Legislation and transparency

Legislation

We operate under the Australian Centre for Disease Control Act 2025.

This law defines our role, powers and governance – ensuring that our work to protect public health is transparent, accountable and independent.

We also have responsibilities under other laws that safeguard health, data and privacy, including the:

Together, these Acts make sure that we operate responsibly and in the public interest.

Independent and evidence-informed

Our Director-General and executive team provide public health advice on the areas we are legally responsible for.

Our advice will always be based on the best available evidence and expertise.

We operate transparently so Australians can trust the integrity of the information we publish.

We use data and information from multiple sources to inform our advice, including

state and territory health systems
laboratories
research institutions
international partners.

Transparency and accountability

Public health advice

We publish our public health advice and the analysis that supports it openly, so that everyone can see the information behind public health decisions.

This requirement is embedded in the legislation to ensure full transparency and accountability.

There are limited circumstances where advice or supporting evidence may not be published. This could be because releasing information could threaten national security or cause harm to individuals or communities.

Register of public health agreements

The Director-General is required to publish a register of public health agreements to further ensure transparency.

These agreements are written arrangements between the Australian CDC and external entities that provide us with information or expert advice on public health matters.

The register does not include informal engagement or unsolicited advice, and it is not intended to record every operational interaction.

Instead, it:

provides a clear, public record of the formal partnerships that support our evidence base
helps ensure that our work is informed, independent and accountable.

Register of data directions

To support transparency, we publish a register of data directions. It contains all formal directions the Director-General has issued to a person or organisation to provide information for public health purposes.

Reports and statements

We publish key data, statements and reports to help people in Australia understand health risks and how we are tackling them.

Each year, in our annual report, we report on:

how prepared Australia is for the next pandemic
the health impacts of climate change.

Corporate reporting

Our corporate documents will explain how we work and what we do. They also help to make our processes and decisions more transparent to the Australian public.

Open information

We comply with the Freedom of Information Act 1982, which gives Australians the right to access government information.

See how to make a freedom of information request.

Feedback or complaints

have a question
want to give us feedback.

You can also report any suspected wrongdoings by one of our officers on the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s website.