Safer Care Victoria’s Best Care resources support patients and healthcare providers to have conversations and make decisions together about the most appropriate pathways for care.
This resource, developed for clinicians, details a specific elective surgery procedure that should now only be done for specific indications. Evidence-based recommendations that detail ‘best care’ pathways should be discussed with your patient to determine the most appropriate pathway of care.
Advice
Cosmetic surgery should not be performed in the Victorian public healthcare system with current elective surgery restrictions nor be reintroduced without a specific medical indication.
In usual circumstances this would mean that the procedure has a corresponding item number in the Medical Benefits Schedule. Cosmetic surgery is restricted under the Victorian elective surgery access policy (July 2015).
This advice aligns with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee statement on restoration of elective surgery.
When is the procedure indicated?
Cosmetic surgery should only be considered in the public healthcare system when there is a medical indication.
Refer to the Victorian elective surgery access policy (July 2015) for the full list of procedures and acceptable medical indications.
Best care recommendations
In the restoration of elective surgery across the state of Victoria, cosmetic surgery should only be considered in the public healthcare system if there is a medical indication for the procedure.
Evidence
Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. A statement from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) about the restoration of elective surgery. Canberra (ACT): Department of Health Australia. 2020 Apr [cited 2020 Jun 25].
Department of Health and Human Services. Elective surgery access policy 2015. Melbourne (VIC): Department of Health and Human Services. 2015 Jul [cited 2020 Jun 25].