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TGA stakeholder survey 2017
Print version
Print version
Confidence in the TGA
Confidence in the TGA was measured across a range of focus areas. The strongest outcomes here are observed in relation to Trustworthiness and Providing safeguards for the health of Australians, where 7 in 10 respondents indicate either high or full confidence in the TGA and minimal numbers (around one in 20) indicate low or no confidence (Table 9).
Measures of Technical competence, Fairness, Risk management and Scientifically valid decisions all show similar levels of confidence, with around six in ten participants indicating high or full confidence across these measures and 11% or fewer respondents indicating low confidence.
The measure focussing on well thought out decision making shows lower levels of confidence, with half of the sample highlighting high levels of confidence in the TGA here, and 12% showing low or no confidence.
Table 9: Confidence in the TGA (%)
Statement | Nett Low confidence | Not at all confident | Low confidence | Moderate confidence | High confidence | Full confidence | Nett High confidence | N |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Technical competence | 8 | 2 | 6 | 34 | 48 | 9 | 57 | 2398 |
Well thought out decisions | 12 | 3 | 9 | 39 | 42 | 7 | 50 | 2397 |
Providing safeguards for the health of Australians | 5 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 54 | 16 | 70 | 2401 |
Fairness | 10 | 3 | 7 | 31 | 48 | 11 | 58 | 2395 |
Trustworthiness | 5 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 54 | 18 | 73 | 2394 |
Risk management | 8 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 50 | 10 | 61 | 2398 |
Scientifically valid decisions | 11 | 2 | 8 | 33 | 46 | 11 | 57 | 2398 |
The patterns observed in 2017 are almost identical to those observed in 2016. However there is a slight tendency toward lower levels of Nett high confidence. This does not translate to a trend toward higher levels of Nett low confidence, with low confidence levels generally at or just below those observed in 2016 (Table 10 and Figure 20).
Table 10: Confidence in the TGA (%)
Statement | Nett Low confidence | Moderate confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Moderate confidence | Nett High confidence | Change Nett High confidence |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 2016 | ||||||
Technical competence | 8 | 34 | 57 | 12 | 28 | 61 | -3 |
Well thought out decisions | 12 | 39 | 50 | 15 | 33 | 52 | -2 |
Providing safeguards for the health of Australians | 5 | 25 | 70 | 6 | 19 | 75 | -5 |
Fairness | 10 | 31 | 58 | 12 | 28 | 60 | -2 |
Trustworthiness | 5 | 23 | 73 | 5 | 19 | 76 | -3 |
Risk management | 8 | 31 | 61 | 9 | 27 | 64 | -3 |
Scientifically valid decisions | 11 | 33 | 57 | 12 | 28 | 61 | -4 |
Figure 20: Confidence in the TGA – 2016 vs 2017 Nett confidence (%)

Responses across major stakeholder groupings (shown in Figures 21-27) highlight a general pattern where Community and Medical products industry stakeholders tend to consistently show strong levels of confidence. Those in the Government category show the lowest levels of confidence, whilst fluctuations are evident across measures in regards to Medical professional, Academic and Retailer groupings.
Figure 21: Technical competence – Confidence by Stakeholder category (%)

Health pro: N=217; Community: N=13; Med prod ind: N=1337; Retailer: N=98; Gov: N=55; Academic: N=67; Media: N=2; Other: N=342.
Stakeholder group | Nett Disagree | Nett Agree |
---|---|---|
Health professional | 9 | 53 |
Community member, consumer or community representative | 15 | 69 |
Medical products industry | 8 | 59 |
Retailer | 9 | 62 |
Government | 15 | 42 |
Academic | 10 | 51 |
Media | 50 | 50 |
Other | 8 | 58 |
Figure 22: Well thought out decisions – Confidence by Stakeholder category (%)

Health pro: N=217; Community: N=13; Med prod ind: N=1334; Retailer: N=99; Gov: N=55; Academic: N=67; Media: N=2; Other: N=343.
Stakeholder group | Nett Disagree | Nett Agree |
---|---|---|
Health professional | 13 | 50 |
Community member, consumer or community representative | 31 | 62 |
Medical products industry | 11 | 51 |
Retailer | 12 | 51 |
Government | 16 | 36 |
Academic | 12 | 52 |
Media | 0 | 50 |
Other | 11 | 48 |
Figure 23: Safeguards for the health of Australians – Confidence by Stakeholder category (%)

Health pro: N=218; Community: N=13; Med prod ind: N=1339; Retailer: N=99; Gov: N=55; Academic: N=66; Media: N=2; Other: N=342.
Stakeholder group | Nett Disagree | Nett Agree |
---|---|---|
Health professional | 5 | 67 |
Community member, consumer or community representative | 23 | 69 |
Medical products industry | 5 | 73 |
Retailer | 8 | 70 |
Government | 9 | 62 |
Academic | 5 | 65 |
Media | 0 | 50 |
Other | 3 | 68 |
Figure 24: Fairness – Confidence by Stakeholder category (%)

Health pro: N=218; Community: N=13; Med prod ind: N=1338; Retailer: N=99; Gov: N=55; Academic: N=66; Media: N=2; Other: N=343.
Stakeholder group | Nett Disagree | Nett Agree |
---|---|---|
Health professional | 12 | 56 |
Community member, consumer or community representative | 23 | 69 |
Medical products industry | 9 | 60 |
Retailer | 17 | 60 |
Government | 7 | 55 |
Academic | 6 | 59 |
Media | 50 | 50 |
Other | 10 | 57 |
Figure 25: Trustworthiness – Confidence by Stakeholder category (%)

Health pro: N=217; Community: N=13; Med prod ind: N=1334; Retailer: N=99; Gov: N=55; Academic: N=66; Media: N=2; Other: N=343.
Stakeholder group | Nett Disagree | Nett Agree |
---|---|---|
Health professional | 8 | 68 |
Community member, consumer or community representative | 15 | 77 |
Medical products industry | 3 | 77 |
Retailer | 4 | 73 |
Government | 5 | 62 |
Academic | 3 | 71 |
Media | 0 | 50 |
Other | 5 | 67 |
Figure 26: Risk management – Confidence by Stakeholder category (%)

Health pro: N=217; Community: N=13; Med prod ind: N=1337; Retailer: N=99; Gov: N=55; Academic: N=67; Media: N=2; Other: N=342.
Stakeholder group | Nett Disagree | Nett Agree |
---|---|---|
Health professional | 8 | 59 |
Community member, consumer or community representative | 23 | 69 |
Medical products industry | 7 | 62 |
Retailer | 11 | 60 |
Government | 11 | 49 |
Academic | 7 | 66 |
Media | 0 | 50 |
Other | 6 | 61 |
Figure 27: Scientifically valid – Confidence by Stakeholder category (%)

Health pro: N=217; Community: N=13; Med prod ind: N=1336; Retailer: N=99; Gov: N=55; Academic: N=67; Media: N=2; Other: N=342.
Stakeholder group | Nett Disagree | Nett Agree |
---|---|---|
Health professional | 14 | 57 |
Community member, consumer or community representative | 31 | 62 |
Medical products industry | 10 | 59 |
Retailer | 11 | 53 |
Government | 11 | 56 |
Academic | 12 | 58 |
Media | 0 | 50 |
Other | 8 | 56 |
Table 11 shows confidence levels within the health professional grouping. Outcomes here show a notable tendency for higher confidence within the Medical practitioner group and generally fewer responses showing high confidence within the complementary healthcare practitioner category. Dental practitioners, Nurses and Pharmacists show fluctuations across measures. The small sample sizes here (particularly amongst dental practitioners) increase the likelihood of observing large fluctuations within these groups.
Health professional | Technical competence | Well thought out decisions | Providing safeguards for the health of Australians | Fairness | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | |
Complementary healthcare practitioner | 13 | 29 | 29 | 25 | 13 | 42 | 33 | 25 |
Dental practitioner | 13 | 50 | 13 | 38 | 13 | 63 | 13 | 75 |
Medical practitioner | 11 | 61 | 9 | 63 | 4 | 70 | 11 | 61 |
Nurse | 6 | 47 | 6 | 41 | 0 | 76 | 6 | 65 |
Pharmacist | 10 | 62 | 10 | 59 | 3 | 72 | 17 | 55 |
Other | 7 | 53 | 13 | 50 | 3 | 69 | 7 | 58 |
Health professional | Trustworthiness | Risk management | Scientifically valid decisions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | |
Complementary healthcare practitioner | 35 | 26 | 13 | 42 | 21 | 38 |
Dental practitioner | 25 | 75 | 25 | 38 | 29 | 29 |
Medical practitioner | 4 | 78 | 9 | 65 | 13 | 65 |
Nurse | 0 | 65 | 0 | 53 | 6 | 71 |
Pharmacist | 10 | 72 | 10 | 72 | 7 | 76 |
Other | 3 | 72 | 7 | 58 | 15 | 52 |
Comp health prac: N=23-24; Dental: N=7-8; Medical prac: N=46; Nurse: N=17; Pharmacist: N=29; Other: N=88-89.
Amongst stakeholders in the medical products industry there is a strong pattern highlighting lower levels of confidence amongst Industry association representatives (Table 12). The small number of stakeholders in this group show consistently fewer ratings of High confidence as well as the highest likelihood of providing Low confidence ratings. Both Product sponsors and Product manufacturers show generally similar views and are generally likely to show confidence levels at or just above the overall survey average. Regulatory affairs consultants show strong variation across measures, providing positive ratings In relation to Trustworthiness and Providing safeguards for Australians and generally low ratings in relation to Well thought out decisions.
Role in Medical products industry | Technical competence | Well thought out decisions | Providing safeguards for the health of Australians | Fairness | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | |
Product sponsor | 7 | 57 | 12 | 50 | 5 | 72 | 10 | 60 |
Product manufacturer | 8 | 64 | 9 | 55 | 6 | 74 | 7 | 60 |
Regulatory affairs consultant | 6 | 58 | 8 | 45 | 3 | 81 | 10 | 62 |
Industry association | 29 | 29 | 29 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 21 | 21 |
Other | 7 | 67 | 7 | 60 | 2 | 81 | 5 | 70 |
Role in Medical products industry | Trustworthiness | Risk management | Scientifically valid decisions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | Nett Low confidence | Nett High confidence | |
Product sponsor | 3 | 77 | 6 | 61 | 9 | 58 |
Product manufacturer | 3 | 75 | 8 | 65 | 11 | 60 |
Regulatory affairs consultant | 4 | 83 | 9 | 67 | 10 | 61 |
Industry association | 14 | 50 | 43 | 7 | 21 | 14 |
Other | 2 | 91 | 7 | 65 | 9 | 65 |
Sponsor: N=763-765; Manufacturer: N=393-396; Reg Affairs Con: N=114-115; Ind Assoc Rep: N=14; Other: N=43.