Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza

Purpose of this document

The Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza (AHMPPI) is a national health plan for responding to an influenza pandemic, based on international best practice and evidence. The purpose of this document is to outline the measures that the health sector will consider in response to an influenza pandemic and to provide an overview of the preparedness activities being undertaken to ensure that the health sector is adequately prepared for an influenza pandemic.

The AHMPPI provides an overarching framework for preparedness and response activities within the health sector. The operational documents that will guide the response at a local level align to this framework to ensure a nationally consistent response.

This plan provides clear links with whole of government planning and outlines where advice from the health sector would feed into whole of government decision making.

As there are so many uncertainties around when a pandemic could occur and how it might affect our society, this plan incorporates a high level of flexibility to ensure that actions taken will be appropriate to the situation and can be adapted to meet the needs of different groups or situations.

To assist the planning process a number of assumptions have been made about how the next pandemic virus might behave, and how effective our interventions would be. Once the next pandemic strain emerges, a rapid review of these assumptions will be needed to ensure that the response is appropriate to the specific situation.

This document builds on the work and principles contained within previous national pandemic health plans. It aims to incorporate the many valuable lessons learnt that have been gained from pandemic exercises here and abroad, as well as the latest research findings on influenza and pandemics.

Elements of this plan will be tested at national, jurisdictional and local levels. The testing will inform the future development of the plan.

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This information is current for 03 September, 2010
This information was issued on 05 December, 2008