Did you know that in 2019, there was a parliamentary inquiry into sleep health awareness in Australia? This inquiry was comprehensive; it received over 130 submissions from relevant ministers, public health organisations, sleep centres, and field experts and resulted in a report that was just shy of 150 pages long. It provided 11 recommendations, which the Australian Government replied to in 2023.
Recently, a consensus statement addressing the parliamentary inquiry was published in one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed journals for sleep research, aptly named SLEEP. This consensus statement was written by the Network of Early Career Sleep Researchers in Training (NEST) Council of the Australasian Sleep Association. The statement that the Australasian Sleep Association endorsed was the network’s response to the recommendations outlined within the Parliamentary Inquiry, the Australian Government’s response to these recommendations, and some practical next steps that should be prioritised. These were separated into five main categories:
- Raising sleep health awareness
- Funding sleep research
- Educating healthcare practitioners
- Targeting industries that commonly utilise shift work
- Looking at sleep health equity among Australians
If you are interested in sleep health in Australia, check out the (freely available!) consensus statement here, the parliamentary inquiry here, and the Australian Government response here. These reports and increased attention on sleep health in Australia are positive and hopefully will lead to better sleep for all Australians.
This enquiry and the responses highlight the importance of education, especially for shift workers and medical practitioners, but also for those in safety-critical roles such as firefighters and those in transportation.
At Melius Consulting, we provide
- Sleep Health and Fatigue Education courses, can be tailored to specific industries and business needs. All education courses are delivered by educators with either PhDs or university degrees within highly relevant fields and with extensive experience in sleep, chronobiology, human performance, and shiftwork.
- A Guide For Sleep Health & Shiftwork: Practical Strategies for Individuals & Organisations. This book was written by Dr Ian Dunican and Dr Tim Smithies and is a must-have for shift workers, those managing shift workers, team leaders, or those seeking to improve their sleep health more broadly. The book is available both as a paperback and eBook.
For more information on our services, please contact info@meliusconsulting.com.au or check out what we offer here.
Consensus statement: Meagan E Crowther, Charlotte Gupta, Aislinn Lalor, Samantha K M Lee, Cele Richardson, Hannah Scott, Tim D Smithies, Natasha Sneddon, Madeline Sprajcer, Prerna Varma, Grace E Vincent, Zoe Walsh, Sian Wanstall (2025). Waking up to Australia’s Sleep Health: A Consensus Statement from the Network of Early Career Sleep Researchers in Training (NEST) Council of the Australasian Sleep Association, Sleep, zsaf100, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaf100