Here’s an update on a few of the issues AMA Victoria is working on for members, including:

  • VVED-ADHD pathway consultation

  • Draft WorkSafe Victoria Code of Claimants’ Rights

  • City of Yarra draft Economic Development Strategy.

 

VVED-ADHD pathway consultation

The Department of Health is consulting on proposed reforms to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) ADHD pathway, with expansion to adults proposed from September 2026.

Members may recall the Victorian Government’s broader ADHD reform announcement earlier this year, which included plans to expand ADHD diagnosis and management capacity in general practice, alongside a VVED pathway intended to provide emergency access to repeat ADHD prescriptions where patients cannot access their usual treating practitioner.

The Department is now seeking feedback on the proposed VVED model, including eligibility criteria, prescribing safeguards, continuity of care arrangements, specialist oversight, SafeScript requirements, and mechanisms intended to reduce misuse, diversion and inappropriate prescribing. Broadly, the proposed pathway is framed as a one-off emergency prescribing mechanism for patients with an existing ADHD diagnosis already receiving treatment.

AMA Victoria supports improving access to ADHD care. At the same time, clinical design and system integrity matter. ADHD care depends heavily on continuity and a treating practitioner with knowledge of the patient over time.

Based on the material provided to AMA Victoria to date, there remain unresolved questions around how the pathway would interface with a patient’s usual treating practitioner, particularly given ADHD care depends heavily on continuity and clinician knowledge of the patient over time, and whether a virtual emergency model is the appropriate setting for this type of prescribing.

AMA Victoria will provide feedback through the consultation and forthcoming Expert Advisory Panel process. Member feedback will assist in informing that response.

Members seeking further detail on the proposed model, or wishing to provide feedback, are encouraged to contact Lewis Horton at [email protected]. Consultation material can be provided on request, noting it has been supplied to AMA Victoria for consultation purposes and is not for further distribution.

 

Draft WorkSafe Victoria Code of Claimants’ Rights

AMA Victoria has lodged a submission on the proposed WorkSafe Code of Claimants’ Rights, which would set out claimant rights, obligations applying to WorkSafe and its agents, complaints processes, and remedies where breaches are substantiated.

The submission supports the intent of the proposed Code, particularly provisions relating to fair treatment, communication and access to information. At the same time, it notes that claimant experience will depend on whether the scheme itself operates in a timely and workable way in practice.

Consistent with longstanding AMA Victoria advocacy, we again raised concerns regarding delayed approvals, repeated requests for information, payment uncertainty, treatment disruption and increasing administrative burden within the WorkSafe scheme, and the impact these issues can have on continuity of care, recovery and confidence in the system itself.

In this context, the submission notes that for many injured workers, their experience of the scheme is shaped as much, if not more, by delay, uncertainty and disruption to treatment as by interpersonal interactions alone.

We also reiterated concerns regarding WorkSafe reimbursement settings, noting that Victorian arrangements remain tied to MBS item structures and rates, while NSW compensation scheme fees are linked to AMA rates.

The submission also comments on the proposed complaints framework for independent medical examiners (IMEs), supporting the need to maintain a clear distinction between genuine misconduct and disagreement with medicolegal conclusions in contested compensation matters.

The submission concludes by noting that claimant rights will only have practical meaning if the WorkSafe scheme itself operates in a timely, consistent and workable way for injured workers and treating practitioners.

 

City of Yarra draft Economic Development Strategy

AMA Victoria has provided a submission on the City of Yarra’s draft Economic Development Strategy as part of our broader focus on the rising cost of doing business in private practice.

The submission focuses on minimum car parking requirements for medical centres under the Yarra Planning Scheme, particularly when combined with the State Government’s Congestion Levy.

We noted that parking requirements exceeding operational need can impose significant and unnecessary costs on medical practices in dense inner urban areas, despite existing public transport access. While individually these sorts of costs or regulatory requirements may appear minor, collectively they add up and ultimately affect practice viability, patient access and costs passed on to patients.

The submission encourages a more flexible and streamlined approach to parking requirements for medical centres, as part of a broader focus on reducing unnecessary cost pressures affecting private medical practice.