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Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme officially launches


Jolyon Attwooll


18/06/2025 4:16:37 PM

Around 3500 healthcare professionals have enrolled for training to use the scheme, which is expected to benefit 20,000 patients each year.

Press launch of Chronic Wound Consumables Scehme.
L–R: Wound Australia Board Director Peta Tehan, Podiatrist Caitlin Jeffries, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler.

GPs around the country are being encouraged to sign up for training to access the Federal Government’s Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme (CWCS) after it officially launched on Wednesday.
 
The long-awaited initiative provides free products for older patients with diabetes and a chronic wound who cannot access other wound care schemes.
 
It is expected to benefit around 20,000 people annually, saving an average of $4000 in out-of-pocket costs.
 
Those eligible include people with diabetes and a chronic wound aged 65 and above, or 50 and above for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, who are disproportionately affected by diabetes and chronic wounds.
 
Healthcare professionals can enrol patients via an online portal and order wound consumable products to be delivered to a patient’s home or to a clinic at no cost.

Healthcare professionals wanting to access the CWCS and online portal, must enrol and complete training before they can register – around 3500 people have enrolled so far.
 
Dr Gary Deed, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Diabetes, backed the scheme, which he said will ‘improve support for people living with what can be a chronic and debilitating condition’.  
 
‘It has also been set up to help address inequity of access to wound products in regional and remote areas,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘I encourage all GPs and practice nurses to enrol in the educational program required to allow the health team to access the scheme for eligible people.’
 
He said the task ‘is not onerous’ and also helps with CPD requirements.
 
But the scheme has been a long time coming, with the $47.8 million plan first announced in the 2023–24 Federal Budget.
 
Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler said that now it is live, the scheme will provide a convenient and free service for people with difficult-to-treat wounds that require long-term care.
 
Minister Butler said he expects the program to improve quality of life for thousands of patients – and suggested similar initiatives could follow.
 
‘This is a new program and … the way in which we want to see Medicare go into the future,’ he said.
 
‘It’s going to enliven really the scope of practice for allied health professionals like podiatrists … but also practice nurses who are working in general practice settings, who often do the bulk of the work in this area instead of the GPs themselves.’
 
Wounds Australia CEO Jeff Antcliff said that almost half a million people in Australia live with chronic wounds, which he said can be ‘painful, isolating, embarrassing and expensive to treat’.

He said the program ‘will help a vulnerable group in our society with the cost of their treatment’.
 
Dr Deed, meanwhile, said the cost of wound consumables is ‘an increasing problem’ facing general practices as well as people living with chronic wounds.
 
‘Having to pass on costs of any consumables to people is always a conversation that is difficult,’ he said.
 
‘This scheme will support high-quality care at a time when the cost of living is a real dilemma for many people living with diabetes who qualify for this scheme.’
 
Minister Butler said the program will be evaluated, with the results expected in the second half of next year.
 
For further information on the Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme, visit the Federal Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.

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