Statewide Referral Criteria - new suite of paediatric ENT conditions

Jenny Morgan • October 8, 2025

New statewide referral criteria for a range of children’s ear, nose and throat conditions come into effect from 1 November 2025 in all Victorian public hospitals.

 Patients can be placed on a specialist clinic wait list when a referring GP provides information that shows the referral meets the new children’s ENT criteria.

The criteria identify the information that should be included in a referral to assess the referral and direct the patient to the best service available.

The Victorian Department of Health has developed and published statewide specialist referral criteria for a further seven children’s ENT conditions. The children’s ENT suite is among 17 suites of specialist referral criteria already in existence across Victoria. 

GPs can visit health.vic.gov.au/statewide-referral-criteria to view the criteria.

Additional statewide criteria will be released for new speciality areas throughout 2026.

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