Old public health initiatives

Clean drinking water was provided

People were provided with safe water to drink

Sewage systems were established and sanitation was improved

• Sewage systems help to keep human wastes separated from water supplies, and garbage and waste were removed from the streets

Better-quality housing and the elimination of housing slums

• Laws required all houses be built with drains and a sewerage system or cesspit (a hole in the ground to separate human excrement), have proper ventilation and be better designed

Improved food and nutrition

• Food often transmitted diseases from bacteria, parasites, toxins and viruses due to poor hygiene and storage. The Pure Foods Act in 1905 brought about improvements in the safety and standards of food.

• Public health campaigns promoted the importance of food hygiene and the importance of fruit and vegetables.

Improved working conditions

• Workplaces had to have better ventilation and toilets (water closets) for workers.

• Employment of children under 13 years of age was prohibited.

• The Harvester Judgement in 1907 meant workers were paid a minimum wage that helped reduce poverty.

Mass immunisation programs

• With the scientific discovery of vaccines, the government funded mass vaccinations in the 1930s for diphtheria, 1939 for tuberculosis, the 1950s for pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus and poliomyelitis, the 1960s for measles and in 2021–22 for COVID-19.

Establishment of public health campaigns

• During World War I, health campaigns targeted the prevention of tuberculosis (TB) and STIs.

More hygienic birthing practices

• There were safe and hygienic birthing conditions with trained and registered midwives and doctors.

Antenatal and infant welfare services were provided

• Following World War II, antenatal and infant welfare services were established, which supported mothers and babies.

Quarantine laws

• An outbreak of the bubonic plague in 1900 triggered the introduction of strict quarantine laws to prevent the arrival and transmission of infectious diseases from other countries.