• Opposition to NDIS independent assessments
• Is Closing the Gap working?
• Aboriginal LGBTQA+ health experts sought
• Health sector needs to lift game on prison health
• RACP wants criminal responsibility age raised
• Sisters for Change prison program’s success
• National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap consultations

Opposition to NDIS independent assessments

There is fierce opposition to National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) independent assessments coming not only from the disability community, but also legal groups, medical bodies, state governments and others, according to a SBS News analysis of hundreds of submissions to a parliamentary inquiry. Of the more than 240 written submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS’s inquiry into independent assessments read by SBS News, the vast majority rejected the contentious reforms as proposed, voiced concern or singled out the government for criticism. The submissions reveal there is also considerable concern from outside the disability sector, which has been essentially united in opposition to the reforms since they were announced in August last year.

To view the entire SBS News article click here.

Image source: Women With Disabilities Australia.

Is Closing the Gap working?

Gaping policy shortfalls in the Australian Government’s ‘Closing the Gap’ program have seen it fail to reduce disparities in Indigenous health, income, employment, child removal and incarceration, Flinders University researchers say. Their five-year study just published in the Australian Journal of Public Administration examined why the targets of Australia’s national Closing the Gap strategy to reduce or eliminate inequalities in health, education and employment outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians have mostly not been met.

“Despite talk of governments ‘doing things with and not to’ Indigenous Australians, we found that most strategies implemented under Closing the Gap are controlled from the top by government agencies, leaving little room for Indigenous communities to have a say,” says lead author Dr Matthew Fisher, a senior researcher at the Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity at Flinders University. “Indigenous leaders said consistently that Closing the Gap policy will be more successful when it supports greater community control at a local level and puts more focus on strategies to build community resources for health and wellbeing,” said Dr Fisher.

To view the Flinders University media release click here.

Aboriginal LGBTQA+ health experts sought

Calling for ACCHOs that want to provide improved care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young people and their families.

ACCHOs across Australia (outside of WA) who would like to be involved in developing and implementing a culturally sensitive inclusive practice training package are being sought., as well as individuals with either lived experience as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ person or with a young family member who is LGBTQA+, experts in Aboriginal LGBTQA+ health, Aboriginal health, and LGBTQA+ health to serve as subject matter experts.

This will be part of an Aboriginal-led research project run by Dr Bep Uink (Telethon Kids Institute) and funded by the Federal Department of Health. Participating ACCHOs will identify their training needs in relation to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young people and their families, co-design the components of an inclusivity training program along with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young people and receive the training they build. The training package will be accompanied by a suite of digital resources. This research has been approved by the AIATSIS Research Ethics Committee.

To take part, or for more information, please contact Dr Bep Uink on 08 9360 1783 or bep.uink@telethonkids.org.au.

Image source: MJA InSight website.

Health sector needs to lift game on prison health

Last week, the NT Government passed changes to the Bail Act that are predicted to lead to more young Aboriginal people behind bars, directly undermining efforts to reduce deaths in custody and to improve Aboriginal health and wellbeing. On the same day, the Federal Government handed down a Budget that failed to address the concerns of families, and community, health and legal advocates urging action on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody. Meanwhile, the campaign for all Australian governments to raise the age at which children can be arrested or locked up from 10 to 14 years has released submissions to the Council of Attorney-Generals.

You can read submissions by groups such as the Australian Medical Association, the Public Health Association of Australia, the Danila Dilba Health Service, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the Commission for Children and Young People Victoria, and the Royal Australian and NZ College of Psychiatrists here.

On the 15th day of each month this year, Croakey has been hosting a Twitter “hour of power” to support a continuing focus on the need for action – by politicians and governments, policy makers and service providers in health, justice and community settings. Associate Professor Megan Williams, Wiradjuri justice health researcher and educator has urged the mainstream health sector to take more responsibility for people in the criminal justice system, and to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander public health people are at the table when related investigations, reports and inquiries are held.

The health sector has also been served a powerful call to address racism, with yesterday’s launch of a discussion paper, ‘Partnership for Justice in Health: Scoping Paper on Race, Racism and the Australian Health System’, published by the Lowitja Institute and Partnership for Justice in Health by Associate Professor Chelsea Watego, Dr David Singh and Dr Alissa Macoun.

To view the Croakey article in full click here.

RACP wants criminal responsibility age raised

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is urging all state governments to respond to the concerns of health experts and raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years. The release of 48 submissions today highlights the urgency in raising the age of criminal responsibility and keeping children out of jail. The RACP has repeatedly called for this as a member of the Raise the Age campaign steering group. RACP spokesperson, Paediatrician and Adolescent Health Specialist Dr. Mick Creati, says “Around six hundred children under the age of fourteen are incarcerated annually. There is substantial evidence showing the detrimental effects youth incarceration has on their physical and psychological health and wellbeing.”

To view the RACP’s media release click here.

Image source: Amnesty International.

Sisters for Change prison program’s success

• 15% decrease in prisoner on prisoner assaults
• 23% decrease in incidences of self-harm
• 66% decrease in possession of illicit substances
• 75% of volunteers feeling “not the same” as when they went in, having improved self-confidence and a sense of worth
• 50% of volunteers feeling hopeful and positive about the future.
• Prison community reported feeling safer and that there were improved relationships between prison officers and prisoners

The Sisters for Change program started in Townsville in 2018, with the first cohort of volunteers graduating in November 2019. Through COVID-19, existing volunteers supported the prison’s response through educating their community about hygiene practices and supporting the mental health of the women while regular activities and visits were suspended due to the pandemic.

Townsville Correctional Complex is one of four prisons in Australia currently running Red Cross’ Community Based Health and First Aid Program (CBHFA) with a fifth to come online soon. It is modelled on the acclaimed Irish Red Cross Prisons Program, which won the 2011 World Health Organisation Award for best practice in prison health and has seen a 13% decrease in recidivism rates among CBHFA volunteers upon release compared to the general population.

To view the Australian Red Cross media release click here.

Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre Sisters for Change program. Image source: The Australian Red Cross.

National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap input sought

Cancer Australia is encouraging you and your colleagues to participate in improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by pancreatic cancer.

On behalf of Cancer Australia, Menzies School of Health Research is conducting consultations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by pancreatic cancer, as patients or survivors, family members or carers. Input is also being sought from health professionals, those involved in policy and program development/delivery and researchers, and anyone else relevant to understanding more about the pancreatic cancer experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To be involved, please contact Jenny Brands jenny.brands@menzies.edu.au or Belinda Kruger belinda.kruger@menzies.edu.au or phone 07 3169 4247.

For further information regarding the National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap click here and to access a flyer on the consultations click here.