The Tasmanian Government has released a draft of its 20-year preventive health strategy, with paths for transport and recreation a key focus.
The strategy is broken into five subject areas, or pillars, and two of those absorb bike riding as an influence on health: the Healthy Environments and Places pillar includes transport and active travel and Healthy Communities and Social Conditions includes physical activity.
Each pillar has a set of goals and these will be fleshed out in four-year action plans.
The relevant goals for bike riders are:
- Transport and active travel Tasmanians get around safely, easily and without fuss. We have transport that works for everyone, with cleaner, healthier ways to move and reliable options that get us and our things where we need to be without wearing us out or hurting the environment.
- Physical activity Tasmania is a place where moving our bodies feels good, and every one of us can find our own pace and feel welcome, safe and proud of what our bodies can do. Our State is alive with people who feel stronger in themselves because life around us makes being active easy
During the consultation for the strategy, Bicycle Network pointed out the lack of ongoing funding for programs and activities that have been shown to work, like our Back on your Bike program
We were not the only organisation to express this frustration, with the strategy directly referencing the need to focus on evidence-based responses.
“Lots of plans start with small pilots and hope they scale up later. But we already know what needs to be done; Tasmanians told us clearly in our consultation that they’re sick of stop-start trials that never add up to real change.”
The first action plan will include the areas Tasmanians have nominated as mattering the most, where evidence is strong, and work is ready to begin.
Helping people to ride by providing safe infrastructure and training is one such area.
We know Tasmanians need to get more physical exercise to prevent illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Evidence is strong that providing paths and cycleways that protect people from traffic will get more people moving. And our Back on your Bike program has been shown to build people’s confidence to get them riding more often.
Feedback on the draft strategy is being accepted via consultation@health.tas.gov.au before 27 February 2026. Those comments will help to develop the first four-year action plan to implement the strategy.
https://www.health.tas.gov.au/publications/exposure-draft-health-revolution-20-year-preventive-health-strategy
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