Federal Election Electorate Health Information Packs
On Saturday 3 May we’ll once again be filing into our local school to cast a vote (and maybe eat a democracy sausage) at this year’s Federal election. As we’ve been doing with every State and Federal election since 2022, we will be sending out electorate Primary Health and Wellbeing Profiles to all the candidates who are running for election in western Victoria.
The two-page electorate profiles include information from our latest Health Needs Assessment 2025-28, and provide health and demographic information on the electorates of Ballarat, Corangamite, Corio, Mallee and Wannon in an easily digestible format.
Some of the key information includes (along with the statewide averages for comparison):
- Areas of interest at a glance: this section highlights the key health issues for the electorate.
- The proportions of older people, young people, and children and families.
- Information about social context, for example the proportion people of people living in low-income households.
- Risk factors, for example, the proportion of people who are obese.
- Service access, for example, the number of GPs per 100,000 population.
- Health consequences, the most common reported health conditions.
The information packs are designed to help candidates who are running for election to better understand the health challenges of their electorate and, if they are elected, to be able to better advocate for services to meet the health needs. Healthcare professionals and service providers across western Victoria may also find this information of interest.
You can find the information packs for the following electorates:
World Immunisation Week 2025 and Falling Childhood Immunisation Rates in our Region
The 24 April marks the start of World Immunisation Week 2025. As health professionals many of you will already be aware that immunisation rates, particularly amongst children, have been falling due to misinformation about the safety of vaccines.
The Australian Department of Health’s websites says that to maintain herd immunity we need high immunisation rates of around 95% plus to protect children against infectious diseases. However, according to the latest childhood immunisation statistics for western Victoria, just over half our Local Government Areas (LGAs) are now falling below vaccination rates of 95%.
The LGAs with the some of the lowest immunisation rates include Northern Grampians (90%), Central Goldfields (91%), Hindmarsh (91%), Surf Coast (92%), Moyne (92%), Colac-Otway (92%), Yarriambiack (92%), Queenscliffe (92%), Pyrenees (93%), Hepburn (94%), Ballarat (94%) and Corangamite (94%).
Given some these lower rates across our region, I just wanted to remind you that GPs and other primary health professionals have a very important role in addressing any concerns regarding vaccinations.
Craig Wilding, WVPHN CEO
16 April 2025