Joint Colleges’ Statement on Medevac law

JOINT STATEMENT: Leading medical authorities ask Parliament to maintain Medevac law

The presidents of leading medical colleges are united in asking the Australian Parliament to maintain the Medevac legislation and the Independent Health Advice Panel (IHAP) process.

Every person should have access to necessary and appropriate medical care and, as clinicians, we have a duty to uphold this basic human right.

The Medevac Legislation has improved access to appropriate healthcare for refugees and asylum seekers being held offshore. It allows medical experts to make decisions about health care for seriously ill individuals and ensure that they receive the medical treatment that they need in a clinically appropriate timeframe. Previous delays and failures to transfer ill asylum seekers resulted in preventable suffering.

The reporting of the IHAP on its activities and healthcare in regional processing countries is providing vital information to provide greater accountability and transparency to Parliament and the Australian public.

We call on the Australian Parliament to maintain the standard of health care and information that has now been achieved through the Medevac legislation.

As the presidents of peak Australian medical bodies we call for the Medevac legislation to be maintained:

• The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM)
• The Australasian College of Dermatologists (ACD)
• The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)
• The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA)
• The College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand (CICM)
• The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
• The Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA)
• The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG)
• The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)
• The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR)

Media contact: Peter Stahel, RACP – media@racp.edu.au, 0408 584 439