In May 2023, the ACT Government invited community feedback on the ACT Preventive Health Action Plan 2023-2025. Community consultation was open from 8 May to 28 July 2023; see the consultation website here.
AHPA provided a written response to the consultation. The submission was prepared by AHPA Director Glen Ramos and AHPA NSW/ACT Branch Vice-President Professor Philayrath Phongsavan.
AHPA's feedback included the following recommendations:
- Extend the guiding principles of the Action Plan to include an explicit statement on improving social and economic justice in Australian society.
- Increase preventive health budget to 5% of total health budget in line with national recommendations.
- Include a specific statement committing to future investments in the ACT health promotion workforce.
- Invest in increased and tighter restrictions on advertising of harmful industries (alcohol, gambling, e-cigarettes) across all forms of media and digital platforms, especially as they relate to government-owned or managed platforms, services, and products.
Read AHPA's full response here.