Session overview
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and NSW Health hosted an information session in September 2026 on Australia’s Unique Device Identification (UDI) system. This event brought together multiple stakeholders to explore the role of UDI in medical device traceability and patient safety.
Participants heard from an international expert and national professionals on the value of UDI, lessons learnt from global implementation, and progress towards UDI adoption in Australian healthcare systems.
The information session provided an opportunity to discuss future collaboration and engagement across the healthcare sector.
Unlocking the value of UDI for healthcare and registries
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) - Carolyn Wilson
This session provided an overview of the Australian UDI system and explained its background, purpose and implementation in Australia. There is a global need for improved medical device traceability.
UDI is a key foundation for improving patient safety, supporting targeted recalls, monitoring device performance, and increasing supply chain visibility. The presentation explained UDI components, labelling requirements, responsibilities of sponsors and the TGA. The focus was on healthcare adoption of UDI including the use of UDI information in adverse event reporting, recalls management and clinical quality registries.
Challenges were explored relating to barcode scanning, usability, data sharing arrangements, transitional timeframes, and the possible need for dual processes during implementation.
The session concluded with a live demonstration of the Australian UDI Database (AusUDID).
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PresentationsPresented at the Unique Device Identification (UDI) information session for healthcare
Unique identification of Products, People, Places in UK health systems
Dr Valentina Lichtner
The session explored the United Kingdom’s Scan4Safety programme and how the National Health Service (NHS) used global identifiers and barcode scanning to improve patient safety, traceability, and operational efficiency.
The presentation explained how UDI, Global Location Numbers (GLNs) and Global Service Relationship Numbers (GSRNs) identified products, locations, and people across healthcare settings. The benefits included faster information retrieval, automation, improved data access, and more effective recall management. Implementation challenges were identified including technology limitations, data quality issues, and the need for consistent scanning and strong user adoption.
The session concluded by exploring future opportunities such as data driven healthcare, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enabled hospitals, stronger system integration, and secure data sharing with clinical registries.
Unique identification of Products, People, Places in UK health systems
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PresentationsPresented at the Unique Device Identification (UDI) information session for healthcare
UDI and Australia’s digital health ecosystem
Australian Digital Health Agency - Ines Sostaric
The session provided an overview of My Health Record as a secure national platform for sharing clinical information and supporting multidisciplinary care. Recent legislative reforms and policies were discussed, they increase access to clinical data at the point of care.
There is an opportunity to integrate UDI information into My Health Record to improve patient safety, clinical decision-making, recalls and notifications. The organisation is considering technical aspects for integration, including a potential application programming interface (API), additional UDI data fields, and the possibility of a dedicated implantable device record.
My Health Record is a valuable resource that could be leveraged to improve device traceability, patient safety and continuity of care.
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PresentationsPresented at the Unique Device Identification (UDI) information session for healthcare
UDI and patient safety
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare - Dr Paul Miles
The session explored the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards draft (third edition) and the role of UDI in strengthening healthcare data collection, safety and clinical governance. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care set standards for health care and provides guidance for health professionals.
The 6 foundational elements were outlined and discussed in relation to UDI. It was recognised that UDI is an important enabler of data quality and patient safety outcomes. Including UDI in the standards could drive broader adoption across health services and improve patient safety.
The Commission advised that the standards were in the early draft stage and would continue to evolve through stakeholder feedback and public consultation.
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PresentationsPresented at the Unique Device Identification (UDI) information session for healthcare
Designing UDI into care: The NSW Health experience to date
NSW Health – Maria Jessing and Antony Altea
The session highlighted the importance of incorporating lived experience into healthcare improvement initiatives and reaffirmed patient safety as the primary goal of UDI implementation. NSW Health evaluated their progress towards UDI implementation and adoption, including system mapping, design sprints, prototyping and the establishment of a UDI working party.
The findings showed that UDI implementation required coordinated workforce and technology changes across the health system. There were 89 system touchpoints identified and key challenges noted including, fragmented systems, incomplete device data, inconsistent barcode use, reliance on manual processes and limited integration between legacy systems. It was noted that health services often captured Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) rather than full UDI data, limiting device traceability and governance.
Eight recommendations were presented to support a statewide approach to improve interoperability while leveraging existing systems.
The session concluded with a demonstration of the NSW Health prototype medical device traceability system.
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PresentationsPresented at the Unique Device Identification (UDI) information session for healthcare