- Victoria makes history with passage of Australia’s first Treaty bill
- Review Confirms SNAICC Early Years Success for First Nations Children
- Remote NT communities are being left behind due to ‘unacceptable’ healthcare
- Justice Health NSW establishes new partnership to support Aboriginal patients in state’s Central West
- Sector Jobs
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.
Victoria makes history with passage of Australia’s first Treaty bill
Victoria’s historic Treaty bill has passed the state’s upper house, paving the way for it to be formally signed before the end of the year and marking the first such agreement to be signed in Australia’s history.
The Statewide Treaty Bill passed the Legislative Council on Thursday night with support from the Greens and the crossbench. The Opposition voted against it, having withdrawn support for the previously bipartisan process last year.
The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria – which negotiated the Treaty on behalf of First Nations Victorians – welcomed the milestone with Co-Chair Ngarra Murray calling it a “historic moment for our people”.
“We will tell our children about today, and they will tell their children, passing down to future generations the story of how decades of Aboriginal resilience and activism led to Australia’s first Treaty,” the Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Dhudhuroa woman said.
“Treaty marks the beginning of a new era, one where First Peoples’ 60,000 years of knowledge and culture is respected and celebrated. It’s an opportunity for all Victorians to acknowledge our shared history, heal and move forward together.”
Celebrations inside Parliament as the Treaty Bill is passed. Image: Justin McManus (The Age).
Review Confirms SNAICC Early Years Success for First Nations Children
An independent evaluation by Deloitte has confirmed that SNAICC’s Early Years Support (EYS) program is a highly effective and trusted model that is strengthening the Aboriginal community controlled (ACCO) early education and care (ECEC) sector.
The report found the EYS program is “a highly valued and effective initiative” that improves service quality, reduces administrative burden on community leaders, and builds strong, culturally safe relationships across the services involved.
Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC, National Voice for our Children said the Deloitte findings confirm what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have always known, when Aboriginal organisations lead the way in early childhood education, our children thrive.
“The evidence is clear, this model works and it’s changing lives,” Ms Liddle said.
“These are the services that are best places and are proven to get the best outcomes for our children and families.
Remote NT communities are being left behind due to ‘unacceptable’ healthcare
First Nations people continue to die younger and live with poorer health than other Australians. Addressing this disparity requires urgent attention from all governments. By DR John Paterson
After more than 40 years working alongside Aboriginal communities and advocating for better health outcomes, I am retiring as CEO of AMSANT and convener of the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory. It has been my life’s work to fight for the health and wellbeing of our people and to create lasting, systemic change for future generations.
Progress on Closing the Gap health targets has been concerningly slow. While life expectancy has improved for Aboriginal people – driven largely by stronger investment in First Nations-led service delivery – the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous mortality remains unacceptably high.
In the Northern Territory, where disadvantage is greatest, many health outcomes are not only off track but going backwards. Chronic diseases such as rheumatic heart disease and diabetes remain common, children in remote areas still suffer from preventable illnesses such as scabies and anaemia, driven by overcrowded housing and the high cost of food, and mental health challenges weigh heavily on our communities.
The reality is this: First Nations people continue to die younger and live with poorer health than other Australians. Addressing this disparity requires urgent attention from all governments. Closing the health gap means backing Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to do the work they know best – and ensuring they have the facilities, workforce and resources to meet growing demand.
Health leaders in remote parts of the NT want a long-term strategy to improve health care delivery, services, and infrastructure. Picture shows inside the Yirrkala health clinic.
Justice Health NSW establishes new partnership to support Aboriginal patients in state’s Central West
Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network (Justice Health NSW) will partner with Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Service (WACHS) to deliver trauma-informed, culturally safe healthcare to Aboriginal patients in custody in the state’s Central West.
The in-reach model, based on the Justice Our Way program, involves local Aboriginal community-based health services delivering support to Aboriginal patients in custody and transitioning to community.
The expansion of the program is funded under the Domestic Family Sexual Violence National Partnership Agreement, and will see place-based throughcare, designed by WACHS, delivered at Wellington Correctional Centre to Aboriginal women on remand and in custody, and for the first time also piloted for Aboriginal men in custody.
First implemented in 2014 by the South Coast Women’s Health and Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation (Waminda), The Justice Our Way program addresses a critical gap in support for Aboriginal people transitioning out of the justice system.
For the past 10 years, the Justice Our Way program has been successfully delivered to women in Dillwynia and Silverwater Correctional Centres.
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.