Australia’s first National Health Literacy Framework launched

The Sax Institute congratulates the Australian Government on the launch of Australia’s first National Health Literacy Framework, providing the country’s first nationally coordinated approach to improving how people find, understand and use health information and services.

Launched by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the Framework provides evidence-based guidance to support governments, health services and community organisations to improve health literacy.

Health literacy pays an important role in helping people make informed decisions about their health – from understanding when to get a screening test and where to seek care, to making sense of treatment options. Lower health literacy is associated with delayed care, higher hospital use, poorer management of chronic disease, medication errors and avoidable hospitalisations.

The Framework comes at a time when the health information landscape is changing rapidly. Generative artificial intelligence, social media and the growing volume of health information available online are creating new opportunities for people to access information, while also making it increasingly important to be able to identify information that is accurate and trustworthy.

Importantly, the framework recognises that improving health literacy is not simply the responsibility of individuals. Health systems, services and information must also be designed so they are accessible, understandable and responsive to the needs of different communities.

The scale of the challenge is significant. The Framework reports that up to 60% of people in Australia have lower health literacy and cites modelling estimating that improving health literacy by 25% could save Australia $7.3 billion each year.

It identifies four national aims:

1. Systems and policies enable a strong and responsive health literacy environment.
2. Health information and services are trustworthy, culturally safe, accessible and easy to understand.
3. The workforce and communities are supported to build health literacy skills and capabilities.
4. Health literacy needs are addressed equitably, with a focus on priority populations.

Development of the Framework was informed by an Expert Advisory Team and extensive consultation, including workshops, community engagement and public consultation.

The Sax Institute was closely involved in the early stages of the development of the Framework and welcomes its finalisation as an important step towards making health information and services more accessible and responsive for people and communities across Australia.

Read the National Health Literacy Framework on the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.