Paid national digital health consumer opportunity: Join the National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel
Expressions of interest close 26 September 2026. Click here to apply.
Consumers and carers from across Australia are invited to apply for a paid opportunity to help shape national work on digital health.
Health Consumers’ Council WA is convening the National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel on behalf of Sparked.
Sparked is a national collaboration working to improve how health information is recorded and exchanged across Australia. It is led by CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre and delivered in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the Australian Digital Health Agency and HL7 Australia.
The Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel will bring together consumers and carers from states and territories across Australia to give consumers and carers an opportunity to be at the table and contribute directly to national digital health initiatives.
Expressions of interest close 26 September 2026.
What is the National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel?
The National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel will bring consumer and carer perspectives into national conversations about the future of digital health in Australia.
Panel members will elevate the consumer voice in national digital health initiatives.
The panel is being convened by Health Consumers’ Council WA on behalf of Sparked.
Sparked brings together consumers, clinicians, health services, governments, researchers and technology organisations to develop and support nationally consistent digital health standards.
CSIRO describes Sparked as Australia’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, or FHIR, accelerator. Its work aims to help health information move more safely, seamlessly and meaningfully across Australia’s healthcare system.
Why does digital health matter for consumers and carers?
Your health information can move through many different parts of the healthcare system.
You might see a GP, have pathology or imaging, attend a specialist appointment and receive treatment through a hospital or another health service.
For those services to work together effectively, the digital systems behind them need to be able to exchange and understand health information.
National digital health standards help make this possible.
CSIRO says these standards can support better sharing of information between healthcare systems and make it easier for information to move with a person between different points of care.
But digital health should also reflect what consumers and carers need from the healthcare system.
That is where the National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel comes in.
Who should apply?
Expressions of interest are being sought from consumers and carers across Australia who have an interest in digital health and experience of digital health projects in their state or territory.
You may have been involved in a project such as the implementation of an electronic medical record system in a hospital or health service.
The focus is on bringing consumer and carer experience into the work.
Applicants are being sought from states and territories across Australia.
What will panel members do?
Panel members will participate in five half-day workshops between November 2026 and June 2027.
The workshops will provide an opportunity for consumers and carers to share their experiences, perspectives and priorities in their interactions with digital health, and contribute directly to national digital health initiatives.
Most workshops will be held online.
There is also the possibility of one in-person session.
How much will panel members be paid?
Panel members will receive $418 for each workshop.
There will be five half-day workshops in total.
What is Sparked?
Sparked is a national collaboration working to improve how health information is recorded and exchanged across Australia.
As noted above, it is a collaborative partnership between CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre, the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the Australian Digital Health Agency and the non profit data standards organisation HL7 Australia.
Its community includes consumers, clinicians, researchers, governments, health services and software vendors.
More than 1,500 people had contributed to Sparked by June 2026, according to CSIRO.
The National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel provides a dedicated way for consumer and carer perspectives to contribute to this broader work.
Opportunity at a glance
Opportunity: National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel
Who: Consumers and carers from across Australia with relevant digital health experience
What: This panel gives consumers and carers an opportunity to be at the table and contribute directly to national digital health initiatives
Commitment: Five half-day workshops
Dates: November 2026 to June 2027. First meeting to be held on 5 November 2026
Format: Mainly online, with the possibility of one in-person session
Payment: $418 per workshop
Expressions of interest close: 26 September 2026
How to apply
If you are a consumer or carer with experience of digital health projects and would like to contribute to national digital health work, complete the Expression of Interest form.
Expressions of interest close 26 September 2026.
Apply for the National Consumer and Carer Digital Health Panel through the online Expression of Interest form.