Strengthening Australia’s National Disease Surveillance System [DEMO]
Current State of Disease Surveillance in Australia
Understanding Today’s System: Where Are We Now?
Australia’s disease surveillance system is a combination of state, territory, and national efforts. While we've made significant progress—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic—there are well-known issues. Fragmented data, inconsistent reporting standards, and limited integration with local health intelligence often slow our ability to detect and respond to threats quickly.
In this section, we ask you to reflect on your experiences with current systems. Whether you are a health professional, researcher, community leader, or citizen, your perspective can highlight real-world strengths and weaknesses.
Fast Facts: Surveillance System in 2025
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Over 60 notifiable diseases are tracked nationally
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Data is collected by jurisdictions and shared with the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)
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Many outbreaks still rely on manual phone reporting by clinicians and labs
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Less than 20% of systems are fully interoperable across jurisdictions