” The Federal Government this week launched the National Strategic Action Plan for Kidney Disease and awarded $3.5 million in funding to organisations to take immediate action.
- million Australian adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease, however less than 10 per cent are aware they have the
In 2017, 17,000 Australians lost their lives to kidney disease and 1.8 million hospitalisations occurred.
Three per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over live with the condition, triple the rate of the non-Indigenous population.
Early diagnosis and management can change the course of chronic kidney disease, a disease that is often detected too late to be reversible.”
Minister Greg Hunt press release : See Part 1 below
Download the National Strategic Action Plan for Kidney Disease
national-strategic-action-plan-for-kidney-disease
Picture above Ready Mob at Galambila ACCHO Coffs Harbour World Kidney Day
Addressing the impact of kidney disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
The Action Plan includes a focus on addressing the disproportionate burden of kidney disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Relevant actions draw on a number of noteworthy reviews in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kidney health. These include:
- The Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Renal Health
- TSANZ Performance Report – Improving Access to and Outcomes of Kidney Transplantation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in
- The Review of the Australian organ donation, retrieval and transplantation
- The Kidney Health Australia Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment (KHA-CARI) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Guidelines Community
- Research and programs from the Menzies School of Health Research and the Lowitja Institute, including the ‘Catching Some AIR – Asserting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Information Rights in Renal Disease’ project policy
The Action Plan may have direct correlation to a number of key recommendations in these reviews and therefore aims to complement future actions as a result.
This Action Plan includes related recommended action which can be found in:
- Objective 4 – Reducing the disproportionate burden of kidney disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Additional actions relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are also included in each of the priority areas throughout the Action Plan.
A strong overarching recommendation is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are involved in:
- setting and formulating policy affecting their communities
- developing and implementing locally relevant programs and research
- health care service delivery in the
The importance of cultural safety and autonomy to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must be forefront in all proposed actions.
Read all Aboriginal Kidney Health articles published by NACCHO
Part 1 : Press Release
Early diagnosis and management can change the course of chronic kidney disease, a disease that is often detected too late to be reversible.
Developed by Kidney Health Australia (KHA), the plan provides a blueprint for transforming kidney disease in Australia over the next 10 years through three priority areas:
- Prevention, detection and
- Optimal care and
- Research and
The Government is providing $1.25 million to Kidney Health Australia over four years, to develop a new digital platform to underpin improved awareness and support for the public and the kidney disease sector.
This will assist the implementation of a number of recommendations identified in the action plan, help build awareness of the disease, and develop services and support for people living with kidney disease and their carers.
This is in addition to the $800,000 investment our Government has provided to Kidney Health Australia, to deliver a national peer support and education program for 500 young people aged 15 to 24 with advanced kidney disease who have received a kidney transplant.
The Government is also committing a further $2.25 million to implement a range of activities under the action plan. Shortlisted recipients include:
- KidGen, led by the University of Flinders
- The Menzies School of Health
- The South Australian Health and Medical Research
The action plan complements the Indigenous Renal Health Roadmap, and together they will work to close the gap in Indigenous renal health and treatment outcomes.
The Morrison Government has continually demonstrated its commitment to supporting people living with kidney disease.
Last month we listed Pharmacor Cinacalcet® on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme—a medicine that, without the subsidy, would see patients pay more than $700 per year. With the PBS subsidy they will only pay a maximum of $41 per script, or $6.60 with a concession card.
Our Government spends $270 million per year on medicines for the treatment and management of kidney and renal conditions.
We have also invested $214 million in National Health and Medical Research Council grants for clinical research into kidney and renal issues between 2000 and 2019.
The National Strategic Action Plan for Kidney Disease is available at: https://kidney.org.au/
Part 2
Kidney Health Australia were commissioned by the Commonwealth Government Department of Health to develop The National Strategic Action Plan for Kidney Disease (the Action Plan) on behalf of the kidney community.
The Action Plan was commissioned in recognition of the significant and growing impact of kidney disease on the health and wellbeing of Australians as well as the economic impact on society.
The Action Plan is accompanied by a Public Health and Chronic Disease Program grant of $3.7 million.
The genuine involvement and input from so many stakeholders from across the kidney disease sector into the development of the Action Plan is what makes it so effective. Kidney Health Australia thanks all those organisations and individuals who contributed to the development of this plan.
The Action Plan outlines a national, coordinated response to kidney disease – a blueprint for transforming kidney disease in this country over the next ten years – with over thirty actions across three priority areas designed to address the most pressing needs in kidney disease.
With the right focus, collaboration and partnerships, Australia has the capacity to make lasting changes over the next ten years; slowing the tidal wave of chronic conditions, providing equitable support and care for people affected by kidney disease and using research to improve lives and ultimately find cures for deadly disease.
The intended audiences for the Action Plan include the Australian and state and territory governments, health service providers and funders, clinicians, consumers, researchers and research funders.
Achieving the plan’s vision will require coordinated national action and partnerships across all levels of government and the health system, non-government organisations, the private sector, researchers and academics, and people affected by kidney disease.
The Action Plan is to be accompanied by three compendium documents detailing the evidence base supporting the Action Plan, a stocktake of relevant programs and initiatives at a state and national level, and a summary of the consultation undertaken in developing the Action Plan.
The Action Plan was announced by the Hon Katie Allen MP in Melbourne on World Kidney Day 12 March 2020.
The Action Plan contains guidance, goals and specific actions we can take to improve Kidney Disease care.
The major priority areas for action were identified:
- Prevention, Detection and Education.
- Optimal Care and Support.
- Research and Data.
Under each of these major priority areas are a number of recommendations for action including specific tasks relating to kidney transplantation, and kidney disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Read the National Strategic Action Plan for kidney disease here.
Read the Consultation document – compendium 1 to the Action Plan here
Read the Evidence document – compendium 2 to the Action Plan here
Read the Stocktake document – compendium 3 to the Action Plan here