Factsheets

New Deed of Agreement between the National Blood Authority and the Australian Red Cross Society

The National Blood Authority (NBA) is responsible for ensuring that Australia’s blood and blood products supply is secure, adequate and affordable.

The NBA manages the national planning and purchasing of blood and blood products on behalf of all Australian Governments, who together provided a total of $597.5m in 2005-06 for the NBA to purchase products and manage the blood supply on behalf of all Australians.

The NBA is the national negotiator and manager of a number of contracts with suppliers of blood and blood products. In August 2006, the NBA and the Australian Red Cross Society signed a new Deed of Agreement for the supply of vital blood products and services to the health system through the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS), a Division of the Society.

The new Deed of Agreement

Under the new Agreement, the ARCBS will receive more than $1 billion over three years to provide essential blood supply services to support the Australian health system.

The Agreement is structured around the ARCBS meeting State and Territory requirements for the supply of blood, blood products and associated services. Under the Agreement, the ARCBS will collect, manufacture and distribute fresh blood products from voluntary donations. It will also distribute plasma products and a number of
imported blood products to hospitals and other end users in Australia. The Agreement brings together for the first time the needs of the Australian Government and the State and Territory governments in a single, national Agreement with the ARCBS. The Agreement recognises that the NBA and the ARCBS have a shared accountability in ensuring that essential blood products and services for the Australian health system and for the Australian community are available when and where they are needed, and that these products meet regulatory requirements. It also recognises that value for money is an important consideration.

Roles of the parties

The NBA is responsible for assessing and consolidating the demand for products and services from ARCBS of the Sate and Territory governments and working with ARCBS to ensure that these requirements are met in the most efficient and cost effective manner. The ARCBS remains directly responsible and accountable for the collection, testing and distribution of blood and blood products to meet these requirements.

Funding arrangements

The Australian Government and the State and Territory Governments will jointly fund the Agreement with the ARCBS. The Australian Government will provide around 63 per cent of the funding, and the State and Territory Government’s combined contribution will be around 37 per cent.

More about the NBA?

The NBA is a statutory agency established under the National Blood Authority Act 2003 to improve and enhance the management of the Australian blood banking and plasma product sector at a national level.

The NBA came into effect from 1 July 2003, and is a key part of reforms to the blood sector, which have been agreed to by all States and Territories. These are set out in the National Blood Agreement.

Specifically, the NBA’s role is to:

• coordinate national demand and supply planning of blood and blood products and
  purchase those products on behalf of all Australian governments
• negotiate and manage contracts on behalf of all Australian governments with suppliers of blood and blood products to enable the development of an agreed single national pricing schedule
• implement an efficient demand-driven system, based upon evidence and good clinical
  practice, so that the blood supply system is highly responsive to needs, and
• work in a collaborative manner with all governments and other responsible parties to
  ensure that Australia's blood supply is safe, secure, adequate and affordable.

National Blood Supply Contingency Plan (NBSCP)
Australia's Response to Blood Shortages

National Blood Sector Conference 08
Conference Proceedings

Australian Bleeding Disorders Registry (ABDR)

Annual Report for 2007-08

Procurement

- Provision of Internal Audit Services