How 57,000 women are shaping health policy in Australia
Researchers from the University of Newcastle and the University of Queensland have created the largest and longest-running women’s health study in Australian history – and its findings are shaping policy and practice at state, national and international levels.
When a visionary study of Australian women’s health was launched in the 1990s, high-quality data was scarce and crippling conditions such as endometriosis were under recognised.
Thirty years later, the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) has grown into the largest study of its kind in Australia, with insights influencing policies, legislation and government funding priorities.
Established in April 1996, the study has evolved to capture not just health data, but unmatched insights about the broader issues facing Australian women across every stage of life. Today, it also encompasses the impact of violence against women and children, women at work, gender equality and more.
Funded by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the ALSWH (also known as the Australian Women's Health Study) collects survey data from 57,000 women across four generations: those born between 1921-26, 1946-51, 1973-78 and 1989-95.
In addition to information about physical and mental health, surveys also capture insights about women's use of health services, health behaviours, risk factors, socio-demographic factors and more.
In 2026, the study’s oldest active participants are turning 105, giving researchers unprecedented insights into issues that affect women throughout their entire lifespan.
Over the past decade, ALSWH has also expanded into an intergenerational study and now includes the children of the two youngest cohorts, so researchers can link children’s health to the data of their mothers.
Research methodology
The study draws on national administrative datasets such as the Medicare Benefits Schedule, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and National Death Index. It also links to state and territory datasets including hospital admissions, perinatal data and cancer registries. Datasets include:
- physical and emotional health (well-being, major diagnoses, symptoms)
- use of health services (GPs, specialist and other visits, access, satisfaction, hospital admissions, maternity, aged care)
- health behaviours and risk factors (diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol and other drugs)
- time use (paid and unpaid work, family roles and leisure activities)
- socio-demographic factors (location, education, employment, family composition)
- life stages and key events (childbirth, divorce, widowhood).
These datasets serve as a platform for evaluating policies and strategies such as perinatal mental health screening, access to psychological services and health assessments.
Research impact
Research and data from the ALSWH has contributed to policies, guidelines and research programs aimed at improving women’s health, wellbeing and access to services that improve their lives. Examples include:
- Women at Work: Health Impacts on Current Paid Workforce Participation (2025)
- Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality (2024)
- Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill (2022)
- The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032
- The National Women’s Health Strategy 2022-2032
- Review of the Pregnancy Care Guidelines (2020)
- National Action Plan for Endometriosis (2018)
- Perinatal mental health guidelines (2017)
- 2014 Australian Government Physical Activity Guidelines
- Choose Health: Be Active. A physical activity guide for older Australians (published 2014)
- The 2013 New South Wales Government Health Framework for Women’s Health
- 2010 National Women’s Health Policy
- The Victorian Women’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2010-2014)
- National respite for carers program (2009)
- 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Older Australians
ALSWH makes regular submissions to government inquiries, including recent inquiries into women’s pain and menopause. It also contributes to special reports on topics including the lifetime impact of abuse and the significance of global and domestic emergencies, including bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, on women's lives.
A 2022 report on sexual violence using ALSWH data continues to inform government inquiries and consultations, including those on universal access to reproductive healthcare and sexual consent laws.
ALSWH collaborators stretch across the globe, including researchers from Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, the United States of America, Switzerland and Argentina.
To support the sharing of new knowledge and knowledge translation, survey information is freely available to collaborating researchers on the project’s website, as are links to over 1,200 scientific publications that leveraged ALSWH data.
Future directions for the ALSWH
- The study is recruiting women from different cultural backgrounds, more women living in regional and remote areas, and women with low socioeconomic status, to ensure Australian women of all backgrounds can have a voice in policies that impact their health and wellbeing.
- The study team is working to create a fifth cohort of young women.
- Future research areas include women's pain, women's cardiac health, and the identification of factors that support health and wellbeing throughout the life course of Australian women.
Professor Deb Loxton
We’re incredibly grateful to the 57,000 women across Australia who donate their time to complete surveys on a regular basis and consent to other studies along the way. They are at the heart of the policy decisions that have been made to help women live better, healthier lives.
Last updated April 2026.
More information:
Professor Deb Loxton
+61 2 4042 0690
Deborah.Loxton@newcastle.edu.au
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