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.

Latest news

Supporting the resilience and wellbeing of the Victorian Jewish community

September 22, 2026
South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (SEMPHN) is pleased to announce the successful recipients of funding via the Victorian Jewish Community Wellbeing Grant round. Congratulations to the following organisations:

Introducing the Clinical and Referral Guidance Hub

September 21, 2026
South Eastern Melbourne PHN has launched the Clinical and Referral Guidance Hub (the Hub), a new platform providing primary care professionals in south east Melbourne with centralised access to local referral information and clinical guidance.

Dementia Action Week: It’s time to talk about dementia

September 17, 2026
Dementia Action Week is held each September to raise awareness of dementia, reduce stigma and build greater understanding of the experiences of people living with dementia, their families and carers.