The Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025 establishes a statutory national public health agency to permanently monitor and assess health risks, provide evidence-based advice, and coordinate data-driven responses to disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. It empowers an independent Director-General, supported by an expert Advisory Council, with clear transparency and data-sharing obligations.
From the explanatory memorandum:
The Australian Centre for Disease Control Bill 2025 establishes the Australian CDC as a statutory non-corporate Commonwealth entity charged with monitoring and assessing public health risks; working proactively to prevent them; and preparing Australia for future crises. The new agency will be led by an independent Director-General, accountable to the Health Minister and Federal Parliament, and advised by a multidisciplinary Advisory Council.
The Bill amends or relies on the following legislation:
Key features include:
1. Fulfilling Australia’s Right to Health
The ICESCR obliges Australia to take steps for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic and endemic diseases. Establishing an Australian CDC creates a dedicated statutory body charged with early detection, prevention and control of public health threats—advancing the highest attainable standard of health for all Australians.
2. Maximising Well-Being through Coordination
Since 2019, fragmented planning and inconsistent data sharing hindered Australia’s response to bushfires, COVID-19 and other outbreaks. A unified centre will deliver rapid risk assessments, consistent guidance and pooled resources—minimising health, economic and social harms [Judgment].
3. Promoting Equity and One Health
By embedding a One Health approach, the Bill recognises linkages between human, animal and environmental health. The Director-General’s duty to consider impacts on particular communities ensures that vulnerable populations—such as Indigenous Australians—receive proportionate attention and culturally appropriate interventions.
4. Transparency and Public Trust
Mandated publication of advice within 30 days (with limited exemptions) strengthens government accountability and public confidence in health decisions—key recommendations of the COVID-19 Response Inquiry. Open advice deters politicisation and supports informed civic engagement [Judgment].
1. Questionable Necessity and Duplication
Australia already has robust Commonwealth, state and territory public health agencies. The Bill risks creating overlap and confusion over roles—especially in biosecurity and communicable disease control—without clear evidence that existing structures cannot be reformed [Judgment].
2. Bureaucratic Costs and Resource Allocation
Establishment costs of $251.7 million plus $73.3 million per year ongoing will divert scarce resources from frontline healthcare, rural health services and preventive programs where marginal benefits may exceed those of a centralised agency.
3. Concentrated Data and Privacy Risks
Broad data-sharing powers and exemptions to FOI could centralise sensitive personal and commercial information, raising risks of misuse, breaches and surveillance creep—especially given civil penalties rather than criminal sanctions for improper disclosure.
4. Potential for Mission Creep
The Bill’s open-ended functions (including rule-making for new activities) and periodic expansion into chronic disease and other areas may lead to an ever-growing agency that outstrips its original mandate, undermining accountability and fiscal restraint [Judgment].
2025-09-03
House of Representatives
Before House of Representatives
Unspecified
Health, Disability and Ageing
Healthcare, Science / Technology, Climate Change / Environment