Australian Health Protection Principal Committee

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) provides advice and recommendations to the Health Chief Executives Forum and National Cabinet (as required) on: - health protection matters to mitigate emerging health threats related to infectious diseases, the environment, natural and human made disasters in the context of prevention, preparedness and response and recovery; national health protection priorities and the allocation of health resources to these priorities; - coordination of health responses to disasters, and health protection issues of national significance; - enabling the development and adoption by states and territories of national health protection policies, guidelines, and standards; - providing strategic direction to, and supporting the work of the Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN), the Communicable Disease Network Australia (CDNA), Environmental Health Standing Committee (enHealth), the National Health Emergency Management Standing Committee (NHEMS), the Blood Borne Virus and Sexually Transmissible Infections Standing Committee (BBVSS), the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Protection Subcommittee (NATSIHP) and the AHPPC Aged Care Advisory Group; - consulting and negotiating with other relevant agencies and committees, on the development of national public health emergency planning, coordination and control, communicable disease, environmental health and other health protection priorities and strategies; - promoting the alignment of jurisdictional strategic plans and activities with agreed national priorities; - considering the role of the AHPPC in the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes; and - overseeing national activities that strengthen health protection infrastructure and capacity nationally. Secretariat support is provided by the Department of Health and Aged Care (Australian Government).