Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. I was just checking to see if we had an exact date, which was the actual question that I was asked. I will come back if I can provide that to you, but I am aware that the minister for health is across this and being briefed closely by his department on how to manage the shortage of IV fluids, and that is work that is being done across states and territories to manage the supply of IV fluids within their jurisdictions. The Commonwealth and the jurisdictions and other professional bodies have initiated a national IV fluid working group, which consists of state and territory representatives, private hospitals and the AMA, to work collaboratively on IV fluid supply issues and to co-ordinate the national response. There have been a number of outcomes to that meeting, which I am happy to go through, but we cannot compel sponsors to increase manufacturing for supply of medicines in Australia. However, the TGA monitors and mitigates medicine supply issues and has approved several alternative suppliers from overseas, under section 19A of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, to supplement the local production and supply of other registered products.