Monica Rostron
Monica Rostron uses communications to connect diabetes research, health policy and lived experience, shaping Diabetes Australia’s coverage of emerging science, funding decisions and community programs. Her work focuses on how new treatments, government investment and equitable access to technology affect people living with diabetes and related conditions, rather than on clinical detail alone. She has worked on communications for Diabetes Australia since 2015, giving her a long view of the organisation’s advocacy across research, prevention, care and support.
Research-driven coverage of complex diabetes and new treatments
Monica’s coverage highlights research that targets complex forms of diabetes, including conditions where diabetes occurs alongside other chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis. In her work on breakthrough treatment stories, she focuses on the promise of new therapies for Australians living with intricate combinations of conditions, and frames research in terms of quality of life and long-term health outcomes rather than laboratory milestones alone.
She also draws attention to the broader research landscape, including government funding trends and gaps. In her commentary on Australian government funding for diabetes research, she points to a growing crisis in support despite a 32 per cent increase in the number of Australians living with diabetes between 2013 and 2023, underlining the tension between rising prevalence and flat or falling investment. This research-driven framing sets her apart from general health reporters who might cover single grants or studies in isolation. Monica tends to situate new findings within a longer story about sustained funding, national burden of disease and the need for coordinated research programs.
Health policy, funding and equitable access to technology
A significant part of Monica’s work focuses on the policy and funding decisions that determine access to diabetes technology and medicines. She leads Diabetes Australia’s communications around pre-budget submissions that call for equitable access to insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring devices, arguing for a major investment over four years to expand subsidies for people living with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In these pieces she moves beyond advocacy slogans, detailing how specific funding envelopes, eligibility rules and subsidy structures translate into real-world access and affordability.
Her communications also support national announcements on the economic cost of diabetes and the need for prevention funding. Diabetes Australia’s media work she fronts includes releases on the updated $9.1 billion annual cost of diabetes to the health system, almost three times previous estimates, which she helps frame as both an economic and human imperative for government action. She is a key contact on statements welcoming election commitments for type 2 and gestational diabetes prevention and awareness, reflecting her focus on prevention policy as well as treatment.
Monica’s remit includes messages around access to specific medicines and their listing arrangements. In communications about Fiasp, a fast-acting insulin, she helps explain transitional access arrangements for people with existing prescriptions, translating technical PBS and regulatory language into practical guidance for people who rely on the drug. She also supports coverage of high-level forums such as the National Diabetes Summit at Parliament House, where national health leaders and the Federal Health Minister discuss systemic responses to the diabetes epidemic. Across these policy pieces, her distinguishing trait is a consistent focus on how funding decisions and regulatory settings affect everyday access to care.
Community stories, education and strategic partnerships
Alongside policy and research, Monica profiles individuals and organisations that shape diabetes care at community level. Her work includes features on community champions like Dr Steven James, who lives with diabetes while working as a diabetes educator, illustrating how personal experience and professional expertise intersect to improve care for others. These stories emphasise practical support, peer leadership and local problem-solving, rather than abstract inspiration, and are grounded in the realities of living and working with diabetes.
Monica’s coverage also highlights education initiatives and partnerships aimed at reaching people who may miss out on mainstream services. She supports Diabetes Australia’s communications around collaborations with organisations such as The Salvation Army, focusing on joint efforts to provide better access to diabetes education for vulnerable people in Melbourne. In these pieces she stresses tailored education, outreach and the importance of meeting people where they are, whether through community centres, charity networks or targeted programs.
Her on-the-ground work includes interviewing clinicians and speakers at events such as LiveYourLife forums, where she talks with specialists like Dr Miles Meyrick about key takeaways for people attending diabetes education sessions. She also uses National Diabetes Week and similar campaigns to showcase long-term partnerships with government and the charity sector, including meetings with the Assistant Minister for Charities to discuss a 30‑plus year collaboration between Diabetes Australia and the charities portfolio. This consistent focus on community education and partnership distinguishes her from reporters who may only cover headline policy announcements, as she follows the thread from national commitments through to local delivery.
Advocacy framing and data-led storytelling
Monica’s communication style blends advocacy with careful use of data and policy detail. In cost and funding stories she foregrounds figures such as the $9.1 billion annual cost of diabetes and the 32 per cent increase in prevalence over a decade, using them to argue for sustained government investment and more ambitious prevention programmes. In technology access pieces she breaks down subsidy proposals and investment asks into concrete benefits, such as expanded access to insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring for people who currently cannot afford or qualify for them.
At the same time, she anchors numbers in lived experience by weaving in patient and educator voices, community champions and the work of partner organisations. Her through-line is clear: diabetes policy and research only matter if they improve everyday life for people living with the condition. That combination of policy fluency, data literacy and attention to community impact is what marks her out from generic health reporters, making her coverage particularly focused on how decisions made in government and boardrooms translate into change for people managing diabetes and related conditions.
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