New federal funding aims to better protect workers from silicosis and other dust diseases, as well as improve supports for affected workers and their families.
In the recent Budget, the Government announced $11 million over 4 years to support the recommendations from the National Dust Disease Taskforce Final Report.
On 4 April 2022, the All of Governments’ Response to the Final Report of the National Dust Disease Taskforce was released on the Department of Health website. The Response was endorsed by all state and territory governments.
The new funding delivers an enhanced focus on prevention activities. It aims to improve supports for affected workers and their families, upskill and improve the expertise and knowledge of medical professionals, strengthen the evidence base, and build research capability.
The funding includes:
- targeted education and communication activities to raise awareness of the risks of working in dust generating industries, and to prevent workers from developing dust diseases.
- a silicosis care management plan for health professionals to use in consultation with their patients, and a single centralised hub to provide affected workers and their families with the information, support and expert advice they need.
- enhanced training to ensure medical professionals have the skills and resources needed to effectively diagnose and manage the treatment of individuals affected by dust diseases.
It offers support for:
- the ongoing operations of the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry,
- a more strategic approach to research to improve understanding of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dust diseases, and
- national monitoring and evaluation activities to measure progress.