Doorstop interview with Assistant Minister White, Sydney – 1 September 2026

Media event date: 1 September 2026 Date published: 1 September 2026 Media type: General public REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: We're launching the Health Literacy Framework, which is about providing a guiding document to make it easier for communication to happen between health professionals and health consumers. I think a lot of us have heard stories or experienced situations where we're having conversation with a GP, and you walk out of that room and you wonder, what did they just tell me.

So this is about making sure we have really clear communication that patients can understand and that health professionals can give in a manner that is easily understood so that people can have better health outcomes. This framework also guides our thinking across different population groups, so First Nations communities, CALD communities, and in language, because ultimately we understand that if we can't communicate in a way that people can interpret, to be able to apply what they've heard in practice, then we're not going to see an improvement in health outcomes, and that includes providing information in language so that people can properly understand what has just been shared with them.

Health can be a really confusing space. There can be a lot of jargon and a lot of acronyms. This framework is about simplifying it, making communication clear so we have better understanding and ultimately better health outcomes.

KIRSTEN MCCAFFERY, DIRECTOR OF SYDNEY HEALTH LITERACY LAB: I'm delighted to be here for the launch of the National Health Literacy Framework. This is a really important occasion. It means that we can support and strengthen health literacy across Australia for everyone, everywhere.

So often we think about health literacy, we think about individuals and communities alone, we don't think about what systems and services have to do to support and enable people to access, understand and use health information to improve their health. This framework will help make information more accessible, more understandable more trustworthy, and we know this is so important in the changing health information landscape that we're in today – digital health information, social media, chatbots.

There’s enormous pressure on people to understand and know what to do about their health. And this framework is taking a giant leap forward for Australia, helping us support people across the country. SAAD KHALID, CHAIRPERSON OF SYDNEY HEALTH LITERACY LAB COMMUNITY PANEL: The launch of the framework today is a monumental occasion for multicultural and migrant communities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, you saw that people did not have a place to turn to for trusted information. The launch of the framework today, it provides guidance for multicultural and migrant communities, or trusted voices or intermediaries, and to be working in partnership with communities. The Health Literacy Framework helps the government better communicate with priority populations rather than calling them difficult and hard to reach, that multicultural and migrant communities are finally recognised as priority population, as a cohort of people that need to be consulted, that need to be advised, that needs to be worked together in partnership.

The Hon Rebecca White MP Primary care Accessibility We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders both past and present. © Commonwealth of Australia