Information updates

To coincide with World Primary Immunodeficiency (PI) Week (22-28 April 2024) and the International Day of Immunology (29 April 2024) ASCIA has updated:

• ASCIA information for patients and carers about primary immunodeficiencies (also known as inborn errors of immunity)  
• ASCIA information for patients and carers about autoimmunity

Updated ASCIA SCIg Therapy - General Information includes subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) products that are currently available in Australia and New Zealand and management guides for SCIg infusion site reactions, problems and other reactions.

Updates have been made as part of the ASCIA Immunodeficiency Strategy to make it easier to:

• Read and understand, by simplifying language and changing to FAQ formats.
• Contact patient/carer support organisations by including weblinks at the start of each FAQ.

The ASCIA team is in the process of updating all ASCIA website Information for patients and carers as part of the National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project.

ASCIA patient/carer allergy information topic areas recently updated are:

• Allergy Treatments
• Food Allergy
• Insect and Tick Allergy
• Anaphylaxis and Allergy
• Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever) and Sinusitis
• Allergy and Immunology Testing

The updates have been made by the ASCIA team as part of the National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project, to make it easier to:

• Read and understand, by simplifying language and changing to FAQ formats.
• Contact patient/carer support organisations by including weblinks at the start of each FAQ.

Other updates include:

• New ASCIA Quicklinks webpage with links to ASCIA information
• New ASCIA Position Paper - Diagnosis and investigation of mast cell activation disorders and syndrome for health professionals.

A new ASCIA Position Paper on the diagnosis and investigation of mast cell activation disorders and syndrome has been developed for health professionals.

Mast cell activation syndrome is a group of disorders with episodic symptoms due to mast cell mediator release. They involve multiple systems and can cause flushing, pruritus, wheeze and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Diagnosis is based on clinical and laboratory assessments, including testing for tryptase. Other laboratory tests are generally not used or available, due to their lack of sensitivity and specificity.

ASCIA Mastocytosis and other Mast Cell Disorders FAQ for patients and carers is also available.

In response to requests from ASCIA members, QR codes have been added to 15 landing pages on the ASCIA website to improve access and reduce the need for printing of ASCIA Information for patients and carers.

New ASCIA Quicklinks A4 documents include QR codes and are available at www.allergy.org.au/about-ascia/quick-links

ASCIA PC QR Code Quicklinks1.71 M

This project has been completed as part of the National Allergy Council Shared Care for Allergy project.

Each of the following webpages include a QR code directly below the instructions "Scan the QR codes below to view ASCIA information on a mobile phone:"

Allergy and anaphylaxis

Allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and sinusitis

Allergy prevention

Allergy and immunology testing

Allergy treatments

Asthma and allergy

Autoimmunity

Drug allergy

Food allergy

Food - other adverse reactions

Immunisation

Immunodeficiencies

Insect allergy (bites and stings)

Other allergies

Skin 

The Allergy and Immunology Foundation of Australia (AIFA) 2024 grant round is now open and Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are invited from ASCIA members for AIFA research grants. EOIs are due by midnight on 14 May 2024 and the application form is on the AIFA website www.allergyimmunology.org.au/grants 

This year a total of $110,000 will be awarded, comprised of 8 grants that are listed below.

Allergy and Immunology Research
$40,000 AIFA Early Career and New Researcher Grants (4 x $10,000 available)
These grants encourage new research projects which do not yet have major funding. It is important that Early Career and New Researchers are supported to establish track records that will increase their chance of securing future research funding. These include early career scientist researchers, emerging clinician researchers (such as advanced allergy/immunology trainees), and other health professionals (such as dietitians, nurses, pharmacists).

Food Allergy Research Grants
$20,000 AIFA Prof Ann Kupa Food Allergy Grant
$15,000 AIFA DBV Technologies Food Allergy Grant

New AIFA Viatris Grant for Nurses
$20,000 AIFA Viatris Nurse Researcher of the Year
We are delighted to announce this new grant, which will be awarded to a late-stage nurse researcher to facilitate presentation of their completed, or soon to be completed, research at an appropriate international or national conference of their choosing.

Primary Immunodeficiency Research Grant
$15,000 AIFA CSL Behring HAE Clinical Research Grant

AIFA grants awarded in 2024 will be announced in September at the ASCIA 2024 Conference in Adelaide.

Thank you to new and long term supporters of AIFA research grants. Your generous support has contributed to the progress of clinical allergy and immunology research in Australia and New Zealand.

By 2026 AIFA aims to award a cumulative total of $1 million in research grants, selected by experts, for clinically important research into allergy and other immune diseases. Help us achieve this goal by donating at www.allergyimmunology.org.au/donate 

Planning is now well underway for the ASCIA 2024 Conference which will provide an international standard of CPD for ASCIA members and other health professionals working in allergy and clinical immunology. It will also provide an opportunity for important in-person interactions. The updated ASCIA 2024 Conference Sponsorship Prospectus includes an exhibition floorplan and. sponsorship needs to be confirmed by 30 June 2024, to enable allocation of exhibtiion stand locations by mid July 2024.

A new AIFA Research Grant Sponsorship Prospectus outlines opportunities for supporting research. AIFA is the only charity in Australia and New Zealand that specifically funds allergy and immunology research, and is backed by ASCIA. This means that 100% of donations and sponsorship directly fund AIFA research grants. Opportunities for donors and sponsors include named grants that are listed on the AIFA website and acknowledged at ASCIA Annual Conferences when AIFA grant recipients are announced and research is presented. Sponsorship for 2024 AIFA grants needs to be confirmed by mid March 2024, before the grant round opens.

Recent National Allergy Council Updates include:

• A link to patient and carer organisations added as the first tile on the ASCIA website homepage  
• A Survey to Improve Allergy Training in Tertiary Healthcare Degrees open until 17 March 2024, as part of the Shared Care project.
• ASCIA workforce surveys sent out in December 2023 to Full and Associate Medical ASCIA members with responses due by 20 February 2024.
• Updated Best Practice Guidelines for anaphylaxis prevention and management in schools and children’s education/care services - available on the re-designed Allergy Aware website.
• Nip allergies in the Bub website - re-designed, to make it easier for parents to find information about food allergy prevention and eczema.

Information about National Allergy Council projects is available at https://nationalallergycouncil.org.au/

Current ASCIA Action Plans are the 2023 versions. However, prior versions (2022 and 2021) are still valid for use in 2024. It is expected that it will take around 6-12 months to phase in the use of the new 2023 plans.

The plans are available open access on the ASCIA website:

• www.allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/ascia-action-plan-for-anaphylaxis
• www.allergy.org.au/hp/ascia-plans-action-and-treatment

ASCIA anaphylaxis e-training courses were updated in mid 2023 to include the 2023 versions of the plans:

• E-training for Schools and Children’s Education/Care
• E-training for First Aid/ Community
• E-training for Health Professionals
• E-training for Victorian Schools:
• E-training for Pharmacists:

ASCIA developed new 2023 versions of ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis, to improve ease of use. This is the first major formatting change in 20 years, since ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis were first introduced in 2003. 

Whilst the signs of, and actions for anaphylaxis are unchanged, other updates have been made to improve ease of use:

1. Patient specific details are all completed in the top section.* 
2. Signs of, and actions for mild to moderate allergic reactions are in two easy to follow lists. 
3. Wording about allergen exposure is included in the asthma section at the end of the plan.
4. Instructions for adrenaline injectors are colour coded.
5. Instructions for both adrenaline injectors are included in the General version of the plan.
6. Device specific versions of the plan for Anapen^® and EpiPen^® include changes 1-4 listed above and a QR code which links to short animated videos with adrenaline injector instructions.

* This formatting may also facilitate use with some EMR systems, subject to approval by ASCIA.  

The format of the following plans have also been updated to be consistent with the 2023 versions of the red ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis:

• ASCIA Action Plan for Allergic Reactions (green)
• ASCIA Action Plan for Drug (Medication) Allergy (dark green)
• ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis (orange)
• ASCIA Travel Plan for People at Risk of Anaphylaxis (red) for use with the red ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis

 A summary of updates is available here.

ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis 2023 - What's New431.38 KB

ASCIA Action Plan Allergic Reactions 2023 - What's New321.66 KB

ASCIA Action Plan Drug Allergy 2023 - What's New338.87 KB

ASCIA First Aid Plan Anaphylaxis 2023 - What's New415.79 KB 

ASCIA Travel Plan Anaphylaxis 2023 - What's New398.97 KB

All ASCIA Action, First Aid, Management, Transfer, Travel and Treatment Plans are available free of charge on the ASCIA website as PDFs that can be ompleted online,  download and print at https://www.allergy.org.au/hp/ascia-plans-action-and-treatment 

Health professionals can order hard copies (in full colour) of red ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis (General version - with instructions for Anapen and EpiPen), by submitting an order online using the HCP shop on the Anapen website - https://anapen.com.au/shop/. Password – arrotex. Alternatively, contact an Arrotex representative or contact Arrotex (distributor of Anapen in Australia) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 1800 761 964.

Health professionals can order hard copies (in full colour) of red ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis (EpiPen version), green ASCIA Action Plans for Allergic Reactions and orange ASCIA First Aid Plan for Anaphylaxis (EpiPen version) by emailing Viatris Customer Service (distributor of EpiPen in Australia) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 1800 274 276.

For further information about ASCIA Action Plans and other anaphylaxis resources go to www.allergy.org.au/anaphylaxis

Recently updated Best Practice Guidelines for Schools and Early Childhood Education/Care Centres are available here: 

https://allergyaware.org.au/best-practice-guidelines-for-anaphylaxis-prevention-and-management