• Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service – Strong, deadly and screened: a focused day with lasting impact
• Thriving Kids reforms a possible ‘Medicare Moment’ for Indigenous children, SNAICC says
• ‘Truly inspiring’: RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander award winners announced
• A Decade of Recognition: 2025 Australian Mental Health Prize Winners Announced
• 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.

Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service – Strong, deadly and screened: a focused day with lasting impact

At Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service on Dharawal Country, a simple idea, to host a community-led cervical screening day, turned into a transformative moment for women’s health. Before the event, screening coverage hovered around 52 per cent, with many women eligible but not yet screened.

The women’s health team asked themselves a practical question: How can we make this easier, more comfortable, and more meaningful for our women?

The answer came through meticulous preparation and deep community connection. In the weeks leading up to the event, staff reviewed, cleaned and updated records, identified eligible women, and reached out personally to offer screening, through phone calls, home visits, and informal chats. Partnering with Family Planning NSW, Tharawal built a safe and welcoming environment where women could choose self-collection or clinician collection without pressure or long waits.

Read the full case study.

Thriving Kids reforms a possible ‘Medicare Moment’ for Indigenous children, SNAICC says

Australia’s ‘Thriving Kids’ reforms have the potential to be this generation’s Medicare moment, according to the head of the peak body for Indigenous children.

The Independent Review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme recommended creating a new system of supports for children outside the NDIS.

In response, the federal government says it will work with states and territories, experts and communities to “design and implement reforms to information, programs and services for children with developmental difference, delay or disability and their families”.

According to a factsheet on ‘Thriving Kids’, the reforms are “focused on ensuring children and their families are well supported and able to thrive”. A Thriving Kids Advisory Group, co-chaired by Professor Frank Oberklaid, has been established to advise Health Minister Mark Butler on the program’s design and rollout.

Appearing before the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability on Monday, SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle said the reforms could deliver “generational change for our children” but cautioned that “if we get it wrong, these incredible reforms that everyone has been working on may lay shattered in pieces”.

Read the full article.

‘Truly inspiring’: RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander award winners announced

Winners of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards have been announced at the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) annual conference in Brisbane.

Each year, Australia’s peak body for GPs honours GPs, GP Supervisors, GP registrars, students and practices that have distinguished themselves serving their communities through the College’s awards.

RACGP award winners are available for interview.

College President Dr Michael Wright said he was proud to help celebrate the achievements of GPs making a difference in improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients nationwide.

“It’s a great honour to recognise the achievements of these award winners,” he said.

“The awards announced at GP25 acknowledge and applaud the incredible work of these GPs, and I hope they prove inspirational for others.

“I congratulate the award winners and wish them all the best continuing their tremendous work in general practice care.”

RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Chair Dr Karen Nicholls said the award winners are truly inspiring.
“These award winners deserve all the recognition they can get,” she said.

Read the full media release.

A Decade of Recognition: 2025 Australian Mental Health Prize Winners Announced

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Australian Mental Health Prize, a decade of recognising Australians whose leadership, research, and lived experience have transformed how we understand and respond to mental health.

Since its establishment in 2016 by UNSW Sydney, the Prize has honoured advocates, clinicians, researchers, peer workers and community leaders who have changed lives and shaped national conversation.

This milestone year celebrates both trailblazers and a new generation of change-makers.

The winners are Professor Pat Dudgeon, Australia’s first Aboriginal psychologist whose leadership has redefined Indigenous mental health, and Professor Brian Burdekin AO, a global human-rights pioneer who reframed mental illness as a human-rights issue.

We celebrate a new generation of change-makers with winners Hugo Toovey and Keith Donnelly, whose lived experience and grassroots innovation are inspiring new approaches to care and connection.

Read the full article.

 

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