Federal Government formally responds to the recommendations from the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness.

Dear members and partners,

Last week there was a formal response to the 2019 Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness. Here is a link to read the full response to all 11 recommendations from the aptly named 'Bedtime Reading' report.

The response is welcomed by the Sleep Health Foundation as a positive and encouraging endorsement from the Federal Government of the importance of sleep. Recommendation 1, that sleep health be recognised as a national health priority, and to be recognised alongside diet and fitness as an essential component of health and wellbeing, was fully supported. All other recommendations were supported in principle, except for recommendation 6 that was 'noted'.

People with living-experience of sleep disorders, and those whose work schedules impact their sleep (e.g. shift workers) should be key priorities in any strategy going forward. We are very pleased that the government has acknowledged the need for a national sleep awareness campaign in line with the National Preventive Health Strategy. We call for support from the government to be able to continue our important work in this area.

We will continue to advocate for sleep health across all of the recommendations from the Bedtime Reading report alongside the Australasian Sleep Assocation and our other key partners.