Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare
The Commission is developing the third edition of the Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare.
Public consultation on the revised clinical practice recommendations and new good practice statements closed on 29 September 2026. Feedback is now being reviewed to inform the next edition of the Guidelines, expected to be published in August 2027.
Overview
The Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare was jointly developed by the Commission and the NHMRC. The Guidelines, together with Commission guidance for specific organisms, provide healthcare workers and health service organisations with support to develop tailored local protocols and processes for infection prevention and control.
These guidelines support health service organisations to meet the infection prevention and control actions of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and the Preventing and Controlling Infections Standard.
For further information, questions or feedback regarding the Guidelines, please contact the team.
Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare
There is a known issue with the display of Table A2.4 Use of transmission-based precautions in the PDF version of the guidelines.
Users are advised to download the correct version of table separately here or view it in the HTML version of the guidelines on the NHMRC MAGICapp platform.
Specific infection prevention and control guidance
The Commission has also produced specific infection prevention and control guidance for:
- Safe use of spirometry in primary healthcare settings
- Overview of the use of standard and transmission-based precautions (source: Table A2.4 Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare 2019)
- Non-tuberculous Mycobacterium infections associated with heater cooler devices
- Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales
External resources
- Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control (Fifth Edition - Amended) - Australian Dental Association
- Australasian Health Facility Guidelines
Further information
For further information, questions or feedback regarding the Guidelines, please contact the team.
For information regarding infection prevention and control guidance in aged care please see the Aged Care Infection Prevention and Control Guide, which has been developed as a supplementary resource to the guidelines.