It’s launched! On 10 December, the Health Minister, the Hon Greg Hunt MP and Shadow Health Minister, the Hon Chris Bowen MP launched the National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan, which aims to reduce the rate of stillbirth by 20% by 2025. A 20% reduction means more than 400 babies’ lives will be saved each year in Australia.

The Foundation has been campaigning for this Action Plan since our 2018 submission to the Senate Select Committee on Stillbirth Research and Education, and we welcome this very important plan. Read below for more information and thank you to all the bereaved parents who have shared their stories, to the clinicians who look after these families, to the researchers who devote their time to finding ways to reduce the incidence of stillbirth and to the bipartisan support of Government who have made this plan a reality.

History:

Following on from the Senate Inquiry, recommendation 15 of the report was for the development of a National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan (the Plan). This is the first national plan to strategically address the issue of stillbirth in Australia.  

The Plan is intended to be used across governments, policy makers, stakeholder organisations, the public and private health sectors, researchers and academics, families, and communities to support efforts to reduce stillbirth and provide high quality care for bereaved families. 

The goal of the Plan is to support a reduction in stillbirth rates in Australia of 20% or more, over a five-year period and ensure that, when stillbirth occurs, families receive respectful and supportive bereavement care. 

 The five priority areas include: 

• Ensuring high quality stillbirth prevention and care; 
• Raising awareness and strengthening education; 
• Improving holistic bereavement care and community support following stillbirth; 
• Improving stillbirth reporting and data collection; and 
• Prioritising stillbirth research. 

The National Stillbirth Action Plan will launch later in 2020.