Welcome to the Victorian Government Health Information Web site

health.vic.gov.au is a gateway to information relating to the provision of health services in Victoria.

The pages in this Website are developed and managed by the Department of Health, Victoria, Australia. Click on the Site Map above to see all of the directories.

Swine Influenza Information about the new strain of Influenza A, including links to related resources.

The Country Fire Authority website provides an incident summary which includes warnings, a map of current fires and a list of ongoing incidents.

What's New

Patient review panel
The role of the Patient Review Panel is to determine complex and sensitive applications for medical treatment or procedures that procure or attempt to procure pregnancy in a woman by means other than sexual intercourse, including in-vitro fertilisation and artificial insemination.

Smoking in Cars with Kids campaign
On 20 December 2009, the Minister for Health launched the Smoking in Cars with Kids campaign. From 1 January 2010 it will be illegal to smoke in a motor vehicle in the presence of a person under the age of 18. Further information on this law can be found at the Tobacco Reforms website.

Mental Health Advice Line
The Mental Health Advice Line is a state-wide telephone information service available to all Victorians seeking mental health information, advice and referral for themselves or another person. The service is for Victorians of all ages and from all backgrounds.  You can call about yourself, a friend or a family member and you may remain anonymous if you wish. The service is staffed by mental health professionals who provide expert mental health advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays. Call 1300 280 737 for the cost of a local call from anywhere in Victoria. (Calls from mobile phones may be charged at a higher rate.) In an emergency or life threatening situation, you should still call 000. If you would like to speak another language, we can organise an interpreter. The National Relay Service is available to assist callers who have difficulties with hearing or speech.

Victoria's Cancer Action Plan
Victoria's Cancer Action Plan 2008 – 2011 aims to increase the five-year survival rate by 10 per cent by 2015. This means an extra 2,000 lives saved. Find out more about the plan and ways to reduce your risk of getting cancer.

health Victoria: Welcome to our health publication
We welcome you to health Victoria - a monthly publication marking the formation of Victoria’s new Department of Health. The Department will oversee all health, mental health, aged care and preventative health services in Victoria. And health Victoria will keep you up-to-date with Government policy and Department programs.

Regulatory Impact Statement – Proposed Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations
The Minister for Health, the Hon Daniel Andrews MP, has released a Regulatory Impact Statement regarding the draft Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations. Public comments about the draft regulations are invited. The closing date for submissions is 16 October 2009.

Policy and Funding Guidelines 2009 - 2010
The new Victorian Health Services Policy and Funding Guidelines 2009 – 2010 are now available. It provides, for the first time, a view of all of the health and aged care funding programs. The focus is to provide funded organisations with a more comprehensive state-wide view of all health funding and policy information from a single source and to provide a better resource for their business planning needs.

Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre
On 7 May 2009, the Victorian Premier, The Honorable John Brumby, MP, and the Federal Health and Ageing Minister, The Honorable Nicola Roxon, MP, announced funding for the construction of a $1 billion Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Parkville, Melbourne. Construction will begin in 2011, and be completed in 2015.

Cleaning standards for Victorian health facilites
This site contains information about the cleaning standards for Victorian health facilities and the course in cleaning standards auditing.

Food safety law reform in Victoria
The Food Amendment (Regulation Reform) Act 2009 will amend the Food Act 1984 to give Victoria a better system for regulating the safety of food sold for human consumption. The amendments are intended to reduce the compliance costs for businesses (including community groups that sell food) by allowing regulation to be better matched to the level of food safety risk.

Your hospitals Report - July 2008 to December 2008
Your hospitals: a six-monthly report on Victoria’s public hospitals. It aims to provide Victorians with an insight into public hospital performance, by focussing on key areas of service delivery and explaining, simply and clearly, their achievements as well as their remaining challenges.

Director of Hospital Data Integrity Status Report July 2009

2009 Minister for Health Volunteer Awards
The judges short-listed nominees in light of their volunteer commitment and achievements. Volunteer Award winners and commendations were announced by the Minister for Health at the Volunteer Awards ceremony held on the 14 May 2009.

Clinical Engagement
The Statewide Quality Branch has a new webpage for the Clinical Engagement projects. The recently updated Credentialling and defining the scope of clinical practice for medical practitioners in Victorian health services policy is now available as well as new information on the suite of Clinical Engagement projects currently underway.

2009 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards
Now in their fifth year, the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards provide an unparalleled opportunity to celebrate quality, innovation and excellence in our public healthcare system. The Awards recognise the diverse ways in which excellent public health and healthcare is achieved – honouring initiatives, projects, campaigns, services, individuals and teams delivering groundbreaking work that is improving Victoria’s public healthcare.