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Role
The National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee (NTAC) has an ongoing role to
- consolidate tuberculosis related activities including
- enhanced national surveillance of epidemiological control indexes
- drug resistance and treatment outcomes
- provide strategic expert advice to the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) on a coordinated national and international approach to tuberculosis control
- develop, review and implement national strategic plans for the control of tuberculosis in Australia
- align strategic direction to be broadly consistent with the World Health Organization’s strategies to reduce the global burden of tuberculosis.
Members
NTAC brings together representatives from:
- tuberculosis programs across Australia
- nurse managers with tuberculosis expertise
- public health physicians
- clinicians practicing in tuberculosis clinics
- thoracic physicians and infectious disease physicians
- the Australian Centre for Disease Control
- the Public Health Laboratory Network
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ Paediatrics and Child Health Division
- Australian Government Department of Home Affairs
- Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Protection Subcommittee of the Australian Health Protection Committee.
Jurisdictional members
| Member | State | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Professor Justin Denholm (Chair) | Vic | Victorian Department of Health |
| Dr Simone Barry (Deputy Chair) | SA | South Australia Health |
| Dr Chris Coulter | Qld | Queensland Health |
| Ms Ellen Donnan | NSW | New South Wales Health |
| Dr Marianne Turner | ACT | Australian Capital Territory Health |
| Dr Vicki Krause | NT | Northern Territory Health |
| Dr Alison Ratcliff | Tas | Tasmanian Department of Health |
| Dr Alison Keed | WA | Western Australia Health |
Australian Government representatives
| Member | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Dr Gary Lum | Australian Centre for Disease Control |
| Dr Anthony Moore | Australian Centre for Disease Control |
| Mr Edward Huddy | Australian Centre for Disease Control |
| Ms Lila Caplice | Australian Government Department of Home Affairs |
| Dr Grant Pegg | Chief Medical Officer, Australian Government Department of Home Affairs |
| Ms Camilla Burkot | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |
Organisational representatives
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Professor Vitali Sintchenko | Public Health Laboratory Network |
| Dr Vikas Goyal | Paediatric Specialist, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service |
| Dr Megan Campbell | The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Protection Subcommittee of the Australian Health Protection Committee (AHPC) |
| Vacant | Regional Engagement Specialist |
Meetings
NTAC meets 3 to 5 times a year.
Vacant position
Regional Engagement Specialist for the NTAC – position description
The NTAC is seeking applicants for its vacant Regional Engagement Specialist position. Applications close 31 March 2026. Read more about the role and how to apply.
Related committees or groups
NTAC is a subcommittee of the Communicable Disease Network Australia (CDNA) and works with:
- Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN)
- Communicable Diseases Genomic Network (CDGN)
- Tuberculosis Data Quality Working Group.
Publications
NTAC publishes its guidelines and position statements in the Communicable Diseases Intelligence journal:
- See annual reports on tuberculosis notifications in Australia in the Communicable Diseases Intelligence journal
- Consensus statement on the use of a four-month treatment regimen for drug susceptible tuberculosis in children (under 10 years of age) with uncomplicated disease, 2022
- Not everything that can be counted counts: defining and evaluating tuberculosis mortality in Australia, 2022
- The use of whole genome sequencing for tuberculosis public health activities in Australia: a joint statement of the National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee and Communicable Diseases Genomics Network, 2023
- The Strategic Plan for Control of Tuberculosis in Australia, 2021–2025, 2022
- Position statement on interferon-γ release assays for the detection of latent tuberculosis infection, 2017
- National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee Guideline: Management of tuberculosis risk in healthcare workers in Australia, 2017
- National position statement for the management of latent tuberculosis infection, 2017
- Tuberculosis notifications in Australia, 2014, 2017
- Infection control guidelines for the management of patients with suspected or confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis in healthcare settings, 2016
- Defining a tuberculosis cluster or outbreak, 2016
- Essential components of a tuberculosis control program within Australia, 2014
- The BCG vaccine: information and recommendations for use in Australia, 2013
- National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee multi-drug resistant tuberculosis information paper, 2007
- Guidelines for Australian mycobacteriology laboratories, 2006.
Contact
National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee (NTAC) secretariat
Contact us for more information about NTAC’s work.