Since its election, the Rudd Government has created ten new advisory bodies in the health portfolio, in addition to the 100 or more already established.

We have attempted to list all these advisory bodies.

The Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 requires the Treasurer to publicly release and table a Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) report by the end of January in each year, or within 6 months after the last budget, whichever is later. Typically, MYEFO is released in November each year. This year it was released on
November 6. To view Dr Lesley Russell's analysis, click here.

The Australian health system is facing an unprecedented level of public scrutiny. The new federal government has two national commissions examining the prospects of serious reform. If newspapers are to be believed, state and territory hospital systems stagger from crisis to crisis. And with an ageing population and growing burden of chronic illness, these problems are likely to intensify.

The Menzies-Nous Survey of Attitudes to the Australian Health System will contribute to this debate by adding a careful analysis of what Australians think of their health system. The Survey has three aims.