Government Must Act: 

Senate Inquiry and Redress for Australians Harmed by Surgical Mesh and Medical Devices

I am one of many Australians who underwent hernia repair surgery involving surgical mesh and later experienced serious, life-altering complications. My symptoms were initially dismissed. It took years before the harm was formally acknowledged. During that time, my health declined significantly, and I struggled to find a clear pathway for recognition or support.

Thousands of Australians have undergone hernia repair surgery involving surgical mesh implants. While many recover without issue, a significant number have reported chronic pain, systemic complications, repeat surgeries, and long-term health impacts.
For many patients, early symptoms were dismissed or attributed to other causes. Some only received recognition of mesh-related harm years later — often after significant physical and psychological decline.

Since 2017–2018, regulatory reforms have strengthened medical device classification and reporting requirements. However, these reforms came after many Australians had already been implanted.
There has been:
No coordinated national retrospective audit of hernia mesh recipients
No structured patient notification framework for those implanted prior to regulatory reform
No nationally consistent support pathway for patients experiencing complications
No comprehensive parliamentary review of hernia mesh oversight in Australia.

International post-market surveillance data continues to record serious injury reports associated with certain surgical mesh devices.
Despite acknowledgment that safeguards have improved in recent years, there has been no full national examination of how earlier patients were affected, how oversight operated at the time, or whether additional reform is required.

We call on the Australian Government to refer surgical mesh regulation and patient outcomes to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for a national inquiry.

Such an inquiry should examine:
The adequacy of pre- and post-2018 regulatory oversight
The effectiveness of post-market surveillance systems
The process of approving and transitioning between surgical mesh products.
The need for a national high-risk implant registry
Whether a structured national redress or support pathway is warranted.

Australians deserve transparency, accountability, and a clear path forward.
This petition seeks an independent parliamentary review — not blame — so that lessons are learned and affected patients are not left without recognition or support.

If you agree with these requests, please sign and share.

You also do not have to be a recipient of a medical device to sign.