Ahead of the 2010 Federal Election, Catholic Health Australia outlined its election platform. On any given day, one in 10 Australians in a hospital or residential aged care bed is being cared for in a Catholic facility. One in three of all older Australians receiving Commonwealth funded community care is being cared for by a Catholic organisation. These services exist for all Australians, but particularly for those in socioeconomic disadvantage who, through no fault of their own, often miss out on quality health and aged care.

The Catholic Health Australia Stewardship Board invites all people or parties seeking election to the House of Representatives and Senate to consider adopting CHA's policy initiatives as their own.

Click here to download the election platform.

This report, Health Lies in Wealth - Health inequalities of Australians of working age, conclusively finds that the health of working aged Australians is affected by socio-economic status. Household income, level of education, household employment, housing tenure and social connectedness all matter when it comes to health.

Click here to download the report.

The neglect of palliative care in the broader health policy agenda presents as an urgent health challenge for governments. Palliative care is not an optional extra -- it must be viewed as an integral core component of health care delivery and take place in any setting. Governments must invest in providing palliative care services as a core part of health care and not as an "add-on extra".

Catholic Health Australia's new publication, Pursuing Excellence in Palliative Care, aims to contribute to the revision of the National Palliative Care Strategy and calls for an adherence to fifteen principles that should be responded to by governments and service providers in order to deliver excellence in palliative care.

Click here to download the document