In November 2006, following conversations with a range of health, education and community services organisations in Australia, the Improvement Foundation Board established the Improvement Foundation (Australia) Ltd (IFA), an Australian not-for-profit organisation.

The aim is to promote the prevention and control of diseases by using quality improvement methods to deliver sustainable improvement in the quality of primary health care and other community services.

There is a specific focus on health, education and indigenous people, and the long-term vision is to become an Asia-Pacific hub for quality improvement in the region.

In November 2007, the Australian Government awarded the IFA the contract to extend the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives Programme from 2008 to 2011, focusing on diabetes, coronary heart disease and access. It has three aims:

• To improve clinical outcomes and reduce lifestyle risk factors
• To help maintain good health for those with chronic conditions
• To promote a culture of quality improvement in primary health care.

In the same year, the IFA won a three-year contract with the Indigenous Health Organisation to establish quality improvement initiatives with the Aboriginal population.

For further information and key results please go to:

The Improvement Foundation (Australia) website

The Australian Primary Care Collaboratives website