A National Model for Clinical Governance is now available. Developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission), the national model provides contemporary, best practice governance guidance for acute health services, including day hospitals. The national model represents a significant change in how clinical governance is understood, led and embedded in health services, the Commission said. “It shifts the main focus from complying with accreditation requirements to building the culture of the organisation to one in which delivery of high-quality care is the core focus of everyone in a health service, every day,” the Commission added. “The guidance emphasises the importance of workforce wellbeing, clinician engagement, and the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.” Defining high-quality care as “person-centred, safe, effective, accessible and integrated, and provided in a way that is equitable, efficient and sustainable”, the Commission said the national model aims to elevate clinical governance to the highest level of organisational leadership and oversight — recognising that leadership is required to drive system-wide change. At the 1 May Health Ministers’ Meeting, the Commission said all Australian Health Ministers urged public and private hospitals to implement the national model as part of national efforts to strengthen the safety and accountability of health care. “While many health services have been able to embed strong clinical governance in this changing environment, some have found it difficult to implement systems that engage the workforce and ensure that high-quality care for patients remains the central focus,” Commission CEO Conjoint Professor Anne Duggan said. Designed for all types of acute healthcare delivery — including face-to-face and virtual care — and applying to different types of hospitals and locations — including in rural and remote Australia — the national model can be downloaded at www.safetyandquality.gov.au/resources/2026-national-model-clinical-governance. Image credit: iStock.com/sturti

The CenTrak Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Multi-Mode staff badge is a real-time location system (RTLS) duress solution designed for reliability in high-pressure environments. RTLS duress solutions are designed to deliver instant alert acknowledgment, confirming help is on the way and providing critical peace of mind in high-risk situations. The badge features a dedicated, recessed duress button designed to prevent false alerts, while also allowing for rapid activation, and is complemented by two other configurable buttons to support custom workflows. The badge is engineered for enhanced durability (IP67 rating), extended battery life, easy over-the-air maintenance, and user notifications such as diagnostic LEDs and an audible buzzer. CenTrak’s RTLS safety solution is designed to deliver real-time, map-based visibility across healthcare environments, enabling teams to quickly locate staff, patients and incidents as they unfold. Intelligent alerts are triggered instantly when the button is pressed and safety is at risk, designed to ensure rapid, coordinated response. Comprehensive event logs capture alarm type, severity, timestamps and key details, while robust reporting tools are designed to support trend analysis, compliance and continuous safety improvement. Designed for use across hospitals, clinics and broader care settings, the solution is designed to enhance security both inside and beyond facility walls.

The healthcare sector has a reputation for being slow to change — but it is capable of swift, decisive innovation when the need is clear. The need is clear now. Amid the colliding pressures of a rapidly aging population and surging rates of chronic disease, easing pressure on our hospitals is vital, and requires pulling every available lever to meet our population’s needs. Models such as hospital in the home and virtual care are making a difference around the edges: the NSW Government has linked increased use of virtual care services to a fall in semi-urgent and non-urgent ED presentations. The Australian Government’s expansion of the Hospital to Aged Care Dementia Support Program should improve discharge rates for complex older patients. These are welcome developments — but they do not address root causes. Consider the rapid rollout of testing and vaccination hubs during the pandemic, or — more recently — the surge in workforce to address the diphtheria outbreaks. As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, nurses have been core to these efforts. They represent one of the most powerful mechanisms for health system reform. Smart investment in nursing roles can deliver outsized gains in both efficiency and quality of care, and the business case for investment in nurses will only continue to grow as workforce shortages deepen. Advanced practice nursing While medical practitioners have well-established pathways into specialisation, equivalent paths for nurses are far less defined. In effect, it means there is an unnecessary cap on the potential of highly skilled, experienced clinicians. But some health services are already unleashing nurses’ expertise well. The Clinical Nurse Consultant-led gout telehealth clinic at Gold Coast University Hospital is one compelling example: nurse-led models consistently demonstrate better patient outcomes than traditional care, alongside cost savings and reduced unplanned ED presentations. Endoscopy is another illustration. Demand for colonoscopy is growing as bowel cancer screening is now Medicare-funded from age 45, yet access remains heavily determined by postcode. This strengthens the case for investment in nurse endoscopy. There are some programs — though few and far between — which demonstrate the model is viable, and high-quality evidence shows nurse endoscopists achieve outcomes comparable to medical endoscopists. The Victorian Government is now looking closely at how it can better unlock the underutilised specialist expertise of nurses and allied health professionals, via its Specialist Care Reform Blueprint. The plan acknowledges that nurses and allied health professionals have untapped potential and are clinically and cost-effectively capable of undertaking many clinical reviews traditionally performed by doctors. Nurse prescribing Hospital leaders should be actively considering how designated registered nurse prescribing can support their strategic priorities. Registered nurses with more than three years’ experience can now undertake education and apply for prescribing endorsement, enabling them to prescribe within a partnership agreement with an authorised prescriber. Much of the discussion has focused on the implications for primary care — particularly in rural and remote areas. But the operational benefits in tertiary settings are equally compelling. RN prescribers could chart discharge medications rather than waiting on a junior medical officer, supporting better patient flow and bed management. There is also significant opportunity for hospital in the home. In palliative care settings RN prescribing could be transformative, enabling nurses to manage breakthrough pain, restlessness, secretions and dyspnoea promptly and with clinical authority. Nurse practitioners Australia has more than 3200 nurse practitioners — autonomous, highly qualified clinicians capable of independent practice. Yet the proportion practicing as nurse practitioners, rather than in registered nurse roles, has fallen from 67% in 2020 to 63% in 2024. For health service executives, establishing nurse practitioner positions represents a potential opportunity to deliver quality care more efficiently. The barriers are typically institutional — limited awareness of scope, or risk aversion that closer examination rarely justifies. There are also structural barriers. Nurse practitioners’ ability to work to their full scope of practice is curtailed by their limited access to Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items. Where an NP cannot bill for a consultation, a procedure or an order that sits within their clinical competence, the financial model for employing them as NPs — rather than in cheaper registered nurse roles — is undermined. Expanding NP access to the MBS is critical to unlocking the workforce capacity the system needs. Nurse practitioners are also underutilised in mental health settings, despite their capacity to support entire episodes of care — an area of particular and growing unmet need. Conclusion Taken together, advanced practice nursing, RN prescribing and the full deployment of nurse practitioners represent more than a set of incremental efficiency measures. They form a coherent response to a system under sustained pressure — one that draws on clinical expertise already present in the workforce, improves patient outcomes and reduces cost. For health service leaders, there is also a workforce retention argument: meaningful clinical career pathways for experienced nurses matter at a time when we can least afford to lose them. Investing in leadership development is part of that equation. Supporting nurses to undertake formal leadership education — such as the ACN Institute of Leadership’s suite of programs — builds the organisational capability and confidence needed to champion and implement these advanced roles from within. And — acknowledging the tight nursing job market — it is not immaterial that health services with a reputation for developing their nurse leaders are attractive employers. Australia’s complex health landscape is challenging all health administrators, and it only reinforces the need to evolve the role of our largest health workforce. The current constraints on doing so are often organisational. Implementing improvements to the way nurses work will not only ease the present burdens but improve health outcomes, increase the efficiency of care, and strengthen our health system for generations to come. *Dr Zachary Byfield is Acting CEO and the National Director Education at the Australian College of Nursing. Top image credit: iStock.com/DMP

In a record penalty, a Sydney man has been sentenced to two years’ jail and ordered to pay $51,900 in legal costs after pleading guilty to 16 breaches of the National Law. Ahpra laid the charges against the man who has never been a registered podiatrist and misrepresented himself as a ‘Master Podiatrist’. Approximately 603 podiatry consultations were conducted by the man between November 2023 and May 2025. These were at patients’ homes and at 14 aged care facilities in Sydney. Almost all patients the man treated “were extremely vulnerable with significant health issues and/or disabilities”, Ahpra said. The man’s actions could have had “catastrophic” outcomes for the vulnerable patients who were led to believe he was a qualified and registered podiatrist, Judge Lucas Swan said in sentencing on 27 May 2026 in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney. The offending was “aggravated by the fact the victims in this matter were vulnerable, indeed some of our most vulnerable members of the community, some of whom were suffering significant health issues, all of which could have been catastrophic for them given the person providing treatment was not registered”, Swan said. “It is further aggravated by the fact that [he] conceded that it was for financial gain, and occurred in the homes of the victims.” Though the man had commenced a Bachelor of Podiatry, he did not complete the degree and has never been eligible for registration, Ahpra said. The man sought to hide his wrongdoing after becoming aware of Ahpra’s investigation, taking on the name of a genuinely registered practitioner who he had never interacted with or who had no knowledge of him. A prosecution was commenced by Ahpra in December 2024. In early 2025, while the charges were still before the court, Ahpra discovered the man was continuing to practise, leading to additional charges. This marks the most significant sentence imposed on an individual, Ahpra said, and only the second jail term, since the National Scheme was established in 2010. “Patients need to know their podiatrist meets the highest quality and safety standards, and that can only be demonstrated through registration,” the Chair of the Podiatry Board of Australia, Associate Professor Kristy Robson, said, noting that there are more than 6000 practising podiatrists on the Register of practitioners. “Anyone can check the register at any time and contact Ahpra if they have concerns,” Robson added. “Pretending to be a registered health practitioner is a crime that puts people at risk of serious physical, emotional and financial harm,” Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner said. “Ahpra exists to protect the public and ensure Australia has a safe, professional health workforce. This case should serve as a warning that Ahpra will do whatever it takes to uphold the National Law and maintain confidence in the system.” The man has been granted bail pending an appeal against his sentence. Image credit: iStock.com/Marccophoto

Telstra Health’s Smart Connect is designed to replace manual, paper-based pathology requests with a fully digital workflow by providing pathology eRequesting capability within MedicalDirector Clinical. The feature launches with Healius Pathology Network as its first integrated partner. Smart Connect allows GPs to generate, edit, electronically sign and securely send pathology eRequests directly from within their existing workflow, without leaving the MedicalDirector Clinical solution. Requests can be sent electronically to both patients and pathology laboratories, with radiology eRequesting to be added in future releases. Smart Connect is powered by Telstra Health’s FHIR-native Health Information Exchange (HIE) and is designed to enable clinical information to be shared securely and in near real time between MedicalDirector Clinical and integrated pathology providers. Following the initial launch with Healius, Telstra Health is working with additional pathology providers to support broader adoption of eRequesting across primary care. Smart Connect is within MedicalDirector Clinical’s suite of digital workflow tools, which also includes Smart Scribe, an AI-powered clinical documentation capability, and integrated Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities.

Australia’s hospitals are confronting a predicament that would test even the healthiest system. Demand for care is rising steadily, driven in large part by an aging population and the growing prevalence of chronic disease. At the same time, productivity is faltering and costs are climbing. The result is a workforce that is expected to do more, often with less. Two recent studies indicate that many healthcare workers in Australia experience symptoms of burnout, ranging from emotional exhaustion to diminished performance. A recent Ahpra study identified burnout as the top reason for leaving among practitioners intending to quit their job.1 The RACGP General Practice Health of the Nation 2023 report found that 71% of GPs in Australia said they had experienced burnout in the past 12 months.2 Healthcare organisations in Australia also suffer from lower employee engagement than other sectors. Among Australian healthcare and social assistance organisations in Gallup’s client benchmark database, 33% of employees are engaged, compared with 46% of employees in all sectors and well below the global health care and social assistance average of 50%. Health care is, by design, a people-intensive enterprise. It relies on highly trained professionals, including doctors, nurses and technical staff, whose judgment, attention and emotional connection to mission are integral to their work. When these individuals are engaged, patients receive better care, teams collaborate and function more cohesively, and organisations benefit from improved performance against critical outcomes. Why engagement matters Gallup defines employee engagement as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace. Decades of Gallup research on the relationship between workplace engagement and organisational outcomes show that engaged employees help their organisations achieve improved performance outcomes across all industry sectors.3 In health care, employee engagement is positively correlated with the following performance outcomes: Patient safety Quality of care and clinical outcomes Staff retention Employee wellbeing Engaged workplaces help create more favourable conditions for staff to perform at their best. In hospitals, this can mean catching a medication error before it reaches a patient or raising a concern about a flawed process and how it can be rectified. Conversely, when both engagement and psychosocial safety are lacking, problems can remain hidden until they become crises. Engagement also promotes better employee wellbeing and stronger psychosocial safety. Based on Gallup World Poll surveys conducted from 2020 to 2025, engaged workers in Australia experienced lower levels of negative emotions like stress, worry and anger than actively disengaged employees: 37% of engaged employees in Australia reported feeling stress the previous day, 24% worry, 14% sadness and 11% anger. In contrast, 60% of actively disengaged workers experienced stress, 50% worry, 32% sadness and 27% anger. Low employee engagement is not confined to Australia’s healthcare sector. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report reveals that in the country’s general working population engagement has stagnated for over a decade at about one employee in five, while measures of employee wellbeing have also declined steadily over this period.4 Breaking the cycle of disengagement, negative emotions and burnout requires more than resilience training or wellness initiatives. Rather, leaders must focus on fostering psychosocial safety and creating a workplace environment in which employees feel individually recognised and able to speak up, ask questions and admit mistakes without fear of reprisal. In such settings, risks are more likely to be identified before they escalate. The vital role of managers Managers are essential to building an engaged workplace. Gallup research has shown consistently that 70% of the variance in team engagement is attributable to the manager. This is because the manager’s influence is direct, immediate and consistent; they set goals and expectations, provide feedback, recognise contributions, support individual development and shape the day-to-day employee experience. In practice, effective management is not complicated. Managers who emphasise clear communication, give meaningful recognition, identify opportunities for development and provide genuine support can have a measurable impact on their team’s engagement and performance. In high-pressure environments like hospitals, small, regular improvements in how teams are managed can result in meaningful gains in engagement and wellbeing. Several Australian healthcare organisations have begun to make engagement a strategic priority, emphasising staunch support for managers to help them boost and sustain team engagement. Evidence clearly shows that an intentional focus on engagement helps build more resilient teams and fosters a culture in which staff feel valued and supported by their organisation. A pivotal juncture for health care The stakes are high for Australia’s healthcare system. An aging population is fuelling a continuing rise in demand; workforce pressures remain high and the strain on frontline staff is considerable. Against this challenging backdrop, the country’s healthcare leaders need to make engagement a strategic priority. A focus on creating a more engaged workforce culture that emphasises recognition, builds trust, and strengthens employees’ connection to mission and purpose is essential. A highly engaged workforce will enable Australia’s healthcare providers to deliver consistently high levels of care to the patients and communities they serve today and meet the growing needs of the future. To care effectively for patients, healthcare systems must first care for and support their staff, not only by protecting their wellbeing, but by ensuring they are engaged in their work. For Australia’s hospitals, the best remedy may be less about doing more, and more about doing things differently. 1. Tan J, Divakar R, Barclay L, Bayyavarapu Bapuji S, Anderson S, Saar E. Trends in retention and attrition in nine regulated health professions in Australia. Aust Health Rev. 2025;49:AH24268. doi: 10.1071/AH24268 2. General Practice Health of the Nation 2023. RACGP; 2023. Accessed 12 June, 2026. https://www.racgp.org.au/getmedia/122d4119-a779-41c0-bc67-a8914be52561/Health-of-the-Nation-2023.pdf 3. The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes, Q12 Meta-Analysis: 11th Edition. Gallup; 2024. Accessed 12 June, 2026. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/321725/gallup-q12-meta-analysis-report.aspx 4. The Gallup State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. Gallup; 2024. Accessed 12 June, 2026. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx. This report includes country-level findings based on general working population survey data collected in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Gallup’s client benchmark database includes survey data from organisations that have partnered with Gallup to measure and enhance employee engagement. *Claire de Carteret is Managing Director, APAC at Gallup. Top image credit: iStock.com/sturti

For more than three decades, pump specialist SEKO has responded to the healthcare sector’s need for precise, consistent chemical dosing systems capable of handling high load demand within on-premise laundries. SEKO’s range includes dedicated peristaltic, solenoid and pneumatic dosing pumps, known globally for their superior dosing precision and chemical compatibility which enable operators to enjoy accurate, repeatable performance over the long term with minimal maintenance requirement. Nowhere is this more important than the healthcare sector, where a constant flow of bedding, towels, uniforms and more must be washed to the highest standards of cleanliness and disinfection in a fast-paced environment where opportunities to service equipment may be limited. That’s why SEKO’s chemical injection systems have been a mainstay of the healthcare industry since the 1990s, with premium-grade components and microprocessor-driven dosing delivering impeccable injection of detergent, fabric softener, chlorine bleach and other additives. These dedicated laundry systems have also become well known for their intuitive control interfaces and ease of operation as SEKO, mindful of high staff turnover rates and a shortage of training time in hospitals and care facilities, ensures a smooth user experience is built into its product designs. SEKO has combined its experience in both the healthcare and laundry sectors to revolutionise the way on-premise laundry operators monitor and manage their installations with a dedicated range of smartphone-accessible chemical injection systems. With SEKO operating under the Kaizen principle of continuous improvement, its R&D team is constantly looking to push the envelope on product innovation and bring customers cutting-edge solutions to their daily challenges. This approach has seen the company introduce the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) and remote connectivity to an ever-increasing range of systems – including the award-winning LS100 – to help managers achieve a new standard of efficiency. During operation, these pump systems harvest data on wash cycle status, chemical consumption and equipment performance. This information can then be accessed historically or in real time via the SekoWeb and SekoBlue apps thanks to each system’s built-in web server. With vital information such as cost per kilo of laundry at their fingertips, managers can gain a detailed understanding of their spending and adjust wash formulas to optimise performance and minimise chemical consumption. Reducing chemical and energy consumption in this way means managers benefit from immediate efficiency improvements while being able to budget more accurately and streamline stored chemical volume – especially useful on smaller sites where space is at a premium. Meanwhile, SekoWeb provides access to up-to-date downloadable manuals, intelligent auto-tuning sensors and online step-by-step technical support which can accelerate installation, setup and commissioning and reduce associated time and costs. These systems’ value is already well proven, with the devices having been installed in hospital and care home OPLs the world over, where their compact design is ideal for tight plant rooms. Plus, because one unit can serve as many as 10 washers, there is no need to fit individual dosing systems per machine. With smartphone-connected pump equipment increasingly specified for on-premise laundry machines within healthcare settings, SEKO’s dedicated systems provide today’s operators with the ability to take control of costs over both the short and long term. Top image credit: iStock.com/Romi Georgiadis

Frailty — a complex clinical syndrome characterised by a decline in a person’s cognitive and physical function and a reduced ability to recover from stresses such as illnesses or injuries — can lead to falls, hospitalisation, worsening mobility and death and, it is estimated, impacts more than 20% of Australians aged over 65. Now, a national frailty framework — the Australian Consensus Statements — has been developed as practical recommendations for clinicians. Published open access (doi: 10.5694/mja2.70182) in the Medical Journal of Australia and commissioned by the Queensland Health Reform Office in partnership with the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Australian Frailty Network, its recommendations were designed in consultation with Australian healthcare professionals, older adults with lived experience of frailty and caregivers. “We have developed 19 consensus statements to guide frailty prevention and management and enhance quality of life for adults over 65 years,” said Dr Sakshi Chopra of UQ’s Frazer Institute. “Our aim is to reduce long-term complications, take pressure off the health system and offer practical recommendations to support healthcare professionals in delivering consistent and proactive care. “By raising awareness and providing guidance to healthcare practices, we hope the framework will empower healthcare professionals and the public to recognise early signs and take action,” Chopra added. “We want to ensure people living with severe frailty continue to be valued and receive appropriate, person-centred care.” The framework outlines practical recommendations for clinicians, including supporting adequate protein intake, structured exercise, meaningful social engagement, tailored care plans, raising awareness of frailty and personalised counselling on health behaviours. Focusing on six key pillars — health promotion and screening, nutrition, exercise, social activities, medicine optimisation and management of severe frailty — Chopra said the pillars have been further categorised to support the management of mild, moderate and severe frailty, something, Chopra said, “that has not been attempted before”. “We want everyone to take a lifelong approach to frailty prevention, and these pillars can be applied to people of all ages,” Chopra said. “In order to optimise the health and quality of life of older people, it is important for frailty to be prevented and, if it does occur, for it to be managed appropriately,” said geriatrician and Australian Frailty Network Director, Professor Ruth Hubbard. “Evidence supports the effectiveness of multicomponent interventions, and our 19 consensus statements are guided by the six pillars to improve health outcomes for adults across the spectrum of health — from robust to severely frail.” Image credit: iStock.com/kali9

For projects to achieve life-improving treatments for people as they age, the Australian Government has announced an additional $22.9m in research grants into dementia, the leading cause of death in Australia. As part of the Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care Mission and delivered through the Medical Research Future Fund, eight grants up to five years have been approved in the latest round. For an online project called Maintain Your Brain (MYB), aimed at improving quality of life and delaying cognitive decline with aging, a $3 million grant has been awarded; leading the research is 2026 Senior Australian of the Year, Professor Henry Brodaty AO from the University of New South Wales. Already Brodaty research has shown that online active coaching under MYB reduced dementia risk and improves cognition. Also awarded has been a $900,000 grant for a project led by Dr Diana Karamacoska from Western Sydney University. The grant will support the expansion of Dementia Friends Unite, a community-led dementia education and care program for culturally diverse older people and their families. “Research is key,” Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler said. “Dementia is not a normal part of aging and up to 45% of cases globally can be avoided or delayed through 14 modifiable risk factors. Most risk factors present in mid-life. ​Timely diagnosis and early intervention can slow progression of disease. “The funding for these projects will enable our best and brightest researchers in this field to make a real difference for people living with or at risk of dementia.” To support research that will enable older Australians to maintain their health and quality of life as they age, live independently for longer and access quality care when they need it, $185 million is being invested by the Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care Mission. You can find other research projects awarded in the latest round of funding here. Image credit: iStock.com/SDI Productions

Clinical governance, enterprise risk, cyber security, privacy, workforce pressure, aged care reform, digital health, AI and third-party risk are all reshaping the way healthcare organisations make decisions. Yet in many organisations, these risks are still reported through separate channels. The result? Boards may receive more reports, but not always clearer insight. For risk, compliance and clinical governance leaders, the challenge is no longer just to provide information. It is to help boards understand what matters most, what is changing and where action is needed next. Turning fragmented reporting into board-level insight Healthcare boards need risk information that is connected, timely and trusted. They need to see how risks interact across the organisation. They need confidence in the data behind the reporting. And they need clear insight that supports better decisions during periods of pressure, disruption and change. That is especially important as healthcare organisations respond to growing expectations around clinical safety, cyber resilience, privacy, workforce sustainability, digital transformation and third-party oversight. More reporting is not always the answer. Better governance starts with clearer visibility. Join the discussion Join Protecht for Risk governance in healthcare: What boards need from leaders, a fireside chat with: Stewart Dowrick Experienced healthcare leader, advisor and former Chief Executive of Mid North Coast Local Health District Michael Howell Head of Risk Research and Knowledge, Protecht Together, they will explore what healthcare boards really need from risk, compliance and clinical governance leaders — and how leaders can turn fragmented reporting into clearer, more influential board insight. What the session will cover In this discussion, Stewart and Michael will explore: What healthcare boards really look for in risk and governance reporting. Why clinical governance and enterprise governance are still difficult to connect. How trusted data supports better decisions during crises and disruption. Why cyber security, privacy, AI and third-party risk are now board-level governance issues. How risk leaders can create clearer, more connected and more actionable board reporting. Register now Why it matters Boards do not need every detail. They need the right detail. They need to understand the risks that could affect care quality, organisational performance, regulatory confidence and long-term resilience. They also need to know where controls are working, where assurance is needed and where action should be prioritised. For healthcare risk leaders, this creates an opportunity to move beyond reporting activity and towards shaping better governance conversations. Clearer insight. Stronger decisions. More connected governance. Watch the discussion and learn how healthcare risk leaders can better support board decision-making. Register now About Protecht Protecht’s GRC platform gives healthcare leaders a single source of truth across risk, controls, incidents, obligations, compliance, assurance and reporting. By connecting fragmented risk information in one platform, Protecht helps boards and executives make better decisions with clearer, more trusted insight. Image credit: iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

CityCarb I is a compact V bank air filter designed to deliver both particulate and molecular air purification in a single filter stage. It is developed for HVAC systems that require high indoor air quality, energy efficiency and protection against gaseous pollutants such as odours, traffic emissions and corrosive gases. The filter is engineered to combine high-efficiency particulate filtration with activated carbon media to remove airborne particles and harmful gaseous contaminants at the same time. This dual function is designed to help simplify system design by reducing the need for separate molecular filtration stages. Its compact V bank structure is designed to provide a large effective filter surface area, which supports low pressure drop and stable performance over the full-service life. This is designed to help reduce energy consumption in HVAC systems while maintaining consistent air quality. CityCarb I is engineered to be well suited for urban environments, commercial buildings, airports, hospitals and other sensitive indoor spaces where both particle and gas control are critical. The design is aligned with Camfil’s combined filtration technology used in its CityCarb range, which is designed to integrate particulate and molecular filtration to improve indoor air quality while maintaining energy efficiency and reducing system complexity. By combining particle and molecular filtration in one solution, CityCarb I is designed to help improve indoor air quality, reduce system complexity and support more sustainable building operations. For more information, click here.

As we enter peak flu season, healthcare systems face increasing pressure. Patient volumes rise, clinical environments become more complex, and the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) intensifies. Behind every shift is a clinician showing up. Often under pressure, ready to care for patients when they need it most. In these moments, continuity is what makes the difference. When supply works, it goes unnoticed. When it doesn’t, care is disrupted. For clinicians on the frontline, PPE is not just a requirement. It is essential to delivering safe, effective care. Having the right products, in the right place, at the right time allows clinicians to focus on what matters most, delivering care. At Medline ANZ, supporting continuity of supply during periods of high demand is a core part of how we operate. Our global scale, combined with local expertise, allows us to respond to fluctuations in demand while maintaining consistency across healthcare settings. We plan ahead, hold stock and work closely with our customers to anticipate demand, not just react to it. Continuity is built into how we operate. This approach is grounded in real understanding of the clinical environment. We know that during peak periods, even small delays or shortages can have a significant impact on workflow, safety and patient outcomes. That is why reliability is not just an operational goal; it is a commitment to the clinicians we support every day. Because when clinicians are supported, they can continue to deliver the care our communities depend on. And at Medline, that is what drives us.

NT WorkSafe, the Northern Territory’s work health and safety regulator, has charged an NT health organisation over the death of a patient who was in the organisation’s care. The incident occurred in January 2022. NT WorkSafe alleges the patient — who had a recorded history of volatile substance abuse and was at risk of self-harm — was involuntarily admitted into the care of the health organisation. “Despite the health organisation’s knowledge of the risks,” the regulator said, “the patient was able to access a can of deodorant within the organisation’s facility and inhale the contents, causing fatal injuries.” Under the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011, the health organisation faces the following four charges: One category 2 charge for failing the primary duty of care under section 19(2) of the Act One category 2 charge for failing the primary duty of care under section 19(3)(a)(c) and (f) of the Act One alternative category 3 charge failing the primary duty of care under section 19(3)(a)(c) and (f) of the Act, and One category 2 charge for failing the duty involving management or control of workplace section 20(2) of the Act Listed for mention at the Darwin Local Court tomorrow, if found guilty, the health organisation faces a combined maximum penalty of $4.5 million. If you are affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, help is available. Lifeline has a 24/7 crisis support service: please call 13 11 14. Image credit: iStock.com/Rizwan Mehmood

The WA Government has brokered a deal for Bethesda Health Care to take over operation of Mount Private Hospital from its current operator Healthscope, which entered receivership in May 2025. The deal is to ensure continuity of hospital operations and the delivery of essential health care services for the state, the government said. “Keeping Mount Hospital operating means people can continue to rely on the specialist services it provides — from cardiac care to complex surgery — right here in the CBD,” WA Premier Roger Cook said. “This decision protects a 170‑bed hospital, WA’s largest private critical care unit, and the highly skilled staff who deliver exceptional care every day,” Cook added. “Most importantly, it gives patients certainty that these services will be here when they need them.” To facilitate the transition and successful operation of the hospital, the WA Government said it will provide financial assistance to Bethesda, which is currently undertaking final due diligence on the hospital before it formally takes over its operations by the end of August 2026. The hospital will continue its operations with all existing staff to be offered employment with Bethesda, which is part of the terms of the deal. Image credit: iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

Is your aged care organisation finding it challenging to fill rosters, stay on top of labour costs and ensure employees are paid correctly? For many aged care providers, the answer is yes. That’s hardly surprising, given the nature of the enterprise. Delivering the high-quality, 24/7 care older Australians require and deserve is a complex undertaking. It necessitates maintaining a sizeable workforce of full-time and casual aged care workers to staff residential facilities and provide in-home support. The sector is heavily regulated, with legislated care ratios and hours, and mandatory requirements, such as the round-the-clock presence of registered nurses. And the healthcare and human services modern awards governing employees’ remuneration and entitlements are complex industrial instruments. Calculating wages correctly for employees working irregular shift patterns and overtime is no easy feat. Managing large teams with a mishmash of systems That’s particularly the case for aged care providers whose human capital management departments are operating in manual or semi-manual mode. In 2026, a surprising number still are, including several that employ upwards of 10,000 workers. Disjointed legacy systems and processes are common, with some organisations maintaining standalone applications for recruitment, onboarding, rostering, time capture, award confirmation and payroll. Having a piecemeal IT ecosystem in place makes it difficult to maintain visibility over operations and outgoings. For example, it can be difficult to determine in real time whether you’re sticking to budget or overspending on wages and overtime. That absence of insight tends to mean you’ll be unable to ‘course correct’ until weeks or months later, when the books are balanced. If hours worked need to be transferred manually from your sign-in system to your payroll application, the risk of human error is ever present. It’s accompanied by the risk of staff being incorrectly paid, if you don’t use payroll software from a vendor that invests in keeping its platform up to date with the latest changes to industry awards. Payroll discrepancies can be costly and damaging for organisations, if they’re not recognised and rectified quickly. Since 1 January 2025, intentional underpayment of wages and entitlements has been a criminal offence under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), applying to employers who deliberately underpay their staff; one which can attract large fines and even jail time for egregious and serial offenders. From confusion to clarity and cost savings Replacing standalone HR and payroll systems and processes with a single, cloud-based human capital management (HCM) platform can reduce many of these risks and help your organisation optimise its workforce planning and management. Ideally, you’ll opt for one that enables you to harness the power of AI to create rosters that comply with workplace health and safety regulations, legislated staffing ratios and mandated daily care hours, while minimising unplanned overtime. Choose a solution from a vendor that’s committed to staying up to date with changes to the industrial awards in force in Australia and you can be confident your staff are being remunerated at the right level for their experience and responsibilities. Meanwhile, utilising the same platform for time capture and payroll will reduce the risk of those wages and entitlements being calculated incorrectly. Making the switch won’t only provide you with unprecedented visibility and control over all aspects of the HCM function. You’ll also be able to slash the sum your organisation spends licensing and supporting multiple specialist applications. Streamlining recruitment and training Moreover, having the right HCM platform in place will enable you to streamline many aspects of the recruitment and onboarding processes, from the intake and review of CVs to the recording and analysis of preliminary video interviews prior to candidate shortlisting. And once new recruits are onboarded, your HCM platform can be used to summarise their skillsets and keep track of their training status. That’s a genuine boon, given the federal government’s heightened focus on quality care and compliance. Empowering your employees on the frontline and in the office You’ll also be able to engage more effectively with employees, while lightening the load for your people and culture team. Rather than having to lodge enquiries about their leave balances or to request shift swaps, aged care workers will be able to ‘self serve’, and receive information directly and approvals handled efficiently through the system. That’s empowering for them and an efficiency gain for your organisation. Not having to spend hundreds of hours a year processing such requests can free your P&C specialists up to perform more value-adding tasks — think strategic workforce planning, talent development and performance management. Tapping into your alumni worker network The aged care sector is perennially short of good staff and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. An ‘alumni network’ makes it easier to re-hire former workers — and others in their networks — but, historically, maintaining one has been an impractical proposition for all but the largest of providers. With the right HCM platform in place, it need not be. HR software can be used to obtain employees’ permission to contact them after they finish up and to send regular bulletins advising them of job openings at your facilities. Optimising your aged care operations in 2026 and beyond Providing high-quality care to older Australians who rely on aged care organisations calls for a strong, reliable frontline team. Deploying a single AI-powered HCM platform will make managing yours simpler, safer and more cost-effective, right across the employee lifecycle. If optimising your operations is on your agenda for FY 2027, it’s an investment well worth considering. *Rob Husband, Vice President and Head of Revenue for ANZ at Dayforce. Top image credit: iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen