The timing of the Preventive Health Conference – held on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra just days before the recent federal election – could not have been more apposite for the conference theme, ‘Prevention is political’.
Adjunct Associate Professor Nadia Mastersson, Head of The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, shares her five key takeaways from the conference, including the importance of collaboration and coalitions, and seizing opportunities.
Nadia Mastersson writes:
This year’s Preventive Health Conference convened by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) could not have been more timely. Held in our nation’s capital, against a backdrop of global political turbulence, a federal election and shifting public health narratives, the theme ‘Prevention is Political’ resonated across every session.
The energy in the room was palpable. Rather than skimming the surface, speakers and delegates explored the deeper structures that shape our work: ideology, inequity and power.
For The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, this conference is close to our heart.
We co-hosted the inaugural event with the PHAA in 2018. To see it thrive now as a vital part of the public health calendar, rich with ideas and purpose, is deeply rewarding.
What emerged over the three-day event in April was not a neat set of answers, but a sharper focus and a growing sense of shared momentum.
Here are my top five take-outs.
1. Understand the politics
Professor Paul Cairney opened the conference with a pointed question: “What isn’t political?”
That challenge helped reframe the program, with session after session highlighting how prevention decisions are shaped by power – through funding, framing and implementation.
Evidence alone isn’t enough. We need to understand who holds influence, who benefits or loses, and what specific change we’re seeking.
Professor Steve Allender urged us to work with the dynamics of the system and look for points of leverage.
Paula Johns, co-founder and director of the ACT Tobacco Control Alliance in Brazil, highlighted the critical roles of advocates, community voices and investigative journalism, particularly when addressing the commercial determinants of health.
Speakers, including Professors Kathryn Backholer, Mariana Chilton and Associate Professor Charles Livingstone, implored us to expose and disrupt the sophisticated tactics commercial actors use to manipulate public policy.
Dr Richard Di Natale, former Leader of the Greens, summed it up memorably, “Commercial actors not only have a seat at the table, they also decide what’s on the menu.”
We must be politically astute and unafraid to engage.
2: Frame with purpose
Effective engagement and communication are two of our greatest tools.
Throughout the conference, there was a strong call to lift our game in how we frame prevention: not as a cost, but as an investment in community, prosperity and wellbeing.
The way we talk about prevention shapes how others perceive its value, and how willing they are to act.
Powerfully, congruent calls to action came from two speakers living in parallel worlds, Dr Richard Di Natale, as an Australian ex-politician, and Professor Paul Cairney, a UK-based policy scientist. Both urged greater democratic engagement and clarity in how we talk about prevention.
When speaking with decision-makers, messages must be specific, actionable and within their remit. Detailed, all-inclusive narratives are less effective than proposals that articulate a clear ask and show how prevention delivers shared outcomes for society.
Framing is not window dressing. It is a foundational skill for influence and impact.
3: Collaborate for impact
Throughout the conference, there were inspiring examples of partnerships driving change.
From ACT Health Promotion in Brazil to Australia’s state-based preventive health agencies, collaboration emerged as essential for reach, relevance and reform.
Coalitions extend reach, share resources and build legitimacy. They also bring diversity.
Professor Mariana Chilton reminded us that lived experience must inform design and delivery. Co-design helps address structural barriers and create more equitable pathways to health.
A powerful plenary featuring Professor Tom Calma AO, Fiona Cornforth and Renee Williams urged us to slow down, listen deeply and support community-led approaches.
Their message was clear: respectful, enduring partnerships with First Nations communities are essential if we are to shift outcomes in meaningful ways.
If we want to go far, we must go together.
4: Connect research with policy
Another recurring theme was the opportunity to build stronger, more routine connections between research and decision-making, transforming a fragmented process into a more continuous and collaborative one.
Prevention relies on timely policy-relevant evidence and systems that translate that evidence into practice.
Professor Fiona Bull noted how current systems do not support researchers and policy makers to work together from the outset. The Prevention Centre and other groups have built mechanisms for this kind of collaboration, but these are not yet widespread or supported by system infrastructure.
Professor Luke Wolfenden painted a hopeful picture of the future: prevention and research agencies working together as part of integrated Learning Health Systems.
In these models, evidence is co-produced and rapidly applied, closing the gap between knowing and doing. This is one approach that reflects the broader call across the conference for deeper, more embedded connections between knowledge and action.
5: Focus on the how
We know what needs to change. The challenge is how we make it happen.
Professor Steve Allender captured this tension, “What we don’t study enough is ‘the why’ and ‘the how’. We spend a heap of time investigating ‘the what’.”
That sentiment was echoed across sessions. Professor Helen Skouteris pointed out that while we’ve understood the need to address equity for decades, we’re only now grappling with how to act.
The “how” means embracing systems thinking, embedding co-design, and continuing our long-term work. These are not quick fixes, but they are necessary if we want prevention efforts to be effective, equitable and enduring.
Looking ahead
There is a shift in the air. After decades of groundwork, a resurgence in investment for prevention again feels within reach.
As Marina Bowshall, Chief Executive of Preventive Health SA, said: “Let’s make hay while the sun shines.”
At the Prevention Centre, we are ready. Our work reflects many of the themes raised across the conference – from framing and coalition-building to embedding equity and enabling real-world research-policy partnerships.
These approaches are not theoretical. They are the groundwork for lasting impact, and we are committed to supporting them across our networks.
Our efforts to connect evidence to policy, build strategic coalitions and support system leadership are well under way. This work will continue to require all of us.
Prevention is political. It is also collective, values-driven and urgent. To succeed, we must continue to frame clearly, act collaboratively and lead with purpose.
The opportunity is in front of us. Let’s take it together.
• Adjunct Associate Professor Nadia Mastersson is the Head of The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre at the Sax Institute and has led policy and practice improvements across the prevention continuum.
Further reading: Prevention is Political – Reflections from the 2025 Preventive Health Conference, by PhD candidate Allyson Todd
See Croakey’s extensive archives on prevention
