Government acknowledges strength of Australia’s device regulations

Following the release of An Action Plan for Medical Devices, Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) welcomes the acknowledgement by the Federal Government that the regulatory requirements for medical devices in Australia are some of the most stringent in the world.

Patients benefit most when they have timely access to innovative new technologies, and MTAA also welcomes the Government’s recognition of this as they work to strike the right balance with effective and appropriate scrutiny of these technologies.

MTAA supports measures to improve adverse event reporting by healthcare professionals and hospitals and welcomes moves to strengthen community awareness of how the safety and performance of medical devices are assessed.

Ian Burgess, Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Technology Association of Australia said:

“We welcome the Government’s ongoing recognition of Australia’s regulatory requirements for medical devices as being amongst the most rigorous in the world.

“We also welcome acknowledgement that this rigor must be balanced with the need for patients to be able to access new breakthrough technologies in a timely manner.

“Medical technology companies are legally required to report adverse events and often report beyond what is required by regulation, however, we welcome any moves to make this process more efficient.

“MTAA looks forward to continuing to participate in the ongoing review processes described in the Action Plan to ensure that Australians have access to the best and most innovative new technologies in order to live better and more fulfilling lives.”

Rachel Fry | 0417 887 432 | rfry@mtaa.org.au