Hi, I’m Kat Theophanous - the Labor Member of Parliament for Northcote in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
Hi, I’m Kat Theophanous - the Labor Member of Parliament for Northcote in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
Women and girls make up more than half our population – yet for too long our health issues have been under-researched, under-diagnosed and untreated.
As Victoria’s Parliamentary Secretary for Women’s Health, I’m working with our Health Minister to change that.
This week we took a major step forward in our work to transform the way we treat women’s health in Victoria, with the 2023/24 State Budget committing $154 million to dramatically expand and improve services.
I’m so thrilled to share that our State Budget includes:
20 new comprehensive Women’s Health Clinics providing wrap around support for conditions from pelvic pain to menopause.
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An Aboriginal-led Women’s Health Clinic to help ensure access to culturally safe care.
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A Mobile Women’s Health Clinic to reach rural and remote communities.
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Supporting the creation of a Women’s Health Research Institute to bridge the knowledge gap on women’s health.
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An Inquiry into Women’s Pain Management to hear directly from Victorian women and improve patient care.
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Workforce scholarships to train 100 women’s health specialists.
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10,800 additional laparoscopies to double this diagnostic treatment for debilitating endometriosis.
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Grants to support Women’s Health NGOs to provide health and wellbeing support programs.
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Funding to support more women to access public fertility care.
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Alleviating period poverty with funding for free pads and tampons in public spaces.
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Expanding the network of Early Parenting Centres – including one in Northcote.
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Additional Maternal and Child Health hours, including lactation consultants.
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A community pharmacy pilot to make it easier to access medicines like oral contraceptives and UTI treatments.
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Support to mothers experiencing acute mental health and wellbeing issues during the perinatal period.
These are enormous reforms that will make a real difference in the lives of Victorian women and girls.
Yet they don’t happen without our hardworking health workforce.
That’s why our 2023/24 budget also invests another $154 million to increase support for nurses and midwives, a female-dominated workforce heavily affected by stress, fatigue and burnout.
It’s an exciting time – and long overdue.
You can learn more about how our State Budget supports Victorian women and girls here:
www.budget.vic.gov.au/doing-what-matters-victorian-women.
Together, we will shift the scales on women’s health