New Centre for Excellence opens in Melbourne

1 September 2011

Minister for Health David Davis has officially opened a new Centre of Excellence in Intervention and Prevention Science in Melbourne.

The centre – which is the first of its kind in Australia – has been established to help address the challenges of chronic disease.

Mr Davis said the establishment of the centre comes at a very exciting time for prevention in the state and throughout Australia more broadly.

“The centre provides a research base that will move us from describing problems to understanding how an intervention can effectively address the problem, and at what cost and benefit to communities and government,” Mr Davis said.

The centre’s board brings together a balance of scientific, public policy and commercial expertise and the executive director, Dr Alan Shiell, is an internationally recognised and well-respected health economist.

Other investments in preventive health include Life! Taking Action on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, the newly announced Victorian Healthy Eating Advisory Service, as well as VicHealth.

“This amounts to about $160 million of investment over the next four years, complemented further by contributions to preventive health via WorkHealth,” Mr Davis said.

A further contribution of $80 million from the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health will further promote healthy living for communities, workers, families and children.