshop will help shape advice to the ACT Government on responding to the Disability Royal Commission recommendations. The workshop will take around two hours and participants will be paid $100 per hour. Expressions of interest for the workshop close on 7 August 2026.  

For more information, to register your interest, or to provide feedback, visit the AFI Listens page or email [email protected] 

A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health warns that climate change will impact the health of blood donors worldwide. Increases in disease and natural disasters may also trigger a rise in the need for blood. 

Read more in this media release from Lifeblood to understand what we can expect in Australia. 

Applications are now open for the Sue Salthouse Leadership Fund Scholarship 2026 grant round. This fund supports people living with disability in the Canberra region to build leadership, strengthen participation, and pursue opportunities that create change in their communities.  

A total of $15,000 is available and the deadline to apply is 9 September. Further details are available on the Hands Across Canberra website. 

Give us Your Feedback

What did you think of this issue? Give us your feedback through this linked Microsoft form.

Would you like to chat about any of these things? Please email us at [email protected] for your feedback. We would love to hear from you!

**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 Lachlan Atyeo.

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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