Australia - Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights

Citation

(2009), "Australia - Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 22 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2009.06222aab.005

Australia - Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights

Article Type: News and views From: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 22, Issue 1

Keywords: Healthcare standards, Human rights, Quality improvement

The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights was developed after wide consultation by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and specifies the key rights of patients and consumers when seeking or receiving healthcare services.

It summarises the basic rights that patients and consumers are entitled to receive when accessing health care services throughout Australia. These rights are access, safety, respect, communication, participation, privacy and comment.

The Charter will become the reference point for healthcare organisations, which will use the Charter as the basis for informing patients and consumers of their rights. The Commission will support inclusion of the Charter into accreditation systems and educational curricula to ensure it becomes an important part of the healthcare system in Australia. Australian Health Ministers have adopted the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights.

Guiding principles

These three principles describe how this Charter applies in the Australian health system:

1. 1.

   Everyone has the right to be able to access health care and this right is essential for the Charter to be meaningful.

2. 2.

   The Australian Government commits to international agreements about human rights, which recognise everyone’s right to have the highest possible standard of physical and mental health.

3. 3.

   Australia is a society made up of people with different cultures and ways of life, and the Charter acknowledges and respects these differences.

For more information: www.safetyandquality.org