A major new alliance in Australian healthcare: the Australian consensus framework for ethical collaboration in the healthcare sector.

The 'Australian Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaboration in the Healthcare Sector' (ACF) is an Australian initiative aimed at countering dysfunction and growing mistrust in the health sector through the development of a cross-sectoral consensus framework. The development of this framework arose from Australia's involvement in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC) and has since become the largest of its kind internationally, with over 70 signatories representing professional bodies, industry organisations, hospital and health services associations, regulators and patient and advocacy groups. In this article, we describe and critique the framework and outline its implementation.

[Universal healthcare in a mixed public-private system: the Australian experience].

Australian governments and health service providers play a continual role in ensuring efficient healthcare budget use, which also concerns the meeting of goals within a universal health system, and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and regulations. As is the case in most developed countries, there is substantial pressure on healthcare budgets, and this in turn places pressure on the capacity of governments to fund universal healthcare. The mixed public-private system in Australia has some imperfections including the fragmentation of care and limitations to fund use oversight, however overall, the system serves Australians relatively well. This article explores the Australian approach to a mixed public-private system and considers some of the complexities which arise as it to support universal healthcare.