As outlined in our Strategic Direction 2018-2022 and Corporate Plan 2018–19, the NHFB aims to establish productive and effective partnerships with stakeholders.

This year, we developed a Strategic Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Framework.

The Framework supports our agency to provide a holistic approach to our stakeholder engagement, considering the operating environment of our stakeholders as well as the need for transparent and timely information.

We developed the Framework with two outcomes in mind:

1. Actively collaborate and consult with stakeholders; and
2. Provide trusted and impartial advice.

Administrator and NHFB’s Key External Relationships

Early and impartial engagement with all relevant stakeholders, especially the Commonwealth, States and Territories, allows time to discuss and resolve issues in a collaborative manner. The Administrator’s Jurisdictional Advisory Committee (JAC) is a key channel for this engagement. This committee is comprised of senior representatives of States and Territories and relevant Commonwealth agencies. The Administrator’s JAC’s objectives are to:

• Consider and provide advice to the Administrator on strategic issues related to the Administrator’s functions under the NHR Agreement and NHR Act; and
• Enable collaboration between the Administrator, NHFB, Commonwealth, State and Territory Health Departments and Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) on the relevant operational arrangements and priorities under the NHR Agreement and NHR Act.

The NHFB is a member of committees such as the IHPA Jurisdictional Advisory Committee (IHPA JAC) and Technical Advisory Committee (IHPA TAC), and increasingly participates in Australian Institute for Health and Welfare (AIHW) committees.

The NHFB also participates in national committees chaired by other expert health bodies, including the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC).

Commonwealth, States and Territories

We have been proactively engaging with the Commonwealth, States and Territories through a range of forums, from multilateral workshops through to informal strategic stakeholder discussions. This engagement provides valuable guidance to assist all parties to understand the basis of funding calculation outcomes, and to build further trust in our functions. Our formal engagement forum is the Administrator’s JAC which met four times in 2018–19:

• August 2018;
• September 2018;
• November 2018;
• February 2019; and
• June 2019 (deferred to July 2019)

Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA)

The IHPA is an independent government agency established by the Commonwealth as part of the National Health Reform Act 2011 to contribute to significant reforms to improve Australian public hospitals.

The IHPA determines the National Efficient Price (NEP), the price applied to ABF services, and the National Efficient Cost (NEC), the price applied to block funded services. The NEP and NEC serve as a major determinant of the level of Commonwealth Government funding for public hospital services.

We routinely engage with the IHPA, including as a member of IHPA’s JAC and IHPA’s TAC.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)

The AIHW develops, collects, compiles, analyses, manages and disseminates Australian health and welfare data. We collaborate with the AIHW on public hospital funding related matters via a number of committees including the Strategic Committee for National Health Information, the National Health Data and Information Standards Committee, the National Hospitals Information Advisory Committee, and the Health Expenditure Advisory Committee.

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC)

The ACSQHC leads and coordinates national improvements in the safety and quality of health care through supporting the inclusion of safety and quality into national funding and pricing models. This includes work on:

• Sentinel events;
• Hospital-acquired complications; and
• Avoidable hospital readmissions.

We have been working with the ACSQHC to gain a better understanding, from a clinical perspective, on our funding integrity analysis work to identify public hospital services that potentially received funding through other Commonwealth programs.