On 1 January 2024, an interim Australian Centre for Disease Control (Australian CDC) was launched as the first step in the Australian Government’s phased approach to establishing the Australian CDC.
The interim Australian CDC has already strengthened Australia’s preparedness levels to respond to future health challenges, including through the creation of a One Health Unit and a Health Security Unit.
The interim Australian CDC will continue to operate as part of the Department of Health and Aged Care until the launch of the independent Australian CDC.
Work to establish the Australian CDC will be informed by the:
- outcomes of the independent COVID-19 Response Inquiry
- operations of the interim Australian CDC
- lessons from recent communicable disease events.
The Australian CDC is expected to be launched on 1 January 2026, with headquarters based in Canberra.
Find out more about what we do.
The interim Australian CDC is building our One Health and health security capabilities.
One Health is an international approach that recognises the connection between the health of people, animals and the environment. This concept will guide the work of the interim Australian CDC.
The interim Australian CDC is also improving Australia’s health security. This work will increase our understanding of future health threats.
Why it is important
The risk of public health emergencies is increasing. Australia has seen this in recent disease outbreaks and more frequent natural disasters.
The reasons for the increased risk include:
- changes in the environment that are leading to health issues, such as more diseases that spread from animals to people (zoonoses)
- increasing vulnerability driven by climate change.
A CDC will help Australia prepare for these increased risks.
Background
The Australian Government identified the need for a CDC after recent public health emergencies, including the:
- COVID-19 pandemic
- Japanese encephalitis virus outbreak
- emergence of mpox (monkeypox)
- 2019–20 bushfires and other natural disasters.
These emergencies challenged the nation and prompted urgent responses. Australia faced the challenges well, but there are lessons from these experiences.
The government decided to set up a CDC to improve the way we prepare for and respond to emergencies in the future.
Funding and approach to establishment
The Australian Government is investing $251.7 million over 4 years to further strengthen Australia’s readiness to respond to future health challenges, and establish an independent Australian CDC.
In 2022, the government consulted with stakeholders on the scope and functions of a CDC. It committed $90.9 million in the 2023–24 Budget to support setting up a CDC.
This includes funding to:
- develop our expertise to better understand the connections between the health of people, animals and the environment (One Health)
- improve our intelligence of health threats (health security).
To support the ongoing establishment of an Australian CDC, the department stood up a CDC Establishment Taskforce on 29 January 2024 to further progress and prioritise work on establishing a standalone CDC. This taskforce is led by Helen Grinbergs (First Assistant Secretary), and operates as a division within the interim Australian CDC.