Many GP’s, specialists, public and private health care providers now offer a telehealth and virtual care service as an option to patients. There has been widespread adoption of virtual consultation, including telephone, video conversations or recording, or an interactive form of webpage. Many doctors and medical centres now offer telehealth consultations. If you have a preferred healthcare provider, check if they’re set up for telehealth. If they’re not, you can find a provider that offers telehealth consultations at HealthDirect. Standards Australia has released a draft standard DR AS 4891:2025 Health informatics – Provision of guidance for users of a telehealth or virtual care service for Public Comment until 30th January 2026.
The draft standard specifies requirements and makes recommendations on the Telehealth and Virtual Care (TVC) guidance made available by a care provider including eligibility, accessing the service, using the service, and privacy. Standards Australia encourages views and input from a wide cross section of the public on a draft publication during the Public Comment stage. Create a free account when you Login to Drafts Open for Public Comment and search for DR AS 4891:2025. More information on How to Open, Browse, and Comment on a draft standards in the Standard Australia Public Comment Portal Help Guide. Submit your comments by 30 January 2026.
As a consumer, access to standards can help you become more informed about what to expect from product and service providers. Standards Australia provides FREE limited access to Australian standards. A Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) representative is a member of the committee IT-014 Health informatics which prepared the Draft Standard. CFA Representative’s participation on standards development committees ensures the impact on consumers is always considered as part of committee deliberations, giving the Australian consumer greater confidence in the products, services, and systems they use. Find out more about the CFA Standards Project and Why standards are important to consumers.