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Public health planning resources

Public health planning resources

To support local governments in public health planning, key documents and resources curated. This section will be updated regularly as new materials become available.

Please note, this collection is not exhaustive but serves as a foundational toolkit to assist in the public health planning process.

  • What is local government's role in public health (external site)
    • This above video was developed in 2019 and remains relevant to several important components of public health planning but may not reflect the legislative requirements under the Public Health Act 2016.
    • Aboriginal health and wellbeing is a priority for WA Health. View the Journey of health and wellbeing (external site) to learn more about why an Aboriginal cultural lens must applied to all aspects of public health, including local government public health planning, to address systemic racism and strengthen the cultural determinants of health for Aboriginal people in WA.
Process resources

List of resources to guide the development of public health plans, including recommended approaches and evaluation methods. These tools provide practical support for each stage of planning, from initial assessment to ongoing evaluation.

Guides to public health planning

Evaluation guidance

Department of Health factsheets

The Department of Health has developed a series of factsheets designed to support local governments in their local public health plans.

These factsheets are intended to be read as a complete package and not considered in isolation.

Aboriginal health and wellbeing

Embedding Aboriginal health priorities and cultural determinants into public health planning is key to ensuring effective and sustainable public health outcomes for Aboriginal people and communities across WA.

The factsheets presented below are intended to support local governments to implement public health planning initiatives which address racism and strengthen the cultural determinants of health for Aboriginal people.

Climate change

The impacts of climate on health are diverse and interrelated. Climate change hazards can affect health both directly and indirectly, as well as compromise essential determinants of health such as functioning infrastructure and access to good and services.

The factsheets presented below are intended to guide local governments in integrating climate change initiatives into their public health plans. 

Communicable diseases

The factsheets presented below are intended to guide local governments in setting direction, and ensuring strong foundations, for the prevention and control of communicable diseases in WA.

Environmental health

Local governments have a long-standing responsibility for environmental health protection of their communities through the administration of legislation, surveillance, assessments, monitoring and community education.

The factsheets presented below are intended to guide local governments to prioritise environmental health initiatives within their public health plan. These factsheets provide examples of non-statutory initiatives to consider.

Public health priority resources

The resources below provide and overview of, and links to, resources that may assist local governments in addressing public health priorities in their local public health plans, in alignment with the State Public Health Plan.

Note: some resources are relevant across several objectives and priorities.

Improve Aboriginal health and wellbeing

  • Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet (external site)
    This provides a comprehensive knowledge exchange platform focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. It offers practical tools, resources, and information tailored for local governments to support informed public health planning. The site’s resources help address health disparities, support culturally safe interventions, and promote better health outcomes, contributing to improvements in Aboriginal health and wellbeing.
  • Jumbunna Call It Out Annual report 2023/24 (external site)

Promote - foster strong communities and healthier environments

Prevent – reduce the burden of chronic disease, communicable disease and injury

Healthy eating and active living

Alcohol and other drugs

Tobacco

Injury

Immunisation

Protect – protect against public and environmental health risks, effectively manage emergencies and lessen the health impacts of climate change

Disaster and emergency management

Climate action

Enable – bolster public health systems and workforce and leverage partnerships to support health and wellbeing

Data sources

A list of data to inform selection of priorities and provide input into the report on health status and health determinants.

Health status and determinants

WA Government sources

  • Enhanced mosquito-borne disease data 
    Links to mosquito-borne disease quarterly reports by health region. This data is enhanced by follow-up surveys of patients to ascertain the exposure location more accurately. Data requests in alternative formats, including surveillance data, may be considered. email enquiries to: Medical.entomology@health.wa.gov.au 
  • Infectious disease data resources
    Links to Western Australian infectious disease epidemiological information, including various reports, newsletters, data, and statistics for diseases.  
  • Local government health and wellbeing profiles 
    All local governments will have a health profile report available and can obtain health and wellbeing data at no cost. The reports include data on:
    • nutrition
    • physical activity
    • overweight and obesity
    • tobacco smoking
    • alcohol-related harm
    • illicit drug-related harm
    • mental health
    • injury-related harm
    • notifiable infectious diseases.
  • Nutrition Monitoring Survey Series
    This series monitors knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Western Australian adults, as they relate to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. It also assesses public opinion on current and proposed food and nutrition policies and aims to identify dietary concerns, and barriers to and promoters of healthy eating behaviour.
  • The Burden of Disease in Western Australia
    Department of Health WA publishes a range of data and reports about the burden of disease and associated healthcare expenditure in WA.
  • WA Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System
    This is a population-based data collection which monitors the health status of Western Australians and has been operating for 20 years. The information collected is used to identify emerging health issues, evaluate the effectiveness of health interventions, and inform evidence-based policy decisions. Annual reports collating the key findings from the HWSS are for the whole of WA – LGA specific data found in Health and Wellbeing Reports or can be extracted from the Public Health Atlas.
  • FAQs: Health and Wellbeing Profiles (external site)
    This supplementary document provides additional information and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the Health and Wellbeing Profile data. The document was developed by North Metropolitan Health Service but can be used by all Health Service Providers (HSPs) and local governments in WA.

WA non-government sources

  • Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas 
    A groundbreaking new data asset that offers comprehensive mapping of data and information on children and young people aged 0 to 24 across Australian communities. This freely accessible resource represents a significant advancement for the health sector and beyond, enabling government agencies, researchers, and community organisations to systematically identify and address child and youth wellbeing priorities in a rigorous and cost-effective way. While the Atlas contains over 900 datasets from all jurisdictions, the data for Western Australia is particularly rich and more granular than any other jurisdiction, thanks to a partnership with the PeopleWA linked data asset. This partnership allows for a deeper analysis of health outcomes, social factors, and community needs within WA, offering a highly detailed resource for local decision-making.
  • Understand your community
    A community insight tool to help understand a community’s unique context and state of wellbeing.

Australian Government sources

Local government data

Local governments already collect information from a range of sources that are relevant to community wellbeing. The insights provided may assist LGAs in establishing a baseline (for the health status and determinants), performing an ‘audit’ of existing initiatives that address public health, and guide priority actions for inclusion in the local public health plans.

Sources of information may include:

  • reports from community programs such as leisure options
  • feedback from community groups (e.g. Neighhourhood Watch)
  • customer satisfaction surveys
  • past and recent project surveys and public consultations
  • local infrastructure data (length of bike paths, tree canopy coverage)
  • current and historical land use information
  • grant commission data
  • reports on sources of air pollution and soil contamination. 

Population data

Grant and funding opportunities

A list of grant and funding opportunities, noting that the delivery of any public health initiative, project or program will be at the discretion of the local government, based on the public health needs and expectations of their local community.

The delivery of any public health initiative, project or program will be at the discretion of the local government, based on the public health needs and expectations of their local community. There are opportunities to seek funding to support public health programs through:

These agencies provide a range of public health grants to support eligible applicants to deliver positive local community initiatives, programs, research, and partnerships that will help Western Australians live healthy lifestyles and be more mentally healthy. The grants program is open year-round.

Funding opportunites are also be available through other government departments and non-government organisations.

Last reviewed: 12-01-2026
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Public Health

wa.gov.au