NACCHO Sector News: 17 October 2025

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News

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.

Register now for the 2025 NACCHO National Youth Conference!

This year’s National Youth Conference is taking place on Monday 8 December 2025 at the Royal Randwick Racecourse, Sydney on Bidjigal & Gadigal Country. The National Youth Conference will bring together up to 100 youth from around Australia to gain experience and exposure to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sector on a national level.

During the conference the youth will engage in discussion, share their experience and learn from other peers from across the country. The conference will allow the youth to learn about informing policy, influencing change and provide a pathway so their voices are heard and represented by NACCHO throughout the sector.

The NACCHO Members’ Conference will follow on Tuesday 9 December and Wednesday 10 December. The Conference theme is Strength Comes from Community Control.

Register here.

World Immunisation Day ACCHO Video Competition

World Immunisation Day’s coming up and that means… ACCHOs, it’s your time to shine! We want to see your most creative, cheeky, and clever ideas to get community rolling up their sleeves.

Create a fun, 90-second video that shows how we can Fab Jab & Roll Up, Show Up, Power Up for a stronger, healthier mob. Sing it, rap it, dance it, yarn it, act it, whatever gets the message out and makes people smile.

We will select a winning ACCHO from each category:

  • Best Community Voice
  • Best Storytelling/Narrative
  • Best Original Song/Performance
  • Best Humour/Comedy
  • Best Youth-Led Video
  • Most Innovative Approach

Winners will receive tickets, flights and accommodation to the 2025 NACCHO Members’ Conference.

Submissions close 1 November!

Submit your entry via: immunisations@naccho.org.au

QAIHC Members’ Conference Keynote: Our future workforce – TAIHS Showcase

At the QAIHC Members’ Conference 2025: Led by Culture, Driven by Purpose, Dr Katherine (Kathy) Anderson, CEO of the Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Health Services (TAIHS), will showcase how community control and investment in people are driving workforce success.

Dr Anderson will explore the value of staff training and share the real outcomes TAIHS has achieved by supporting staff to undertake professional development and accredited training.

Supporting the discussion, Adam Stephen, Workforce Development Jurisdiction Manager, will connect these on-the-ground lessons to broader workforce strategies that help strengthen capability, leadership and cultural safety across Queensland’s ACCHO sector.

The QAIHC Members’ Conference is taking place Wednesdaay 22 October at the Cairns Convention Centre. View the full agenda and register here.

Image source: QAIHC

The Beautiful Shawl Project is coming to Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-Operative

From 20-25 October, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women can access free breast screens on board the Breast Screen Victoria mobile screening van at Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative in Mooroopna.

Every person who screens will receive a Beautiful Shawl to wear during the screening and take home afterwards. This year’s Goolum Goolum shawl was designed by Yorta Yorta artist, April Atkinson.

Describing her artwork, April says, “My art piece represents a Yorta Itjumatj Bayi which means healthy breast in the Yorta Yorta language. The middle symbol represents the nipple and areola, and also represents women sitting. The brown stems and pink flowers that flow off the nipple represent the veins and ducts of a woman’s bayi (breast). The strong blossom of the flower shows how strong women are within their bodies and the flowers that have not yet blossomed are the new beginnings ready to grow. And finally, the wiggled lines along the border and behind the nipple and ducts represents the stretch marks that many women are blessed to have.”

Image source: VACCHO

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.

Email us your story with some images to: NACCHOCommunicationsandMedia@naccho.org.au and we will feature it in the news.

Email us your story with some images to: NACCHOCommunicationsandMedia@naccho.org.au
and we will feature it in the news.