Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow will visit Australia April 16 to 20 to study the country's health insurance system, and pharmaceutical and food regulatory regime.

He will first go to Canberra and call on the Private Health Insurance Administration Council to learn more about its regulatory regime for the private health insurance industry.

He will meet senior officials of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the Department of Health & Ageing, as well as Food Standards Australia New Zealand to get an update on their pharmaceutical and food regulatory regime.

He will then visit the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne to collect information conducive to Hong Kong's preparation for the formation of the Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics.

He will then meet senior staff of Medibank Private, an Australian-government owned private health insurer and the country's largest health insurance provider, and visit Sigma Pharmaceuticals.

Dr Chow will lastly visit the New South Wales Food Authority in Sydney to examine its regulatory role.