Information updates

General practices and allergy clinics across Australia are invited to take part in a new clinical trial aiming to improve the lives of young people with hay fever, our country’s most common allergic disease.  Recruitment sites in every state and territory have partnered with the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE), hosted at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), to launch the ARISE Trial. 

Register your interest here if you are interested in becoming a recruitment site. 

A new trial aims to reduce allergic rhinitis (hay fever) symptoms and improve the quality of life of people with hay fever, the country’s most common allergic disease for young Australians.

If successful, the trial will change the way hay fever is managed, reducing the burden on those living with the disease, their families and the healthcare system
A new trial is aiming to reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life of young Australians with hay fever, the country’s most common allergic disease.

A new international consensus report on anaphylaxis has been released by the Global Allergy and Asthma Excellence Network (GA²LEN) and published open access online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The report was developed by an international panel of 46 leading medical experts from 14 countries (including ASCIA members from Australia) and patient advocacy organizations. The aim was to standardise definitions of anaphylaxis and teach people how to recognize and manage the condition.

Information in the report is consistent with ASCIA anaphylaxis resources which are available on the ASCIA website.

Key highlights of the report include:

1. Unified Definition: The report introduces a new, widely agreed upon definition of anaphylaxis, emphasizing its potential to cause death and detailing the involved organ systems. This definition is designed to be easily understood by healthcare professionals and the general public to promote improved awareness of anaphylaxis.
2. Educational Overview: An innovative educational tool for healthcare professionals from different medical fields, training backgrounds, and experience levels. The overview provides essential information on recognizing and managing anaphylaxis, including common causes, symptoms, timely treatment with adrenaline (epinephrine), and key concepts for managing life-threatening reactions.
3. Clinical Support Tool: A new clinical support tool will help health professionals diagnose and treat anaphylaxis. This tool includes updated clinical criteria, indications, and dosing for intramuscular adrenaline and common findings from the different anaphylaxis organ systems. It is the first tool to include distinct infant findings to improve anaphylaxis management in young children.

This news item was issued in March 2025 by Jill Smith, CEO of ASCIA, the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand. 

Shingrix^®  is a varicella zoster virus recombinant vaccine that can provide protection from herpes zoster (shingles) and post-herpetic neuralgia (long-term nerve pain):

Funding of Shingrix from 1 November 2023 was announced by the hon Mark Butler (Minister for Health and Aged Care) on Sunday 8^th October 2023.  The extended vaccine eligibility for 'high/medium risk' immunocompromised individuals iwill be considered at the November 2023 meeting of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), so an announcement about this will be made after the transition from Zostavax to Shingrix on 1 November 2023.

ASCIA made a submission in January 2023  to support the PBS listing of Shingrix.

For details refer page 22 - https://www.pbs.gov.au/info/industry/listing/elements/pbac-meetings/agenda/november-2023-pbac-meeting  

From 1 November 2023 funding of Shingrix will be available for:

1. All Australians over 65 (and over 50 for First Nation Australians), which includes all immunocompromising conditions above those ages.

2. Immunocompromised adults aged 18 years and over with the following medical conditions;  haemopoietic stem cell transplant, solid organ transplant, haematological malignancy and advanced or untreated HIV.

https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/shingles-vaccine-now-free-for-nearly-5-million-australians

ASCIA online courses provide accessible, consistent and evidence-based training in anaphylaxis, allergy and immune deficiencies. The updated 2025 version of ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for health professionals has been approved as a CPD activity by the following professional organisations:

• Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)
• Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)
• Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) 

ASCIA Online Training Updates 2025

To enhance the user experience, improve access and increase usage, in 2025 ASCIA etraining courses have been:

• Improved by including more videos and infographics, in response to feedback from 2023 evaluation surveys
• Updated to include 2025 versions of ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis
• Moved to new, more user-friendly websites https://traininghp.ascia.org.au/ and https://training.ascia.org.au/

It is important that ASCIA e-training courses are regularly reviewed and updated, as the usage continues to increase since they were first introduced in 2010. 

ASCIA Online Training Completions 

ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy e-training courses were completed by a total of 124,227 course participants in 2024, a 32% increase compared with 94,193 in 2023, comprising:

• 87,580 school course completions - an increase of 19% compared to 2023*
• 14,318 children's education/care course completions - an increase of 57% compared to 2023
• 14,011 health professional course completions - an increase of 150% compared to 2023**

*Course completions in 2024 are in addition to completions of ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses licenced to be on NSW, QLD and WA Education Departments for use on their LMS platforms. 

**The significant increase in course completions is largely due to the increased promotion of the courses by ASCIA. The increase suggests that there is a high need for health professionals to have access to this form of training, reflecting the rising prevalence of allergic disease in Australia and New Zealand. 

The mandatory evaluation reports for 2024 indicate that ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy courses for health professionals were completed by:

• 5,622 nurses (including nurse practitioners and nurse assistants)
• 3,132 pharmacists
• 543 pharmacy assistants
• 259 general practitioners
• 108 dietitians
• 97 paediatricians
• 95 medical/health educators
• 81 paramedics
• 3,278 other health professionals

In 2024, ASCIA courses were also completed by 796 students who are not yet working as health professionals. 

Each ASCIA e-training course includes mandatory evaluation surveys which provide feedback about preference regarding online training. Future ASCIA course updates will be based on this feedback, which includes information relevant to undergraduate and postgraduate anaphylaxis and allergy training.

The National Allergy Council is a partnership between the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AA), funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care to implement the National Allergy Strategy. As partners in the National Allergy Council, we work together to improve the lives of 5 million Australians with allergic conditions by:

• Developing accessible, consistent and evidence-based resources
• Improving awareness and knowledge through resources and support
• Promoting resources, support and quality allergy healthcare services

We work with patients, carers, community, health professionals and the health system to make a positive impact on the management of allergic conditions.

ASCIA’s main role in the National Allergy Council s to improve education, training and resources as part of the following projects:

• Schools/Childcare - for schools, children’s education/care services and the community.
• Shared Care for Allergy – for health professionals
• Drug (Medication) Allergy - for health professionals.

The following is a summary of main achievements, and projects yet to be completed.

National Allergy Council Schools/Childcare project - achievements for activities allocated to ASCIA in 2024-2025:

• Development of a new ASCIA training website https://training.ascia.org.au/, updating of ASCIA's learning management system (LMS) and updating of course content to enhance the user experience, improve access and increase use of ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses for schools, children’s education/care and community.  
• Development of a new ASCIA Anaphylaxis Training Refresher Video www.allergy.org.au/ascia-videos for schools, children's education/care and community, based on feedback from course participants and the content of ASCIA anaphylaxis refresher e-training courses. 
• Increased promotion of ASCIA anaphylaxis online training for schools, children’s education/care and community, through the ASCIA website, e-newsletters, distribution of brochures and social media,  resulting in 110,216 course completions in 2024, an increase of 23% compared to 2023.
• Evaluation reports www.allergy.org.au/ascia-reports#nacscec based on feedback surveys (completed by 43,945 users in 2023 and 5,254 users in 2022) from ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses for schools, children's education/care and community. 
• Ongoing maintenance and support of ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses for schools, children's education/care with 2,119 help requests received and resolved in 2023 and 1,058 help requests received and resolved from January to June 2024.

The following activities are due for completion in 2025-2026:

• Evaluation reports based on 110,216 feedback surveys from 2024 ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training course completions  for schools, children's education/care and community. 
• Development of a scoping report for undergraduate education/training for people studying to work in schools and children's education/care. (Due March 2025).

National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project - achievements for activities allocated to ASCIA in 2024-2025: 

• Funding support for 5 health professional education and training initiatives www.allergy.org.au/national-allergy-strategy through an EOI process, and progress reports received for each initiative.
• Development of a new ASCIA training website https://traininghp.ascia.org.au/, updating of ASCIA's learning management system (LMS) and updating of anaphylaxis course content to enhance the user experience, improve access and increase use of ASCIA anaphylaxis and allergy e-training courses for health professionals. 
• Increased promotion of ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses for health professionals through the ASCIA website, e-newsletters, social media and medical events, resulting in 14,011  course completions in 2024, an increase of 150% compared to 2023.
• Evaluation reports www.allergy.org.au/ascia-reports#scap based on feedback surveys (completed by 1,730 users in 2023 and 1,176 users in 2022) from ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses for health professionals. 
• Increased promotion of ASCIA resources through the ASCIA website, e-newsletters and social media, with a reach of more than 12,000  followers/subscribers each month and more than 3 million website pageviews each year (~250,000 each month).
• Increased promotion of ASCIA resources through participation in 12 medical events throughout Australia (including Healthed conferences and webcasts) with a total of more than 14,000 delegates www.allergy.org.au/ascia-reports#sca, to promote ASCIA education, training and clinical resources. 
• Promotion of patient/carer organisations by updating of more than 100 ASCIA patient/carer educational resources www.allergy.org.au/patients including changes to improve readability. 
• Development and promotion of ASCIA Quicklinks www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/quick-links to improved access to more than 400 ASCIA online education, training and clinical resources.
• Application submitted for MBS food challenge item number. www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/info-updates/ascia-application-for-mbs-item-for-supervised-oral-food-challenges
• Initiating the development of an ASCIA referral toolkit www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-and-clinical-immunology-services to address issues relating to the process of referring patients to and from allergy services. 
• Accreditation of ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training for health professionals (2025 version) by the RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners), Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and PSA (Pharmaceutical Society of Australia).
• Ongoing maintenance and support for ASCIA e-training courses for health professionals.

The following activities are due for completion in 2025:

• Promotion of patient/carer organisations by updating of all ASCIA health professional resources. https://www.allergy.org.au/hp/ 
• Evaluation reports based on 14,011  feedback surveys from 2024 ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training course completions for health professionals. 
• Resubmission of application for MBS food challenge item number. (Due 28 March 2025) 
• Development of a scoping report for undergraduate education/training for people studying to work as health professionals. (Due March 2025).
• Initiating the development of an ASCIA referral toolkit www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-and-clinical-immunology-services to address issues relating to the process of referring patients to and from allergy services. 
• Updating of the ASCIA Food Allergy Course for Dietitians to include online webcasts and in-person case-based learning to be held during the ASCIA Annual Conference week. 

National Allergy Council Drug (Medication) Allergy project 

The following activities are due for completion in 2025:

• Development of a new ASCIA drug (medication) allergy etraining course for health professionals.
• Development of other ASCIA drug (medication) allergy resources, including penicillin antibiotic allergy delabeling guidelines and drug allergy terminology, working in collaboration with the National Allergy Council.
• An application to MSAC for an MBS item number for drug challenges.

Visit the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website to learn how the National Allergy Council (a partnership between ASCIA and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia) collaborate with the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE).

The National Allergy Council works together with NACE to help improve allergy care and research in Australia. Allergic diseases are one of the country’s major public health challenges. The collaboration is supported by funding from the Australian Government.

As one of the partners in the National Allergy Council, ASCIA is pleased to share information about allergy assist^TM – a new free, national online service providing rural doctors with expert allergy education and support. 

The National Allergy Council has developed allergy assist^TM in partnership with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) with funding from the Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care. The platform builds on the success of ACRRM’s Tele-Derm, an online dermatology service that has supported over 5,000 rural doctors with specialist advice for more than 20 years.  Hosted on ACRRM’s learning management system, allergy assist^TM is available at no cost to ACRRM members, and other doctors who apply for access in regional, rural, and remote areas across Australia.

Information is on the National Allergy Council website and rural doctors can apply for access via the ACRRM website

The allergy assist^TM platform:

• Provides healthcare professionals with access to an education and advice hub, featuring online learning modules, diagnostic support, and links to ASCIA resources.
• Allows GPs to submit de-identified patient cases via a secure system, where a panel of clinical immunology/allergy specialists can review and provide guidance within 48 hours.
• Aims to bridge the gap in healthcare access for rural, remote and First Nations communities while alleviating healthcare costs by reducing unnecessary referrals visits.

With over 5 million Australians affected by allergic conditions, including food allergies, insect sting/bite allergies, allergic rhinitis and anaphylaxis, the need for patients to be effectively managed by their GP or Rural Generalist has never been greater. The allergy assist^TM initiative offers a lifeline to those in rural and remote areas who are unable to access specialist care due to distance.

Expected to assist thousands of doctors and, in turn, their patients, allergy assist^TM supports the National Allergy Council’s Shared Care for Allergy project’s aim of patients receiving the right care, at the right time, from the right healthcare professional, in the right place, particularly for people living in rural, regional and remote areas.

The Journal of Human Immunity (JHI) inaugural editorial by JHI Editor-in-Chief Jean-Laurent Casanova is now live. and can be read online at https://doi.org/10.70962/jhi.20250001  The editorial outlines the vision, scope, and mission in making this journal the destination for exciting research into human immunity, with a particular focus on inborn errors of immunity. 

Manuscript submissions for JHI are now welcome:

• JHI publishes research articles, reviews, perspectives, letters, editorials, and commentaries that provide novel insights into the physiology and pathology of human immunity through the study of genetic defects and their phenocopies, including the study of leukocytes and other cells.
• The journal’s focus on human inborn errors of immunity encompasses conditions as diverse as infection, autoimmunity, autoinflammation, malignancy, and allergy. Human inborn errors of immunity include monogenic disorders with complete (Mendelian traits) or incomplete (non-Mendelian) penetrance.
• JHI welcomes other types of genetic basis (e.g., digenic), if causality is genetically unquestionable, or if the immunological mechanism is documented, or both.
• Single patient and single kindred genetic studies are considered, as are small and large series of patients.
• JHI will publish descriptions of new genotypes, immunological phenotypes, and clinical phenotypes, which may result from hitherto understudied ancestries or environments.

Learn more about submitting your best research in the JHI Instructions for Authors athttps://rupress.org/jhi/pages/ifora 

Healthed has collaborated with ASCIA to develop a free series of webcasts, in response to direct requests from GPs, to form the Healthed Masterclass on Allergy Management in General Practice.

The Masterclass is available at https://www.healthed.com.au/learning/allergy-management-in-general-practice-masterclass/

The aim of this Masterclass is to address key issues and knowledge gaps that GPs want assistance with:

• Topics include allergy testing, food allergies, anaphylaxis, urticaria, eczema, rhinitis, asthma and dust mites, presented by ASCIA members who are clinical immunolgy/allergy specialists and leading educators.
• The webcasts feature practically useful, up-to-date, and authoritative guidance on what to do about the common issues that health professionals face in primary care.
• This masterclass will continually evolve to provide the latest insights and updates in the field of allergy and immunology. 

For fellows of the RACGP and ACRRM, Healthed will upload the CPD hours on behalf of Masterclass participants. Other health professionals can self-claim their CPD points.

This Masterclass is aligned with ASCIA's role in the National Allergy Council's Shared Care for Allergy project, to facilitate, provide and promote anaphylaxis and allergy clinical resources, education and training for health professionals,