Consultation

Who can take part

Everyone can take part in consultation. This includes individuals, organisations, consumers, carers and health professionals.

We are especially keen to hear from those with lived experience of the health condition, service or technology the application is addressing.

How to have your say

View applications open for consultation

To have your say:

select the application you want to provide input on
read the application documents on the application page
select the ‘provide your input online’ button to open the consultation survey form
submit it before the relevant deadline.

If you are a consumer or consumer organisation and would like some support or guidance, please contact the Consumer Evidence and Engagement Unit.

To find out when applications open for consultation, subscribe to our email bulletins.

You can also provide your key points in a letter or an audio or video submission. Audio and video must be 10 minutes or shorter and in a format our secretariat can access. Include the application number before sending your input to us by email or post.

What to include

You can provide input on any aspect of the application. Focus on the issues you think we should consider when we assess the application. The consultation survey form includes examples of information we may find helpful.

If you or someone you know has experience with the medical condition, service or technology in the application, you may want to comment on:

the current treatment for the condition and its benefits and challenges
what the benefits and challenges of the new service or technology are
who should be able to access the new service or technology
if it is currently available, what limits there are on who can access it (such as cost)
how public funding would affect consumers and carers.

Health professionals, medical practitioners and academics may want to comment on:

the PICO or the proposed pricing or fee
research that is relevant to the application
how public funding would affect current clinical practice and patient access
their experience with the service or technology
the benefits and challenges for clinicians and patients
whether you would want to see the service or technology implemented in your practice or area.

To respect their privacy, do not include identifying information about others (such as a doctor or relative).

Why consultation is important

Your input helps us and our subcommittees to assess health services and technologies for public funding. We can better understand:

how the service or technology may affect:
- the lives of people with the health condition, their carers, family and friends
- clinical practice
- the Australian health care system
the benefits and disadvantages of the service or technology
the experiences of people who have received or been involved in the service or technology.

When consultation starts

The timing depends on the application's assessment pathway.

Most applications are on the standard pathway. They go through 2 consultation periods:

Pre-PASC consultation – this starts once the relevant PASC meeting agenda is published
Pre-MSAC consultation – this starts once the relevant ESC meeting agenda is published.

Some applications only go through pre-MSAC consultation because they bypass PASC. For applications on the:

expedited pathway, pre-MSAC consultation starts once the relevant ESC meeting agenda is published
direct pathway, pre-MSAC consultation starts once the relevant MSAC meeting agenda is published.

To find out when agendas have been published, subscribe to our email bulletins.

Deadlines for your input

For most applications, 2 input deadlines will appear on the relevant application page:

Pre-PASC deadline – for input you want PASC to consider for the PICO confirmation.
Pre-MSAC deadline – for input you want us to consider before we decide our advice about public funding (we also consider the input that PASC considers).

These deadlines are usually several months apart. If the deadlines are not available yet, subscribe to our email bulletins for updates.

To ensure we and our subcommittees consider your input, submit it by the relevant deadline. If you are completing the online survey form, the closing date is on the form. The survey will disappear if you do not submit it by the closing date.

How we use your input

Our secretariat shares your consultation input with us, our subcommittees and the applicant. Our secretariat shares:

input from groups or organisations in full, after redacting any personal information of third parties
input from individuals:
- with us and our subcommittees, after redacting any personal information about you or a third party
- with the applicant in a de-identified summary form.

From time to time, our secretariat may also share consultation input with:

other health technology assessment (HTA) committees. For example, if another HTA committee is also considering the application, our secretariat may share consultation input with that committee. Input is shared in the same form as it is shared with us
HTA groups, to inform their reports to us and our subcommittees. Input is shared in the same form as it is shared with us
representatives from state and territory governments, where the application is for therapy delivered through public hospitals. Input from organisations is shared in full, after redacting any personal information of third parties. Input from individuals is shared in de-identified summary format.

Your consultation input and any documents you provide to us as part of the MSAC process may be shared in full or in a de-identified format with third parties where authorised or required by law.

Published summary of consultation input

Our secretariat may publish a summary of consultation input on this website as part of the ratified PICO confirmation or public summary document.

The summaries in these documents contain no identifying information about individuals or third parties. The summaries may include the names of organisations who give input and may attribute views or comments to these organisations. Organisations should not include information or opinions in their input that they would not wish to see published.

Applicant response to input

Applicants can comment on consultation input before the PASC and MSAC meetings. PASC and MSAC will consider these comments along with the consultation input.

Targeted consultation

During the consultation process, our secretariat may contact health professional and consumer organisations or individual experts directly for their input. This occurs when our secretariat, our subcommittees or the applicant identifies organisations that may have an interest in the application. The same survey form is generally used for both public and targeted consultation.

To find out more, see targeted consultation for applicants.

Stakeholder forums

Some applications require a stakeholder forum before or after the relevant MSAC meeting. These forums help us to explore key questions about the application. Our secretariat:

may invite experts and representatives from relevant professional and consumer organisations to attend
publishes the forum outcomes, including any different points of view, on the relevant application page.

To find out more, see stakeholder forums for applicants.