Research
The Australian Health Care Agreements 2003–2008
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Correspondence: Stephen J Duckett s.duckett@latrobe.edu.au
Professor of Health Policy La Trobe University Australia
Australia and New Zealand Health Policy 2004, 1:5 doi:10.1186/1743-8462-1-5
Published: 18 November 2004Abstract
The Australian Health Care Agreements for the five years 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2008 were signed in August 2003 after vituperative debate and intransigence from the Commonwealth that vitiated the negotiation process. The new Agreements, which were not as generous as the Agreements they replaced, increase accountability on the States, requiring States to match increases in Commonwealth funding, and de-emphasise the prospects for further reform in Commonwealth-State relations during the course of the Agreements. This paper describes the new Australian Health Care Agreements and the process which led to them.