Background

The Strategic Committee for National Health Information (SCNHI) provides strategic advice to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in relation to its national health information work, including overall priorities, and the Institute's health sector performance reporting work in the context of the National Health Information Agreement (NHIA) and other national health monitoring and analysis roles.

Terms of reference

The SCNHI will:

  • Provide a forum for discussion of broad health data and information issues, barriers and opportunities of national interest relevant to the Institute’s role and function.
  • Provide a forum to support implementation of Institute health-related data priorities, discuss the health data landscape and the quality of the foundations that support linkage and other newer initiatives.
  • Provide strategic advice to the Institute on national health information needs and priorities.
  • Provide strategic advice to the Institute on its work to develop national health information infrastructure and to collate, analyse and report national health information.
  • Provide strategic advice to the Institute on its work on health sector performance reporting, including in relation to the implementation and use of the Australian Health Performance Framework.
  • Provide advice on issues related to projects funded through national cost-shared mechanisms.
  • Provide advice to the Institute for communications with national committees, forums and other bodies about national health information issues.
  • Provide a forum for discussion and resolution of issues raised by the Institute’s National Health Data and Information Standards Committee as required, including supporting and maintaining consistency and comparability of national health data.
  • Provide advice to senior officials and forums on the implications for the statistical system of new and emerging health information issues, and requirements for linkages to other sectors.
  • Advise on and or seek advice on opportunities to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes, for example, by liaising with national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health committees.
  • Provide a forum to understand and find commonalities between Institute and other organisation’s priorities.
  • Liaise with other Institute health information advisory committees as required.

Membership

Membership of the SCNHI comprises of representatives of:

  1. All jurisdictions (Commonwealth, state and territory government departments with responsibility for health)
  2. Other agencies:
    • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
    • Australian Bureau of Statistics
    • Australian Centre for Disease Control
    • Australian Digital Health Agency
    • Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
    • Independent Hospital Pricing Authority
    • National Health Funding Body
  3. Any other members as determined necessary by the Institute.

Members must be senior officials with sufficient authority to provide high level strategic advice and make commitments on behalf of their organisations. Members may delegate attendance assuming delegates can provide advice and make commitments on behalf of members.

Consumer representatives have not been included in the membership but will be invited to attend meetings when topics of relevance are discussed.

At the discretion of the Chair, Observers may be invited to attend meetings. They can contribute at meetings, by contributing to discussions, by making oral presentations, by distributing documents at meetings through the Chair, or by engaging in other activities as appropriate and as approved by the Chair.

Secretariat

Secretariat support is provided by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Office of the CEO, Canberra.

Contact details

Postal address
SCNHI Secretariat
PO Box 570
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone
(02) 6244 1137
Email address
[email protected]