HTA Review IAG nears key milestones

The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Review Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) is gearing up to deliver its interim report to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler within the next week, with recommendation-specific implementation advice due by the end of August.

Established with a 12-month remit, the IAG was tasked with providing expert advice on how the government should prioritise and implement the recommendations from the HTA Review.

The complexity of the task is significant. Of the 50 HTA Review recommendations, 42 have been reviewed by the IAG, with draft advice developed for 32. The remaining eight are still to be considered.

Minister Butler has provided clear direction on his priorities. In a letter to the IAG, he urged the advisory group to focus on developing advice around “more equitable access for patients, process changes to support more streamlined HTA, and improved stakeholder engagement in HTA”.

He also asked the IAG to consider the “expected benefits, responsibilities for, and cost implications of reform implementation”, with a “clear case for why additional Commonwealth funding is needed” and “strong evidence-base for the merits of implementing relevant reforms”.

However, the IAG faces several challenges. The government has not formally endorsed specific recommendations, leaving the advisory group to assume all may be considered for implementation. This presents difficulties, particularly given the interconnected nature of many recommendations and concerns from government and industry about the financial implications of reform.

Stakeholder fatigue is also an issue, after a protracted review cycle that has included the House of Representatives inquiry, the National Medicines Policy (NMP) Review, and the HTA Review.

The HTA Review recommendations fall broadly into five categories: access and equity; transparency and engagement; modernised assessment pathways; better data and evidence; and HTA workforce capacity and capability. To structure its analysis of the 50 recommendations, the IAG is using a framework that evaluates each recommendation against factors such as value, implementation complexity, cost, timing, resource requirements, and measurement of success.

Early-stage implementation advice has already begun to take shape. One such proposal is to establish a HTA First Nations Advisory Committee to be integrated into PBAC and MSAC processes. Given previous consultation work, this is seen as feasible to implement in the short term. In comparison, early stage advice on better data use and enhanced evidence is going to take a lot longer to progress.

Ultimately, the IAG is working to disentangle the HTA Review recommendations into a workable package for government and key stakeholders that balances early wins with the longer term transformation of the HTA system.

The draft implementation roadmap is due by mid to late September, followed by a consultation on the draft in October. A final report to the government is anticipated in January 2026.

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