External Committee Vacancies

To assist doctors to be involved in these processes this page provides information about current vacancies for independent experts for government and non-government committees so that you, the members, have the opportunity to be involved.

MBS Review Taskforce

The MBS Review Taskforce, led by Professor Bruce Robinson, will consider how services on the Medicare Benefits Schedule can be aligned with contemporary clinical evidence and improve health outcomes for patients.  Although the AMA has concerns that the reviews will be undertaken in the absence of an overarching vision and any specific direction for the Australian healthcare system to guide the final outcomes, clinician engagement in the reviews is critical.

The MBS Review Taskforce is seeking nominations for clinicians to participate in Clinical Committees and Working Groups.

The Clinical Committees will identify and review items that are either obsolete, require an evidence-based review, whether they should be amended to better reflect current clinical practice or any structural issues.  The Working Groups will focus on specific issues referred by the Clinical Committees and/or Taskforce. Both the Clinical Committees and Working Groups will report to the Taskforce.

Clinical Committees and Working Groups will be chaired by a clinician practising in the area and include experts providing the service, practitioners from adjacent or other clinical fields and referrers of the service.

The first set of Clinical Committees and priority review topics to be consider by the Working Group have been identified by the Taskforce.  These are expected for immediate start to be completed and incorporated as part of the Taskforce interim report to the Minster later this year.  For a list of all other Clinical Committees that will be undertaken, please click here.

Nominees do not need to be experts in their field, but should have sound clinical knowledge and experience, be committed to interpreting evidence/research, and preferably have contemporary experience of using the MBS.

If you are interested in participating in either the Clinical Committees or Working Groups, please email your name, position/title, organisation, contact details including email address and your clinical interest/expertise to MBSReviews@health.gov.au. 

Nominations are sought by 30 September 2015.  However, given the magnitude of the undertaking it is expected that the Department of Health will welcome nominations well after that date as the plan for the reviews are to be conducted in 2016.

First set of Clinical Committees and its associated Working Groups

List of Other Clinical Committees

• Allergy and Immunology
• Allied health (includes currently funded chronic disease management services)
• Anaesthesia
• Cardiology (includes cardiothoracic surgery)
• Consultation services (includes specialist and consultant physicians)
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology (includes endocrine surgery)
• Gastroenterology (including upper and lower GI endoscopy)
• General Practice (includes health assessments and acupuncture)
• General Surgery (includes abdominal, upper gastrointestinal and colorectal surgery)
• Gynaecology
• Hand surgery
• Indigenous Health
• Intensive care (includes neonatology and emergency medicine)
• Mental health services (includes psychiatry and GP mental health items)
• Neurology (includes neurosurgery and interventional neuro-radiology)
• Oncology (includes medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, and cancer specific imaging)
• Ophthalmology
• Optometry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (includes the Cleft lip and Palate Scheme)
• Orthopaedics
• Paediatric surgery
• Pain management
• Pathology
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Renal medicine
• Spinal surgery
• Urology
• Vascular surgery and interventional radiology