Our News Articles

A woman with ME/CFS is smiling in a living room.

Emerge Australia ambassador Tracey Spicer AM gives chronically ill women a voice

Emerge Australia has announced champion of women Tracey Spicer AM as its new ambassador. The respected journalist and campaigner, with a career spanning radio, television, and newspapers, is throwing her weight behind Emerge Australia, the national patient organisation that represents, supports and advocates for people with post-viral infections including Myalgic Encephalomyelitis* and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and increasingly long COVID. Research is finding overlaps

Read More »
A woman conducting experiments in a laboratory with an abundance of bottles, studying mecfs.

January 2023 International Research and Advocacy Roundup

Our International Roundup provides a brief snapshot of some of the ME/CFS research funding, clinical care and advocacy actions around the world in the last few months.  Research The US Centers for Disease control published its long-awaited evidence review of ME/CFS diagnosis and management. The report followed an extensive public consultation process, with submissions from

Read More »
TeleHealth Cuts to Hit Most Vulnerable

ABC Article: Support for people with invisible illnesses

Published: 19 December 2022 Emerge Australia’s CEO, Anne Wilson, spoke with the ABC’s Fiona Blackwood about how greater access to government supports like Medicare, NDIS and the disability pension were needed for patients living with invisible illnesses like ME/CFS and long COVID “Because those diseases are classified as diseases rather than a disability, it is very

Read More »
Many different types of pills and capsules are arranged on a white surface for individuals with MECFS.

Change to eligibility for oral COVID-19 treatments

Release Date: 1st December 2022 Eligibility for oral COVID-19 treatments The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommended changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) eligibility criteria of oral treatments for COVID-19. This will take effect from 1 November 2022. Antiviral treatments taken as capsules or tablets may help stop COVID-19 infection from becoming severe. Courses of

Read More »
Bbc world news featuring a woman discussing mecfs.

ABC article: long COVID funding non-existent

Publish date 27 October 2022 The ABC’s Sophie Scott and Stephanie Dalzell recently spoke with Emerge Australia’s CEO, Anne Wilson, as part of their story on the Federal Governments underfunding of long COVID in Australia. Health authorities around the world are spending billions on tackling long COVID, with innovative research projects for new treatments and

Read More »
Coronaviruses affecting red blood cells.

ABC Interview: Disappointment after no mention of long COVID in budget

Release Date: 27 October 2022 Emerge Australia’s CEO Anne Wilson speaks with Ros Childs on the ABC expressing disappointment at the latest federal budget, handed down on Tuesday, providing no funding for the sufferers of ME/CFS and long COVID. Ms Wilson details how Emerge Australia may be forced to close essential patient services, including the

Read More »
A young man with mecfs sleeping on a bed next to an acoustic guitar.

How Would You Cope?

Media Release: 12 October 2022 How Would You Cope facing the daily battle of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), for which there is no known cure? Click the Links below to listen to Emma and Caitlin’s stories. Emma’s Story ‘Its a Women’s Health Issue’ Click the Link Below A Women’s Health Issue | Emerge Australia

Read More »
A group of business people listening to a presentation on mecfs.

Educating over 100 physios about ME/CFS

One cold evening in late July, Emerge Australia’s Nurse Educator, Kate Herbert, presented to the Australian Physiotherapy Association pain special interest group about ME/CFS. With over 100 participants, including attendees also from other special interest groups, this was the most well attended presentation Kate has delivered to date.   Kate’s presentation drew on research and practice.

Read More »
A man researching mecfs while looking through a microscope.

July 2022 International Research and Advocacy Roundup

Our International Roundup provides a brief snapshot of some of the ME/CFS research funding, clinical care and advocacy actions around the world in the last few months.  Research The US National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Community Advisory Committee for ME/CFS has developed a quick reference guide for researchers designing clinical trials with ME/CFS patients. The

Read More »
What will it take for Australia to get new clinical guidelines for ME/CFS?

Ensure knowledge from ME/CFS research and the emerging field of long COVID is shared and integrated

A high degree of similarity and strong links between ME/CFS and long COVID offer opportunities for researchers to collaborate.    Emerge Australia, in partnership with LaTrobe University, manages Australia’s only ME/CFS Biobank. The opportunity to develop a long COVID Biobank at LaTrobe that would work on cross matching ME/CFS and long COVID samples to identify the molecular and cellular

Read More »
Two men with ME/CFS sitting at a table talking to a doctor.

More GPs educated about ME/CFS at GPCE Perth

Emerge Australia presented the keynote address on Sunday 23 July, at the second General Practitioner conference & exhibition for 2022 in Perth. Just as at Sydney’s conference, Emerge Australia’s Medical Director Dr Richard Schloeffel, OAM, presented about diagnosis, management and treatment options for long COVID and ME/CFS.   Perth’s conference was smaller than Sydney and the

Read More »
A man with mecfs is talking on the phone while laying in bed.

3GB Interview: TeleHealth cuts to hit most vulnerable

Release Date: 12 July 2022 Emerge Australia’s CEO Anne Wilson speaks with Luke Grant on 3GB radio supporting joining calls for the Federal Government to reassess its plan to cut some telehealth services and charge the cost for longer consultations directly to patients. Ms Wilson says “since the announcement of the plan, the organisation has

Read More »
What will it take for Australia to get new clinical guidelines for ME/CFS?

Educate health care practitioners to provide appropriate, evidence-based, and timely support for ME/CFS and long COVID patients

Evidence suggests health care professionals have little knowledge or expertise in diagnosing ME/CFS and other post-viral conditions such as long COVID. Differentiation between ME/CFS and long COVID is critical for accurate diagnosis and patient management.  Only 27% of respondents in Emerge Australia’s 2019 Health and Wellbeing survey considered their GP to be well informed about

Read More »
A man with mecfs is laying on a couch with a laptop on his lap.

TeleHealth Cuts to Hit Most Vulnerable

Media Release: 12 July 2022 “Approximately 25 per cent (60,000+ people) in Australia have ME/CFS symptoms so severe they are housebound or bedbound making telehealth their only practical option.” Emerge Australia, the national patient organisation supporting an increasing number of Australians battling Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) today called on the Federal Government to reassess

Read More »
What will it take for Australia to get new clinical guidelines for ME/CFS?

Update Australia’s outdated clinical guidelines to reflect internationally agreed safe and best practice care for people with ME/CFS

It is vitally important that up-to-date national clinical guidelines are developed that reflect the current knowledge base for ME/CFS and have the capacity to incorporate emerging evidence as and when it is published.  ‘Living’ guidelines ensure that people with ME/CFS can benefit as soon as possible from advances in diagnosis and treatment ​and can be efficiently updated. It

Read More »
A yellow liquid emanating from a microscope.

Knowledge from ME/CFS research and the emerging field of long COVID must be shared and integrated

There are many highly qualified researchers and centres that need support to conduct these correlation studies. For example, Emerge Australia, in partnership with La Trobe University, manages Australia’s only ME/CFS Biobank. This partnership aims to expand Australia’s ME/CFS Biobank to include long COVID samples, allowing researchers to compare patient cohorts. This will be a unique

Read More »
What will it take for Australia to get new clinical guidelines for ME/CFS?

Our GPs need to know what to do: We have the plan, we need the funds

Educate doctors to diagnose ME/CFS and long COVID and provide evidence-based support to people with these conditions Emerge Australia has written a 5 years plan for GP Education about ME/CFS, long COVID and post-viral diseases, accessible to all of Australia’s GPs. Research estimates 90% of people with ME/CFS have not been diagnosed and GPs often

Read More »
A woman resting on a white pillow.

Australians with ME/CFS need an Optimal Care Referral Pathway

Currently, people with ME/CFS and post-viral diseases do not routinely receive appropriate, coordinated care. Furthermore, they face barriers accessing evidence-based information and vital allied health support, all of which can inhibit symptom management and recovery. It is critical that ME/CFS and long COVID patients work in partnership with their healthcare team to understand and manage their

Read More »
A woman with mecfs wearing a headset in front of a computer.

Changes to the Support and Services programs

Patient Pathways telehealth pilot program Our Patient Pathways telehealth pilot program will be completed on June 30, 2022. Emerge Australia would like to thank the Centre for Community-Driven Research (CC-DR) for including us in this program. Over the next couple of months, we will start to create a new Telehealth Nurse referral process and provide an additional service to

Read More »
National Volunteer Week 2022

National Volunteer Week 2022

16-22 May 2022 Better together  Emerge Australia was created by volunteers more than 40 years ago. Today, volunteers continue to devote considerable time and expertise to Emerge Australia to ensure that we can continue to provide the high-quality services and programs for people living with ME/CFS. This National Volunteer Week we hope you will join

Read More »
A stethoscope on top of a bed used for patients with mecfs.

Our strategy to educate GPs about ME/CFS

Update: Feedback from GPCE Sydney shows important education outcomes among GPs  Verbal feedback from Richard’s presentation about, long COVID and ME/CFS: Diagnosis, treatment and management options, in Sydney in late May was overwhelmingly positive. Formal, written feedback, provided to us last week by the organisers of the event, is equally as impressive. 80% of attendees reported that Dr

Read More »
A man with ME/CFS is resting on a couch at night.

ABC Radio: Do we take Chronic Fatigue Syndrome seriously?

Release date: 27 April 2022 On ABC’s The Conversation Hour, Richelle Hunt and Jane McNaughton speak with Dr Richard Schloeffel, Emerge Australia’s Medical Director, about how ME/CFS is misunderstood in Australia and if those living with ME/CFS can help those being diagnosed with long COVID. Listen to the interview Published: 6th May, 2022 Share this

Read More »
What will it take for Australia to get new clinical guidelines for ME/CFS?

New Australian Clinical Guidelines for ME/CFS urgently needed

Media Release  Existing, 20-year-old Clinical Guides Need Review Enable this content? This content is served by a third party, player.vimeo.com.If enabled, player.vimeo.com may collect information about your activity.Manage preferences to always allow this content. Accept and EnableManage Preferences Read the report – State of the Nation: Because people with ME/CFS matter Emerge Australia has called

Read More »
What will it take for Australia to get new clinical guidelines for ME/CFS?

Australia’s Post-viral Disease Tsunami Threat

Media Release22 April 2022 Political Parties Warned on Major Hit On Health Budgets Enable this content? This content is served by a third party, player.vimeo.com.If enabled, player.vimeo.com may collect information about your activity.Manage preferences to always allow this content. Accept and EnableManage Preferences Read the report: State of the Nation: Because people with ME/CFS matter

Read More »

Join our Newsletter

Giving a voice to the unseen and unheard.
Sign up to our newsletter today.

Scroll to Top