Amid persistent stigma and medical misogyny, women’s health has entered the mainstream like never before, with growing momentum in research, funding and policy reform.
In Australia, women face unique health needs across a wide spectrum of areas including mental health, sexual and reproductive health, perinatal care, menopause, gendered violence, dementia, heart disease and cancer.
As 2025 comes to a close, we’re looking back at some of the biggest news in women’s health.
Investment
Near the beginning of the year, the Albanese government announced a significant five-year investment of $573.3 million in women’s health, to go towards improving access and lowering costs, especially for long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs) and menopause support.
For the first time in 30 years, two of Australia’s most commonly used contraceptive pills (Yaz and Yasmin) are now listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which is estimated to benefit around 50,000 women annually.
There’s also been a new Medicare rebate for menopause health assessments, as well as increased medicare support for long-term contraceptives, including higher payments and expanded bulk billing for IUDs and birth control implants.
The first PBS listing of new menopausal hormone therapies in over 20 years, including Prometrium®, Estrogel®, and Estrogel® Pro, have been estimated to benefit around 150,000 women with reduced costs.
In the global philanthropy world, a significant investment was made by the Gates Foundation, who announced a $2.5 billion effort to advance chronically underfunded areas of women’s health by 2030. The most recent pledge was more than triple the amount the Foundation has spent on women’s health innovation over the past five years.
Reproductive health, endometriosis and menopause
From May, medications relating to contraception, endometriosis and IVF were put on the PBS, aimed at saving Australian women thousands of dollars a year.
They included Slinda (the progesterone-only contraceptive pill used by women who cannot take contraceptives with estrogens), Ryeqo (a new endometriosis treatment for patients who have experienced moderate to severe pain and cannot get adequate relief from other hormonal treatments and painkillers) and Pergoveris (an IVF-related medication).
Over in Sydney’s Campbelltown, a significant announcement was made in July to open a new menopause virtual health hub to give women access to flexible, complex care from highly trained health professionals and physiotherapists. The hub is one of four dedicated health hubs in the state funded by the NSW government and is a component of NSW Health’s menopause network.
For women who have experienced miscarriage, a key support service The Pink Elephants Support Network received a groundbreaking $4 million investment in March to provide care to everyone affected by such a traumatic event for bereaved parents.
Cancer, heart disease and brain health
Just two months ago, the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF) launched an ambitious five-year Research Impact Strategy to urgently address ovarian cancer, Australia’s most lethal gynaecological cancer.
Even before this, the OCRF had made its largest-ever funding distribution ($3.5 million), in March, to eight studies, including a study looking to find a new treatment for rare ovarian cancer. The grant recipients included three female Australian researchers who are among the few in the world leading research programs dedicated to studying rare ovarian cancer subtypes.
When it comes to cancer treatment in general, heart health has also been an increasing concern for women.
In August this year, Australian researchers developed a groundbreaking new drug to protect breast cancer patients’ heart health, without sacrificing life-saving cancer treatment.
A team of scientists in the Heart Research Institute’s (HRI’s) Heart Muscle Laboratory has aimed to not only identify safer preventative drugs, but also to understand why some patients are more susceptible to cardiotoxicity than others. It’s an ambitious cardi-oncology project that is helping pave the way for more personalised treatment in the future.
Women are also twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer’s, which affects over 400,000 people in Australia. New research, however, has found the reason may lie in chromosomal differences between genes held on the X and Y chromosomes (women have two X chromosomes, while men have an X and a Y).
Researchers have pointed to similar sex-related differences in other conditions like multiple sclerosis and migraine, which are more common in women. These understandings in how biological sex affects health risks can expand knowledge, leading to new pathways of treatment and prevention.