The Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding has been granted an extension to deliver its report, which will now be provided to the Governor and Premier on or before 26 March 2025.
The Inquiry opened for submissions in September 2023 and has received around 250 submissions from government agencies, unions, healthcare organisations, individuals and professionals.
The first block of public hearings commenced in November 2023, calling forward a number of representatives from NSW Health, including Dr Kerry Chant AO PSM. A second block of public hearings is currently underway.
The submissions and public hearings provided evidence about a range of issues, including:
- The current funding arrangements for health services in NSW
- How funding arrangements relate to quality and accessibilty of healthcare
- Different models of service delivery
- The experiences of patients, healthcare workers, and other stakeholders.
The Letters Patent have been amended to extend the Inquiry reporting date.
At the request of Commissioner Richard Beasley SC, the Letters Patent have been further amended to make minor changes to the terms of reference.
More information about the Inquiry can be found on The Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said:
“Thank you to each and every person who has contributed their knowledge, experience and ideas to the Inquiry.
“I support an extension to the Inquiry to ensure the Commissioner and Inquiry staff have the time they need to undertake their work with same level of care, consideration and thoughtfulness that the public has showed in submissions.
“We have one chance to do this work and do it right. To do it right, we need to listen to the experts and have the best understanding possible on how to address the complex challenges facing the NSW public health system.”
Minister for Health and Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park said:
“I commend the Inquiry team for the excellent work they have done to date, reviewing a substantial number of submissions, managing the public hearing process and bringing together leading academics and healthcare professionals in an expert panel to advise on the state of healthcare in NSW.
“This is important work that we hope will set our healthcare system up for success for generations to come.
“The people of NSW deserve high-quality, equitable and patient-centred care and we are committed to determining what steps we need to take to deliver that care.”
