Infectious diseases experts and community groups have welcomed the inquiry's findings.
But they say the rising threat from antibiotic-resistant bacteria is approaching crisis level and they want the federal government to urgently implement the recommendations.
(Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
Biwa Kwan reports.
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The report from the Finance and Public Administration References senate committee recommends the setting up of a national centre to tackle the threat of superbugs - bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
The report also recommends tighter monitoring of the use of antibiotics in animals bred for food, and national standards for hospital infection control.
The federal inquiry was initiated by Greens senator and former GP Richard Di Natale.
He says government policy has failed to address the seriousness of the issue.
"The overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of a whole lot of bacteria and other germs which are now resistant to antibiotics and that creates a huge public health problem. We've got a situation where soon people may die from very simple infections - things as simple as a cut on the skin that gets infected. And because of this growing problem of resistance to antibiotics we may be entering into an era that takes us back 100 years. And it's a very, very serious problem. Australia did some good work on this over a decade ago with some very clear recommendations, but we've done very little since that work was done. And so it is time for Australia to take some leadership and take action on the issue."
Senator Di Natale says the national centre would ideally be modelled on the European Centre for Disease Control, and coordinate the monitoring and detection of antibiotic resistance among humans and animals.
"Well an independent agency given the appropriate powers would be able to get the degree of coordination that is necessary across different areas. So for example, part of the problem is the overuse of antibiotics in humans but it is also an emerging issue of the use of antibiotics in agriculture. And it's particularly bad overseas where often the use of antibiotics in animals overseas is unregulated and we don't have very good information but we do know that there is a growing problem with the bugs becoming resistant to the antibiotics in animals and then those bugs being passed on to humans. And when they cause disease in humans there is often no treatment for them because they have become resistant."
Dr Peter Collignon is a professor at the Medical School of the Australian National University who has also worked on expert committees for the World Health Organisation on antibiotic resistance.
He says the window of time is closing for Australia to respond to the crisis.
"We are getting to the situation in many countries where there are large numbers of bacteria that are difficult to treat or impossible to treat. And we know from European data that if you have the e.coli superbug in your blood you have got a three times higher chance of dying. Some of the data that is available - as limited as it is from India and China - half the population with the e.coli germ are already there. And there is no reason we won't get in the same situation unless we can control better what is actually happening here and measuring what is actually happening here. Which is essentially what the Senate committee is recommending."
Meanwhile, a coalition of community groups is urging the federal government to implement the recommendations.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has joined the Public Health Association of Australia, National Toxics Network and the Australia Institute to campaign for the federal government to act quickly on the report's recommendations.
Friends of the Earth campaigner Louise Sales says urgent action is needed to prevent the number of deaths related to antibiotic resistance in Australia.
"Friends of the Earth is deeply concerned about the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance in Australia and so approximately 7,000 Australians die from superbugs: that's more than four times our annual road toll. It's a very serious public health concern and we think it's high time the government did something about it."
The federal government is expected to formally respond to the report within the next six months.
