COAG Healthy Communities Initiative
Through the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health the Australian Government is providing $72 million over the next four years (2009-10 – 2012-13) to support Local Government Areas (LGAs) in delivering effective community-based physical activity and dietary education programs as well as developing a range of policy environments to support healthy lifestyle behaviours.
The Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI) aims to help reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity within the target populations of participating communities by maximising the number of at-risk individuals engaged in accredited physical activity and dietary education programs.
The initiative will target individuals not predominantly in the paid workforce and at a high risk of developing chronic disease.
Key elements of the HCI include:
- Grants to Local Government;
- National Program Grants; and
- a Quality Assurance Framework and Accreditation System.
Local Government Area Grants
New - Frequently Asked Questions
Funding to LGAs will be provided to increase the number of at-risk adults engaged in accredited physical activity and dietary education programs. The LGA Grants will:- support a Healthy Communities Co-ordinator within local government to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the HCI within the LGAs target population; AND any combination of:
- subsidising the costs to individuals of participating in accredited dietary education, physical activity or healthy lifestyle programs; AND/OR
- running or purchasing accredited community based healthy lifestyle programs; AND/OR
- purchasing or subsidising training for community members to run accredited community based healthy lifestyle programs where this does not contradict professional or accreditation requirements of specific programs.
Applications for the pilot phase for the LGA Grants component of the Healthy Communities Initiative are open between 25 November 2009 and 22 January 2010. Further information on the pilot phase is available in the application pack.
National Program Grants
New - Frequently Asked Questions
National Program Grants will be awarded to not-for-profit organisations to deliver proven and sustainable programs aimed at improving adults’ physical activity levels, healthy eating behaviours and/or weight. The aim of the National Program Grants is to help organisations that have demonstrated success in delivering community based healthy lifestyle programs in at least two locations to expand their program nationally, including to the majority of areas receiving the LGA Grants that wish to access the program.Funding of up to $1.1 million (GST inclusive) per grant for a period of up to 37 months (June 2010 to June 2013) will be made available to successful applicants for the National Program Grants.
Expressions of Interest for the National Program Grants component of the Healthy Communities Initiative are open between 15 December 2009 and 12 February 2010. Further information and an application pack is available at www.health.gov.au/tenders.
Quality Assurance
The Department will support the implementation of the initiative through the development and funding of ‘soft infrastructure’ including a national Quality Assurance (QA) Framework, the accreditation / registration of programs and service providers and a web-based information portal. It is proposed that the QA Framework will be designed to acknowledge existing accreditation systems rather than add an extra burden of administration. The QA Framework will inform an accreditation / registration / credentialing system for programs and service providers.The Department contracted Communio Pty Ltd in early December 2009 to develop the Healthy Communities QA Framework. Communio Pty Ltd will be required to:
- conduct a literature review, environmental scan and gap analysis of national and international standards, accreditation and credentialing processes;
- undertake an extensive consultation process with stakeholders that will include web-based and email consultations, teleconferences, semi-structured interviews and face-to-face workshops;
- create and host a project specific webpage that will enable stakeholders to access and review documents, be kept abreast of developments, provide comments, and make enquiries;
- work with the Local Government Area pilot sites to ‘field test’ an Interim Framework and provide personalised assistance on how to use the Framework; and
- develop an Interim and a Final Framework that incorporates feedback obtained during the stakeholder consultations and ‘field testing’.