AHHA is Australia’s national peak body for public hospitals and healthcare providers. Our membership includes state and territory health departments (including ACT Health Directorate), Local Hospital Networks (LHNs) and public hospitals, community health services, Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and primary healthcare providers (including Capital Health Network), aged care providers, universities (including Faculty of Health, University of Canberra and the Australian National University College of Health and Medicine), individual health professionals and academics. As such, we are uniquely placed to be an independent, national voice for universal high-quality health care.
AHHA has a long history of actively contributing to the health sector movement for climate action, environmental health, and sustainable healthcare. We are a long standing, active member of the Climate and Health Alliance, a founding member of the Asia Pacific Global Green and Health Hospitals Network, and a member of the Better Futures Australia health sector working group.
AHHA supports the inclusion of the right to a healthy environment in the Human Rights Act. We support the premise, outlined in the discussion paper, that to uphold the universal right to health, governments and citizens must address the environmental determinants of health. With the health system contributing to 7.2% of Australia’s emissions, there is great opportunity for the ACT Government to demonstrate leadership and work towards fulfilling the right to a healthy environment through the creation of a vision for a sustainable health system.