The Institute was pleased to contribute to the Deakin Faculty of Health’s collective response to the Productivity Commission’s consultation on delivering quality care more efficiently, focusing on the need for stronger government investment in prevention and early intervention.
The submission highlighted the importance of investing in evidence-based prevention to improve long-term health outcomes, reduce pressure on health services and create healthier communities. It also outlined practical reforms to support sustainable prevention across Australia.
What was submission about?
The Productivity Commission’s consultation, Delivering Quality Care More Efficiently, was a public review looking at ways to improve care and support services across Australia while making better use of resources. It focused on sectors such as healthcare, aged care, disability services, and early childhood education, with the aim of improving outcomes for people and addressing long-term challenges facing these systems.
Key points
- Prevention is underinvested. Governments continue to spend more on treating illness than preventing it, despite clear evidence of long-term benefits.
- Current funding models favour short-term outcomes. Political cycles and funding arrangements make it difficult to support prevention initiatives that deliver benefits over many years.
- Communities should help lead prevention efforts. Place-based approaches can better identify local needs and deliver meaningful health improvements.
- Proven prevention programs deliver results. Programs such as TransformUs, INFANT and RESPOND have improved health outcomes and demonstrated significant economic value.
- Successful programs need sustainable funding. Many evidence-based initiatives struggle to continue once research funding concludes.
- Prevention requires whole-of-government action. Health outcomes are influenced by education, transport, housing and other sectors, requiring coordinated investment and policy approaches.
What Deakin recommends
- Establish a dedicated national funding stream for prevention.
- Invest in scaling successful evidence-based prevention programs.
- Commit to long-term bipartisan support for prevention.
- Embed prevention across all areas of government, not just health.
- Strengthen partnerships between communities, researchers and government.
- Improve access to preventive healthcare through workforce and funding reforms.
In summary
Deakin University’s Faculty of Health is calling for prevention to become a core national priority. Long-term investment in prevention can improve population health, reduce healthcare costs and deliver lasting benefits for communities across Australia
Outcomes
In the final inquiry report, the Productivity Commission presented recommendations focused on three key policy reform areas:
- Reform of quality and safety regulation to support a more cohesive care economy
- Embed collaborative commissioning to increase the integration of care services
- A national framework to support government investment in prevention and early intervention.
This inquiry report was handed to the Australian Government on 10 December 2025 and released on 19 December 2025. It was later tabled in Parliament on 29 January 2026.
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