Australian Asthma Handbook
The National Asthma Council’s Australian Asthma Handbook provides evidence-based guidance translated into practical advice for primary care health professionals on all aspects of asthma diagnosis and management.
It forms the foundation of all our health professional resources and education programs.
"The Australian Asthma Handbook was developed by primary care for primary care. It contains exactly what primary carers need — practical and useful information in plain English, underpinned by the latest evidence." Prof A Barnard
Australian Asthma Handbook update
The Australian Asthma Handbook is an innovative, easy-to-use and searchable website providing best practice, evidence-based guidance.
The new update, Version 3.0, was published on 16 September 2025 and launched by The Honourable Mark Butler, MP, Minister for Health and Ageing.
The updated Australian Asthma Handbook outlines important new recommendations that encourage health professionals to stop prescribing or advising treatment with as-needed short-acting beta2 agonists (SABA) alone to manage asthma in adults and adolescents.
The revised NAC Australian Asthma Handbook now recommends anti-inflammatory reliever (AIR) only therapy and maintenance-and-reliever therapy (MART) for adults and adolescents (aged over 12).
The revised 2025 edition also includes changes for improved diagnosis and management of asthma in infants and children.
The launch of the 2025 Australian Asthma Handbook and website follows extensive research and review of national and international evidence, led by a multidisciplinary network of expert primary care and specialist contributors on the NAC’s Guidelines Committee.
Visit the Australian Asthma Handbook website.