Women’s Health Products Working Group meeting #5, 30 October 2023

We hosted the fifth meeting of the Women’s Health Products Working Group on 30 October 2023. The Working Group is comprised of representatives from consumer groups, health professionals, industry and academia, together with senior officials from the Department of Health and Aged Care.

The meeting welcomed special guest, the Hon Ged Kearney, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care.

The following topics were presented:

• Accessibility of the oral contraceptive pill, exploring and understanding options for increasing access through a change to the current listing on the Poisons Schedule.
• Therapeutic regulation and compliance of feminine hygiene products and menstrual products, including tampons and menstrual cups.
• Implications of off-label prescribing of drugs to improve fertility in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, and opportunities to expand indications of registered drugs to accommodate the community need. This included an update on the Medicines Repurposing Program, which aims to improve patient access to treatments by assisting sponsors to expand the approved indications of medicines.

The next meeting is scheduled to be held in Canberra on 27 March 2024.