Hepatitis Australia's Federal Pre-Budget Submission 2024-2025

2024 is an important year for shaping the national response towards hepatitis elimination by 2030.  

The 2024-2025 Federal Budget comes at a critical moment for the 1 in 75 people living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C (viral hepatitis) in Australia. The Fourth National Hepatitis B Strategy 2023-2030 and the Sixth National Hepatitis C Strategy 2023-2030 are set for public release this year. Critically, these strategies, which have undergone significant consultation over the past two years and are strongly supported by the community and the sector, take a person-centred approach, prioritising community leadership across planning, governance, implementation, and evaluation. To read more about this please see here. 

Hepatitis Australia, as the national peak community organisation leading Australia’s community response to viral hepatitis, has worked in close partnership with communities, governments, research and clinical stakeholders to develop a National Hepatitis B Project, and to continue the successful implementation of the National Hepatitis C Project. The development of these projects has included significant consultation, collaboration and co-design across the national response, including the Australian Government and all state and territory governments via the Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections Standing Committee (BBVSS). 

These National Project proposals form Hepatitis Australia’s 2024-2025 Pre-Budget Submissions and are in direct alignment with the priorities set out in the new national strategies. They leverage the learnings and successes of previous Commonwealth-funded projects which implemented packages of integrated, co-designed, partnerships-based interventions, with a proven track record for achieving significant outcomes for affected communities. 

These National Projects reflect the interconnectedness and interdependence of different activities, partners and resources across the national response, recognising that to achieve our 2030 elimination goals and leave no-one behind, collective effort and mobilisation of multiple inputs and activities is required. No single intervention can achieve it alone. 

Australia has the tools and the know-how to support people affected by viral hepatitis. Hepatitis B has effective treatment and a vaccine, and hepatitis C has a cure and is preventable. These are amongst the most cost-effective cancer prevention strategies that Australia can invest in. 

By making these investments we can transform the lives of Australians and show the same sort of global leadership that we have in our other blood-borne virus responses. 

The national response has the skills, expertise, and infrastructure to implement this package in 2024- 2025 if it is resourced to do so. 

Hepatitis Australia has worked hard with stakeholders in a tight fiscal environment to put forward the best package of interventions that leverage all resources in the system, and can start immediately, for a very modest investment. Importantly, these projects have been independently costed by economic modellers. 

Australia has a proud track record for multi-partisanship when it comes to supporting communities affected by viral hepatitis. 

Now, the community is calling on the Federal Government to support its priorities for the 2024-2025 Federal Budget. With sufficient resources Australia can achieve its 2030 viral hepatitis elimination goals!