(1) Is epilepsy recognised as a cause of death.

(2) What measures is the Government taking to ensure that epileptic seizure is identified as both a direct and indirect cause of death.

(3) Does the Government have a strategy for raising public awareness regarding the impact of epilepsy on individuals and the community.

(4) What funds have been, or will be, allocated to this task.

(5) What measures is the Government taking to promote research into the causes, management and prevention of epilepsy.

(1) Epilepsy is recognised as a cause of death within the International Classification of Diseases. This Classification is used in Australia's mortality system. The broad term `Epilepsy' is divided into a number of separate conditions which include the better known conditions of Grand mal and Petit mal. Other forms of epilepsy include idiopathic and other syndromes.

(2) Epilepsy has been recorded in the Australian death statistics as an underlying (direct) cause of death since the early 1900s. The latest available data (2000) show there were 245 deaths (141 males and 104 females) directly attributed to epilepsy. For deaths since 1997, a system has been put in place to record other factors contributing to death - these are known as multiple causes of death (indirect). In 2000 there were 839 deaths (361 males, 478 females) which identified epilepsy as a factor contributing to death.

(3) No.

(4) See (3).

(5) The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the principal funder of health and medical research in Australia. The NHMRC funds health and medical research, across a wide range of disciplines, mainly on the basis of excellence, significance of achievement, approach and feasibility of the proposed research, and on the record of the applicants, as judged by a rigorous system of peer review.

Although the Government does not specifically promote research into the causes, management and prevention of epilepsy, the NHMRC will provide almost $3.7 million for epilepsy related research in 2002.

In addition, the majority of NHMRC research funding is directed towards basic research in the biomedical sciences, and it is likely that a number of other research projects have the potential to benefit those suffering from a range of conditions, including epilepsy.