- Changing lives right from the start – Galiwin’ku’s Baby Hub
- Update to the Australian guideline for diagnosing and managing acute coronary syndromes
- Remote First Nations Communities to see major price drop on essential items as Federal subsidy rolls out
- First Indigenous Healing Service for Newman
- Sector Jobs
- Events and training
The NACCHO Sector News is a platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.
We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.
Changing lives right from the start – Galiwin’ku’s Baby Hub
Surrounded by water, immersed with bright rich red dirt and wildlife, there is a small island called home to a First Nations community of 2,000 people. Located on the northeast cost of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Galiwin’ku is also know as Elcho Island.
At its core amongst the beautiful bushland lies a very unique, culturally safe space called Baby Hub.
Established in 2012, Baby Hub was set up as a partnership between Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation and the Australian Red Cross.
Staffed predominantly by First Nations community workers, some with Certificate III in Early Childhood and others supported through one-on-one jobs mentoring with weekly training, Baby Hub provides essential support for expecting mothers, babies and families.
The team is exploring a tailored maternal care course and early childhood programs like the Abecedarian Approach (3A) to strengthen outcomes from birth onward.
The partnership directly supports Yolngu women into skilled community health roles, reinforcing a model of First Nations-led, place-based care.
Image: Tiesha Hewitt.
Update to the Australian guideline for diagnosing and managing acute coronary syndromes
The goal of the updated guideline is to ensure that clinicians are supported by the best evidence-based recommendations available, to provide the best possible outcomes for people with acute coronary syndromes.
When someone calls triple zero (000), every minute counts. Acute coronary syndromes (ACS), most commonly unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction, still claim more than 17 000 deaths annually in Australia. Despite declining age-standardised rates of ACS, inequities persist for women, First Nations peoples, and people living outside major cities. Against this backdrop, the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand have released the first full ACS guideline update since 2016, providing contemporary, evidence-based recommendations across the care continuum.
The guideline describes a spectrum of ACOMI ECG patterns (Roman023_photography / Shutterstock).
Remote First Nations Communities to see major price drop on essential items as Federal subsidy rolls out
The federal government’s food subsidy for First Nations communities begins Tuesday, cutting the cost of essential everyday items in remote areas.
First announced in February, the program will reduce prices for 30 basic items across 76 remote community stores, bringing them in line with prices in cities. The scheme also includes warehouse upgrades to strengthen remote supply chains.
“First Nations people living in remote communities have been paying significantly higher prices for essential items than people in the cities for far too long,” said Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy.
“The start of the subsidy scheme marks a significant step in our work to ease cost-of-living pressures and improve food security issues for remote communities.”
Designed to ease the high cost of living and tackle food insecurity, the government says the subsidy will reduce prices on the selected items by between 30 and 50 per cent. It was introduced as part of the Prime Minister’s Closing the Gap speech in February and followed in March by the launch of a 10-year National Strategy to improve food security and access to affordable, nutritious food in remote First Nations communities.
Image: The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre.
First Indigenous Healing Service for Newman
Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service (PAMS) will deliver the first Indigenous Healing Service in Newman, as part of the new Pilbara Safe Spaces program.
The Indigenous Healing Service will be run in collaboration with Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ) Aboriginal Corporation and the Newman Women’s Shelter, commencing later this year.
Together, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations will provide children and young people at risk with a temporary safe place at night, as well as culturally appropriate supports during the day.
The Indigenous Healing Service will include services for children and young people impacted by abuse or family and domestic violence that are informed by traditional and local Aboriginal healing practices.
Outreach services will also be provided to the remote communities of Jigalong, Punmu, Parnngurr and Kunawarritji.
The First Nations Healing Service is anticipated to commence in late 2025.
The team at PAMS will provide culturally appropriate support services to complement night-time services offered through the Pilbara Safe Spaces program.
Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.
Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.
NACCHO events
