Health minister Greg Hunt has announced a new three-year $140 million agreement with Diabetes Australia to continue delivering the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS).
Diabetes affects approximately five per cent of Australia’s population and the announcement coincides with National Diabetes Week.
The NDSS provides access to services, support, and subsidised diabetes products like blood glucose testing strips, insulin syringes, insulin pump consumables, and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products.
The scheme currently supports around 1.4 million people with diabetes. It delivered more than 5.7 million diabetes products in 2019–20 at a cost of more than $188 million.
Minister Hunt said since 2017 the NDSS has also subsidised CGM products to eligible people, including children and young people with type 1 diabetes and similar conditions, women with type 1 diabetes who are planning for pregnancy, pregnant or immediately post-pregnancy, as well as people with type 1 diabetes aged 21 years or older who have concessional status.
Almost 60,000 Australians with type 1 diabetes are eligible to access CGM products.
The minister said the new agreement also secures the future of programs like KeepSight, a program to help prevent diabetes-related blindness by making it easier for people with diabetes to get their eyes checked, Diabetes in Schools and FootForward, a new program to help people with diabetes understand the importance of getting their feet checked, to avoid foot problems that can lead to amputation.