Notice of public consultation – September 2026

Draft updated guidelines for stroke management (dysphagia and weakness)

The Stroke Foundation Guidelines Development Group has released draft guidelines for stroke management, with recommendations for acute management (medical interventions for intracerebral haemorrhage).

These guidelines will be submitted to the NHMRC for approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.

As part of the approval process, the Stroke Foundation is seeking submissions on the draft guidelines.

The draft guidelines are available to view electronically on the MAGICapp platform:

• Dysphagia treatment (Chapter 3 Acute medical and surgical management) – Recommendation for individually tailored behavioural approaches has changed from strong to weak. New weak recommendation for strength exercises or skill-based training. Surface neuromuscular electrical stimulation has changed from weak against to weak for, with clearer wording that it should only be used by clinicians with specialised knowledge and training. Updated wording for the non-invasive brain stimulation and pharyngeal electrical stimulation. Additional dot points have been added to the consensus-based recommendation.
• Weakness (Chapter 5 Rehabilitation) – Recommendation for electrical stimulation has been updated and strengthened based on new evidence.
   

For additional information see our Administrative Report [PDF 216 KB], Technical report – Dysphagia treatment [PDF 686 KB] and Technical Report – Weakness [1.0 MB], or refer to Living guidelines updates.

Availability

Public consultation starts 9 am Thursday 24 September 2026, and finishes 5 pm Friday 30 October 2026.

How to give feedback

Submissions can be made by following the above links to the MAGICapp platform, and leaving a comment under the Feedback tab below each recommendation.

Some questions to consider when providing feedback:

• Are the recommendations clearly worded, unambiguous and easy to understand?
• Are the recommendations relevant and actionable for end users?
• Do the recommendations cover all relevant aspects for end users?
• Are the recommendations consistent with comparable international guidance, where relevant? Are any differences justified by contextual factors?
• Is there any relevant evidence that has been missed?
  
  

Please note you need to sign in to MAGICapp to leave a comment. Create an account for free at MAGICapp.org.

For further assistance, or alternatively to provide feedback via email, please contact the Stroke Foundation Guidelines Development Team, email: guidelines@strokefoundation.org.au