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NACCHO Aboriginal Health and #CDP : Despite major objections from peak groups like #NACCHO The Morrison government to push ahead with changes to Indigenous remote work for the dole scheme

” The National Association of Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Services, in its submission, warned that extending the four-week payment cutoff penalty to CDP and requiring recipients to reapply would be much more difficult for people in remote areas who may have language barriers, lack access to a phone or have underlying cognitive or health impairments and will likely mean that Aboriginal people in CDP regions will have less access to income support payments than other Australians”.

From The Australian October 12

See below copy of NACCHO Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2018

The Morrison Government will push ahead with controversial changes to the Indigenous remote work for the dole scheme despite extensive evidence given to a senate committee that they are punitive and unfairly target Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

The changes to the Community Development Plan, which was introduced in 2015, will entrench a compliance regime described by the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples in evidence as having never been designed for use in remote areas, where “persistent non-compliance is more likely to be the result of structural barriers such as geographical challenges”.

The regime, which began on July 1 in other unemployment benefit programs such as jobactive, will impose demerits and financial penalties on CDP participants if they fail to attend scheduled appointments.

The new system will cancel payments for a maximum of four weeks for defaults and require the affected participant to reapply to receive future payments.

However a dissenting report by Labor senators slammed the government’s recommendation that the Bill go ahead, saying it reflected an “inadequacy of consultation, and the lack of genuine engagement or co-design with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and representative organisations”.

It quoted Congress’s submission that the compliance system “was designed for use in urban and regional contexts, where the vast majority of employment program participants regularly comply with obligations, and those who refuse to often do so deliberately due to dissatisfaction with the system”.

“This is not the case in remote communities (where) many CDP participants breach obligations on a more regular (ie weekly or fortnightly) basis due to social, cultural and community obligations.”

It also cited evidence from peak group Jobs Australia that expanding the compliance regime “would consign many people to a penalties-and-compliance cycle which will increase the risk of disengagement”.

Jobs Australia said CDP was already causing “unecessary financial hardship, exacerbating poverty, creating disengagment and doing more harm than good in remote Australia”.

It said there were more financial penalties applied to CDP participants than to jobactive participants, a fact that could primarily be explained by “the onerous and inflexible participation requirements in CDP compared to non-remote areas”.

While the Labor response made no promise to repeal the change should it win government, it called on the Government “to urgently address the issues raised in the course of this inquiry”.

A separate Greens dissenting report called for the Government to release an evaluation of the current GDP “as a matter of urgency and allow time between its release and debate on this Bill … the fact that we are being asked to assess the Bill and the reforms more broadly when we have not yet seen the evaluation of the current CDP is unacceptable”.

The Government has proposed creating 6000 subsidised jobs which contain some exemptions from the compliance regime, a suggestion the Greens called “a nonsense argument” as other measures could be taken to separate CDP participation from the compliance regime.

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2018

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation

Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia

Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia

Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council

Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Norther Territory

Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council

Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation

Winnunga Nimmityjah Health and Community Service

The following submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee is made by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and its Affiliate from each State. NACCHO is the national peak body representing 145 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across the country on Aboriginal health and wellbeing issues.

An ACCHO is a primary health care service initiated and operated by the local Aboriginal community to deliver holistic, comprehensive, and culturally appropriate health care to the community which controls it, through a locally elected Board of Governance. They range from large multi-functional services employing several medical practitioners and providing a wide range of services, to small services which rely on Aboriginal Health Workers and/or nurses to provide the bulk of primary care services, often with a preventive, health education focus. The services form a network, but each is autonomous and independent both of one another and of government.

NACCHO, the State Affiliates and its members are a living embodiment of the aspirations of Aboriginal communities and their struggle for self-determination. In 1997, the Federal Government funded NACCHO to establish a Secretariat in Canberra which greatly increased the capacity of Aboriginal Peoples involved in ACCHOs to participate in national health policy development.

The integrated, comprehensive primary health care model adopted by ACCHOs is in keeping with the philosophy of Aboriginal community control and the holistic view of health. Addressing the ill health of Aboriginal people can only be achieved by local Aboriginal people controlling health care delivery.

Overarching position

NACCHO is deeply concerned by the Community Development Program (CDP) and its impact on Aboriginal people living in remote areas or CDP regions. We believe that the CDP is discriminatory and is causing significant harm, hardship and distress to Aboriginal people across Australia. NACCHO does not support the CDP nor does it support the proposed Bill. We believe the proposed Bill will only worsen the impact of the current CDP.

The Senate must recognise the unanimous voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and reject this Bill.

Recommendations

NACCHO recommends the Senate:

  1. Reject the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2018;
  2. Confirm whether the CDP is a program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and has been designed as a Special Measure under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975;
    1. If the CDP is a Special Measure, detail how CDP was designed as such and on what basis this has been determined;
    2. If the CDP is not a Special Measure, provide an explanation why the responsible Minister is the Minister for Indigenous Affairs; the program is administered by the Department of Prime Minister in its Indigenous Affairs Group; is funded from the Indigenous Advancement Strategy; and overwhelming applies to Aboriginal people.
  3. Advise the Government to immediately abandon the Community Development Program, recognising the program is deeply flawed; is discriminatory; and is causing disproportionate harm and distress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
  4. Advise the Government to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and people in remote areas to develop a replacement program which reflects the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We propose the Fair Work and Strong Communities scheme proposed by APO NT as the appropriate basis for this discussion.

Discussion

There are multiple issues with the proposed CDP reforms and with the underlying program and NACCHO has only referred to a few below. NACCHO notes the submissions of other Aboriginal organisations and peak bodies, including Aboriginal Peak Organisations in the Northern Territory and the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, and their comments on other issues with the proposed Bill. We also note the submission of Ms Lisa Fowkes of the Australian National University and her comprehensive analysis of the issues.  

CDP is discriminatory in both its design and application

NACCHO believes that the CDP is discriminatory towards Aboriginal people living in remote areas, both in its design and in its application.

We understand that the Government claims the CDP is not a program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is an employment program for all people living in remote areas, or CDP regions. NACCHO questions then why the responsible Minister is the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, rather than the Minister for Jobs as is the case for the Job Active program, and is administered by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Indigenous Affairs Group, rather than the Department for Jobs. NACCHO is also concerned that the CDP is funded from the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, a program solely for Indigenous programs and services. Participants of CDP are also overwhelming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Should the government claim that CDP is a program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, NACCHO is also not aware that the CDP has been designed as a Special Measure under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

NACCHO is also of the view that CDP has a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal people and affects their rights to social security, causing significant hardship. Reasons include: differing work requirements or mutual obligations to other Australians; use of phone assessments; lack of cultural competence of assessors; failure to use interpreters; differing cultural perceptions of disabilities; high levels of unassessed or unaddressed mental illness and/or disability in remote communities; reluctance of Indigenous people to disclose family or personal challenges; and poor on non-existent Centrelink services.

Clarity is required as to whether the CDP is a program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in remote areas and if it is for CDP to be redesigned so it is consistent with a Special Measure.

Application of the TCF to CDP participants

The application of penalties under the current CDP compliance framework is having devastating impacts on Aboriginal people, with increasing hardship, people going hungry and increasing family stress.

NACCHO understands the TCF arrangements are designed to reduce penalties for those who might miss the occasional appointment within a six-month period, and increase penalties for those who miss appointments or activities more often. CDP participants have to attend activities more often than anyone else, so they have more ‘opportunities to fail’ and they incur many more penalties than other unemployed people.

NACCHO also believes that many CDP participants are incorrectly assessed during the initial job capacity assessments and too often have higher work obligations placed on them than they are able to meet. The multiple reasons for this are outlined above. Ultimately, it means that there are more ‘opportunities to fail’ for CDP participants.

One of the biggest consequences of the TCF comes from the removal of the current ability of participants who have had a longer penalty applied to return to their activities and have their income support reinstated. Under the TCF, individuals who have been penalised would have no way of having their payments re-instated early by returning to Work for the Dole. They could appeal the penalty, but in practice this is extremely difficult for Aboriginal people living in remote areas where Centrelink servicing is very poor and inconsistent, English is not the first language and there are multiple barriers to communication. This will increase the hardship for Aboriginal people in CDP regions.

In addition, those who receive 4 week penalties will have their payments cancelled altogether and they will need to re-apply for payments. This will be much more difficult for people in remote areas who may have language barriers, lack access to a phone or have underlying cognitive or health impairments and will likely mean that Aboriginal people in CDP regions will have less access to income support payments than other Australians.

It is our view that the TCF system will have a much harsher impact on CDP participants than other jobseekers across Australia and will continue CDP as a discriminatory measure. This change should be rejected by the Senate.

Provision for allied health professional to provide evidence for health assessments

NACCHO understand that the intention of the CDP reforms is to ensure job seekers are not required to participate beyond their capacity through an improved health assessment process: this includes allowing local allied health professionals to provide the evidence for assessments. The CDP reforms however do not address the deeply flawed initial job capacity assessment which has not achieved any significant exceptions to date based on the level of disability, illness and hardship in many remote Aboriginal communities; and sets Aboriginal people up with unrealistic work expectations.

The provisions for allied health workers to provide evidence on work capacity after the initial obligations have been set will then still sit within a deeply flawed system of assessment. The inadequacy of current assessment processes needs to be fixed by working with Aboriginal organisations with expertise in this area on a mechanism that supports locally-based assessments with more appropriate evidence requirements.

NACCHO also notes that the inclusion of evidence from allied health professionals has also been added with no consideration of health services’ current workloads and capacity, no additional resourcing and no consultation. If these provisions proceed, NACCHO recommends that the Government work with Aboriginal health organisations and their peaks to ensure the changes and requirements are properly understood and any financial impact is addressed.

An alternative to CDP

NACCHO believes that the current design of the CDP, including the proposed ‘reformed CDP’ does not address the real employment challenges facing remote communities including: lack of demand for labour; lack of required skills to take up available jobs and the health effects of poverty. These are long term challenges and require long term investments and strengthening of local capacity. These issues will only be addressed with the meaningful inclusion of Indigenous people in decision making.

NACCHO recommends that the government work in partnership with remote Aboriginal organisations and their peaks across Australia to design an appropriate and properly funded Aboriginal led community development agenda that includes economic and social outcomes.

The CDP should be abandoned whilst this work takes place.

” This attempt to force a harsh new penalty system on remote communities shows again that the Australian Government does not want to listen. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people want to take up the reins and drive job creation and community development.

Our proposal for a new model for fair conditions of work and strong remote communities is sitting on the Government’s desk but being ignored”

John Paterson CEO AMSANT, spokesperson for Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT, said that while subsidies for new jobs was a step in the right direction, the Government’s proposal falls far short of the alternative model – Fair Work and Strong Communities – that was handed to the Government by Aboriginal organisations in 2017.

Download Transcript APO NT at SENATE Community Affairs Legislation Committee_

Starts page 13

Picture above: Cenral Land Council policy manager Josie Douglas and AMSANT CEO John Patterson are fighting the Coalition government’s discriminatory and punitive work for the dole scheme in Canberra 

The two APO NT spokespeople just finished giving evidence before a Senate committee.

Dr Douglas said if the Coalition government’s CDP bill passes the Senate, remote communities will be hit with a tough new penalty regime in the New Year.

She said the so-called targeted compliance framework would create even greater financial hardship in the bush.

“ Aboriginal Peak Organisations of the Northern Territory (APONT ), and our members have received widespread concerns about the debilitating impacts that CDP is having on its participants, their families and communities.

Financial penalties were being imposed at an astonishing scale – causing families, including children, to go hungry.

Such consistent and strong concerns expressed by those at the coalface must be taken seriously and acted upon,

Onerous and discriminatory obligations applied to remote CDP work for the dole participants mean they have to do significantly more work than those in non-remote, mainly non-Indigenous majority areas, up to 670 hours more per year.”

The chief executive of Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, John Paterson, said the program was causing significant harm to communities. He said financial penalties were being imposed at an astonishing scale – causing families, including children, to go hungry (see Guardian article in full below Part 2 )

See previous NACCHO COVERAGE HERE

Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation’s Community Development Programme (CDP) and West Arnhem Regional Council works crew 

Press Release

Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities struggling under the Australian Government’s racially discriminatory remote work for the dole program would be worse off under a proposed new penalty system, a Senate Committee inquiry has been told.

The Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency and the Human Rights Law Centre were among a number of organisations urging a Senate Committee to reject the Government’s attempt to expand the ‘Targeted Compliance Framework’ from urban areas into remote communities subject to the Government’s remote Community Development Program (CDP).

Jamie Ahfat, a community leader in the Northern Territory, told the Committee that CDP is making life a lot harder for people in remote communities.

“I’ve been doing CDP since 2016. I always wanted to get a proper job and not be on Centrelink but there are no jobs up here.”

“I’ve always tried to do the right thing in the CPD, but despite this there have been times when I’ve been penalised.

There was one time when I had to rush to Darwin to help my mum who had cancer. Because I didn’t tell them, I was penalised and dollars were taken from my pay.”

“The system is discriminatory, it’s unfair that we have to do twice as many hours of activities as people in the cities. The CDP is also confusing, things aren’t properly explained to us, it’s hard to see the point.

The activities don’t help us get jobs,” said Mr Ahfat.

One of the most alarming parts of the Targeted Compliance Framework would see vulnerablepeople cycling through 1, 2 and 4 week no-payment penalties, no matter how much debt, hunger or pain they cause – waivers would not be available.

The Government has included an offer to provide 6,000 job subsidies to the introduction of the harsh penalty system into remote areas. Those who get a subsidised job would be excludedfrom the penalty system.

CDP workers currently have to work up to 500 hours more per year than those covered by thenon-remote ‘Jobactive’ program. The scheme also imposes onerous daily requirements. As aresult people under CDP are struggling to keep up and are having payments docked at 25 timesthe rate of Jobactive participants.

David Woodroffe, Principal Legal Officer of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, said that for years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations have been dealing with thedamage wrought by the Government’s program.

“Rather than adding more penalties there is a real need to address the factors that are drivinghigh penalty rates already, such as barriers to accessing supports for vulnerable people and more onerous work obligations,” said Mr Woodroffe.

Adrianne Walters, senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that it was unjust and unnecessary for the Government to effectively make its offer to subsidise jobs conditional on the introduction of a penalty system that will see many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suffer.

“CDP already subjects remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to the indignity of having to work more for less. If the Government gets its way, parents will be left without money for food, fuel, rent and other basic necessities for four weeks no matter how dire their situation,” said Ms Walters.

NACCHO Aboriginal #MentalHealthWeek News : 1.Download Report Monitoring #mentalhealth and #suicideprevention reform 2.Government has announced a new Productivity Commission Inquiry into the role of mental health in the Australian economy

“As background to this development, the National Mental Health Commission has published its sixth national report – Monitoring Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Reform: National Report 2018 – which provides an analysis of the current status of Australia’s core mental health and suicide prevention reforms, and their impact on consumers and carers.”

Part 1 Download a copy of report 

Monitoring Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Reform National Report 2018

Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in regional planning

” One of the priorities for PHNs is engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and community controlled organisations in co-designing all aspects of regional planning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and suicide prevention services.

There has been some early success in building partnerships between PHNs and Aboriginal community controlled organisations (see Case study). In contrast, some PHNs have primarily commissioned mainstream providers rather than community controlled health services to provide services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Leading Aboriginal organisations consider this approach to be flawed, and believe it will result in poorer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

It is important for PHNs to recognise and support the cultural determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and social and emotional wellbeing, in addition to clinical approaches.26 Recent research by the Lowitja Institute highlights the need for a specific definition of mental health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as mental illness is more likely to occur when social, cultural, historical and political determinants are out of alignment.27

Extract from Page 20 of Report 

Read over 150 NACCHO Aboriginal Mental Health artices published over 6 years

Part 2

 ” The Government has announced a new Productivity Commission Inquiry into the role of mental health in the Australian economy. 

This move is significant recognition of the considerable impact of mental health challenges on individuals and the wider community.”

The Productivity Commission’s inquiry will take 18 months and will scrutinise mental health funding in Australia, which is estimated at $9 billion annually across federal, state and territory governments. Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed 3,128 people committed suicide in 2017, which is up from 2,866 people in 2016.

The commission will be expected to recommend key priorities for the Government’s long-term mental health strategy and will accept public submissions. AHCRA looks forward to meaningful and authentic consumer engagement by the Inquiry.

The inquiry was welcomed by many, including Labor’s mental health spokeswoman, Julie Collins. Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman also praised the inquiry. “There have been numerous investigations and reviews into mental health in Australia, but this is the first time the Productivity Commission will take the lead. It is a significant step forward and one that has the potential to drive real change,” Ms Harman said in a media release.

AHCRA highlights the 2018 Report as a valuable source of information that outlines the size of the problem and the prevalence and impact of mental illness and suicide in Australia.

ABC News item: https://ab.co/2E725r5
Guardian coverage: https://bit.ly/2IKNYqh
Media release: https://bit.ly/2E9Bxpo

The Mental Health Commission website is here: https://bit.ly/2pJ216U
The 2018 report link: https://bit.ly/2C30YpM

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #ACCHO Deadly Good News stories :#NACCHOAgm2018 Program launched #VIC @VACCHO_org @VAHS1972 @DeadlyChoices #NSW #Armidale ACCHO #QLD #GidgeeHealing #NT @AMSANTaus #WA @TheAHCWA #SA @AHCSA

1.1 National Resources : News ASIC MoneySmart video series designed to help our mob with money worries

1.2 National  Survey : Indigenous researchers and strengthening health research capabilities

2.1 VIC : Self-determination key to Close the Gap in VAAF says VACCHO

2.2 VIC : VAHS ACCHO Deadly Choices was at the 2018 Victorian Aboriginal State-wide Junior Football/Netball Carnival in Echuca promoting healthy messages 

3.QLD : Gidgee Healing Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service enters agreement to overcome barriers to better health in Queensland’s Lower Gulf

4.NSW : Armidale Aboriginal Health Service encourages Indigenous artwork / cultural  “ graffiti “ from kids

5.NT  : Safer Communities: Boosting Youth Programs Grants of up to $20,000 each are available for community projects or initiatives aimed at preventing substance misuse by our Territory youth.

6 . WA : AHCWA Federal Member for Perth, the Hon Patrick Gorman visits the Aboriginal Health Council of WA

7. SA :  AHCSA’s ‘Shedding the Smokes’ program up at Kingoonya, SA. Great mob from Yalata, Coober Pedy, Ceduna & Adelaide spending time together

 

 View hundreds of ACCHO Deadly Good News Stories over past 6 years

Download the Interim Draft Program released 1 October 

NACCHO 7 Page Conference Program 2018_v3

MORE INFO AND REGISTER FOR NACCHO AGM

How to submit a NACCHO Affiliate  or Members Good News Story ?

Email to Colin Cowell NACCHO Media 

Mobile 0401 331 251

Wednesday by 4.30 pm for publication each Thursday /Friday

 

1.1 National : News ASIC MoneySmart video series designed to help our mob with money worries

Watch No 1

Watch No 2

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has produced two new MoneySmart videos for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that explain how to:

  • Sort out money problems – Follow the journey of Lisa, who is struggling to stay on top of her bills and seeks help from a financial counsellor. Lisa shows there’s no shame in asking for help if you’re struggling to pay your bills.
  • Deal with family pressure about money – Uncle Charlie gets a big payment and is pressured by family to help them out with this money. Charlie helps his family realise he needs to make his money last so he has money for them when they really need it.

Why ASIC created these videos

ASIC has a dedicated Indigenous Outreach Program (IOP) which aims to increase Indigenous Australians’ financial knowledge, and improve the financial services provided to them.

These videos were created after the IOP spoke to people in Indigenous communities who said they felt shame about facing their debt problems and did not know where to go for help.

They also said they were struggling to deal with pressure from family and friends when it came to managing and sharing money.

How can you help?

Share these videos with as many people as possible, in urban, regional and remote communities. The videos can be played in medical centres, local community or resource centres, and community stores.

Please also share this email with your network.

If you have any questions about the videos, please callASIC’s Indigenous Helpline on 1300 365 957 or email feedback@moneysmart.gov.au.

1.2 National  Survey : Indigenous researchers and strengthening health research capabilities

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders conducting health research and/or are completing a course/degree on health research are invited to take part in a research study reviewing progress of the research workforce.

Participation involves a survey on experiences of research training, work transitions and views on strategies for strengthening research capabilities.

The project is led by Aboriginal academics at the Melbourne Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and funded by The Lowitja Institute. Findings will inform further expanding and strengthening of the Indigenous health researcher workforce, a critical avenue to better health outcomes for communities.

Participants will receive a $30 book gift voucher. For more information and to access the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VZMFYJP

2.1 VIC : Self-determination key to Close the Gap in VAAF says VACCHO

The principles of self-determination are a welcome and integral part of the Victorian Government’s new Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023 (VAAF), according to the peak body for Aboriginal health and wellbeing in Victoria.

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) Acting CEO Trevor Pearce said the new VAAF was more progressive than previous Aboriginal affairs policies.

Picture above Acting CEO Trevor Pearce Thanks Njernda ACCHO for hosting the VACCHO Members Meeting in Echuca this week, and for this beautiful Message Stick.

“Self-determination is proven to be a fundamental part of Closing the Gap for Aboriginal people, with its strong link to improved health and wellbeing outcomes,” Mr Pearce said. “So we are really pleased to see it recognised for its importance and threaded throughout the new VAAF.

“We’re also really pleased to see the elimination of systemic racism and structural barriers highlighted in this VAAF.

“We look forward to VACCHO being a part of the implementation of this VAAF through the promised   Aboriginal-led evaluation and review mechanism.”

Mr Pearce said it was pleasing to see a holistic approach to Aboriginal health and wellbeing taken in the VAAF. However, he said it was disappointing that the importance of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) was not highlighted in the Health and Wellbeing domain of the document.

“ACCOs being community-controlled organisations is a key part of self-determination, and we wanted to see that emphasised in the VAAF’s Health and Wellbeing domain,” Mr Pearce said.

“Community-controlled health organisations have been running successfully since the1970s and they deserve respect and recognition of what they have achieved and will continue to do so.

“We did raise this during the VAAF consultation process, and we hope not including the importance of ACCOs in the Health and Wellbeing domain was an oversight that will be addressed.”

Mr Pearce said he hoped future plans such as VAAFs would have ten-year lifespans to map further into the future and achieve more beyond political cycles.

“There’s a lot happening in Victoria right now with Treaty and this VAAF and other plans and priorities, which is great,” he said.

“And then we have the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Redfern Statement on a national level, so we need to get beyond talking and start working on making these things happen.

“Here at VACCHO we want to do everything we can to make change and improve the health and social, emotional and cultural wellbeing of our mobs. We can Close the Gap if we work together.”

2.2 VIC : VAHS ACCHO Deadly Choices was at the 2018 Victorian Aboriginal State-wide Junior Football/Netball Carnival in Echuca promoting healthy messages 

VAHS was there supporting the event to be Smoke-Free and promoting the message & benefits that our “Boorais & Smoke Don’t Mix!”

Thanks to everyone who didnt smoke at the event.

3.QLD : Gidgee Healing Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service enters agreement to overcome barriers to better health in Queensland’s Lower Gulf

An agreement between Queensland Health’s North West Hospital and Health Service, Gidgee Healing Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service and Western Queensland Primary Health Network aims to better meet the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Lower Gulf.

Picture above : Dallas Leon, CEO of Gidgee Healing, Paul Woodhouse, Chair of NWHHS, Stuart Gordon, Chief Executive of WQPHN, Lisa Davies Jones, Chief Executive of NWHHS, Shaun Solomon, Chair of Gidgee Healing, Sheilagh Cronin, Chair of WQPHN, and Jacqui Thomson from Queensland Health visited the three Lower Gulf communities earlier this year

The Lower Gulf Strategy will integrate the health system at every level. It will allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to participate in decision making affecting their health, and ensure health services are structured around the needs of the individual, family and community. There will be a strong focus on preventive health care and encouraging healthy lifestyles.

The Lower Gulf Strategy will provide comprehensive primary care to the three Lower Gulf communities of Mornington Island, Doomadgee and Normanton, as well as seamless referral pathways for specialist care.

Gidgee Healing, as a regional Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, will lead change through a greater community-controlled model of care, and will provide greater cultural integrity within programs and services.

Implemented late last year, the Lower Gulf Strategy aims to: reduce chronic disease among the Mornington Island, Doomadgee and Normanton communities and prevent young people getting chronic disease; transition Community Health Services to community control (Gidgee Healing); improve access to child and maternal health services; improve access to mental health and substance abuse services, particularly for children and youth; and increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff employed in the health services in these three communities.

The North West Hospital and Health Service has been working with the Western Queensland Primary Health Network and Gidgee Healing to provide comprehensive primary care. On Mornington Island, Gidgee Healing is co-located with the Hospital and Health Service at Mornington Island Hospital.

In Doomadgee, the two services are also co-located. In both locations they are squeezed for space. In Normanton, Gidgee is located at its own health hub in town, but the two teams work closely together. With a greater emphasis on primary care and disease prevention in the three communities, the teams have developed new ways of working.

Key features of the model are partnerships across the health continuum with patients, family/carers and care teams; customised care around patient goals; and working with local providers to best care for patients’ needs. It promotes flexible team based care supported by a shared workforce, central care coordination, access to health literacy and self-management, and sharing of information.

Challenges are real but surmountable. More clinical services space is needed in Doomadgee and Mornington Island. The main entrance to health services needs to be in primary care, as our focus is on prevention and primary care. There is very limited staff accommodation in Doomadgee and Mornington Island. The two services are working together to source capital funding to improve the infrastructure.

Early indicators of success in all three locations are the increasing numbers attending Gidgee Healing for primary health care and a subsequent drop in presentations to the hospital. This signals that the focus on primary and preventive health care is resonating with the communities. People are seeking health services earlier and more regularly, rather than waiting until their conditions are chronic or acute before seeking help.

Staff in the three organisations are working together to overcome the barriers to better health outcomes for the people they serve.

4.NSW : Armidale Aboriginal Health Service encourages Indigenous artwork / cultural  “ graffiti “ from kids

“Everything that they do here is based on Aboriginal culture and about mixing in with other kids in town to learn a little bit more. It’s an opportunity for kids to come together and have a bit of fun with Aboriginal culture.”

The cultural activity was teaching the children about being positive, and was also a great confidence builder.

“The program we manage is all about that. It’s like an early intervention and prevention approach about doing positive things and respecting their elders and their parents,” she said.

“We want them to know that this place is theirs, so we decided to do the two murals. You know? They can come in and show mum and dad, nan and pop and uncle and aunt. These are so much more than just paintings on the walls.”

Program co-ordinator Cynthia Briggs

FROM HERE 

A group of children participating in an Aboriginal Youth Program managed through the Armidale Aboriginal Health Service painted two external, bare, cement walls at the Pat Dixon Centre with murals of traditional artwork on Wednesday morning.

Work was supervised by Glen Innes artist Lloyd Hornsby, who said the mixture of colours the children decided to use was not an easy mix to apply, and they had done some really good work to bring them all together.

Program co-ordinator Cynthia Briggs said Wednesday was the second day of organised cultural activities for Aboriginal youth in Armidale that is run by the service every school holidays.

“We got an Aboriginal artist Lloyd Hornsby to direct the children in the designs that are on the murals,” Cynthia said.

“They were really plain walls and we’ve turned then into something that the kids can call their own, and that was the idea.

5.NT  : Safer Communities: Boosting Youth Programs Grants of up to $20,000 each are available for community projects or initiatives aimed at preventing substance misuse by our Territory youth.

 

The Territory Labor Government is investing in our youth and creating safer communities by providing grants through the 2019 Alcohol and Other Drugs Youth Grants Program.

Grants of up to $20,000 each are available for community projects or initiatives aimed at preventing substance misuse by our Territory youth.

Applications must demonstrate how the proposed project relates to the National Drug Strategy 2017-2023 and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Drug Strategy 2014-2019

Northern Territory based incorporated organisations or community groups are eligible to apply.

Grants will be provided by the Northern Territory Government through the Department of Health’s Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch.

A total of $280,000 is available to be awarded this round.

Visit www.health.nt.gov.au for further information, eligibility criteria, and to submit applications, or phone 8999 2691.

Applications for the grants close 5 November 2018.

Comments attributable to Minister for Health, Natasha Fyles:

The Territory Labor Government is putting children first and creating safer communities through a range of grants available, designed to prevent substance abuse.

The CLP cut a range of youth programs when they were in government, leading to the issues which we are now dealing with.

The Alcohol and Other Drugs Youth Grants Program delivers on the Territory Labor Government’s promise to reinstate funding for activities aimed at reducing the impact of youth substance misuse.

These include

  • Awareness raising and education projects for young people that promote healthy choices and activities,
  • Sporting, cultural and community events that enhance young people’s level of connectedness that builds resilience,
  • Activities which support young people to develop skills and learn, and;
  • Projects that work with young people to reduce alcohol consumption during pregnancy and raise awareness about Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

The Territory Labor Government will continue to invest in our youth and promote a better lifestyle to ensure they are engaged and are given every opportunity to become law abiding adults.

6 . WA : AHCWA Federal Member for Perth, the Hon Patrick Gorman visits the Aboriginal Health Council of WA

As the newly elected Federal Member for Perth, the Hon Patrick Gorman visited the Aboriginal Health Council of WA yesterday to meet the staff, tour the facilities and learn about the valuable work we do to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people across WA.

7. SA :  AHCSA’s ‘Shedding the Smokes’ program up at Kingoonya, SA. Great mob from Yalata, Coober Pedy, Ceduna & Adelaide spending time together

NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Diabetes @AIHW releases web-based progress report Goal 5: Reduce the impact of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

The Australian National Diabetes Strategy 2016–2020 (the Strategy), which was released on 13 November 2015, aims to prioritise Australia’s response to diabetes and identify approaches to reducing the impact of diabetes in the community (Department of Health 2015).

The Strategy outlines seven high-level goals with potential areas for actions and measures of progress.

Diabetes in Australia: focus on the future is an implementation plan (the Plan) developed for the Strategy to operationalise each of the Strategy’s goals (AHMAC 2017).

The Plan was agreed by all governments as activities that, at that time, could be developed, expanded, or modified to produce targeted, tangible improvements in the prevention, early detection, management and care of all forms of diabetes.

The Plan identified 55 indicators to measure progress against the goals of the Strategy.

A number of these indicators are currently reported in existing national frameworks (such as Report on Government Services, National Health Performance Framework, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework, and Indigenous Primary Health Care National Key Performance Indicators).

This web-based report provides baseline data for the 55 indicators identified in the implementation plan.

Additional Read over 150 NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Diabetes articles published over 6 years 

Goal

Goal 1: Prevent people developing type 2 diabetes
Goal 2: Promote awareness and earlier detection of type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Goal 3: Reduce the occurrence of diabetes-related complications and improve quality of life among people with diabetes
Goal 4: Reduce the impact of pre-existing & gestational diabetes in pregnancy

Goal 5: Reduce the impact of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Goal 6: Reduce the impact of diabetes among other priority groups

Goal 7: Strengthen prevention and care through research, evidence and data

Goal 5 focusses on reducing the impact of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

A number of indicators were identified to measure the progress of Goal 5, some of which were included in Goals 1-4 and, where possible, have been included under the relevant goal above:

The indicators reported specifically for Goal 5 are:

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #Jobalerts as at 10 October : This week features #VIC @VACCHO_org State-wide Tobacco Co-ordinator #NT @MiwatjHealth @CAACongress #QLD #Gidgee Healing @Deadlychoices @ATSICHSBris @IUIH_ @Apunipima #Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre

This weeks #ACCHO #Jobalerts

Please note  : Before completing a job application please check with the ACCHO that the job is still open

1.1 Job/s of the week 

1.2 National Aboriginal Health Scholarships 

Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship applications Close October 14 October

Australian Hearing / University of Queensland

APNA Transition to Practice Program (TPP) 

2.Queensland 

    2.1 Apunipima ACCHO Cape York

    2.2 IUIH ACCHO Deadly Choices Brisbane and throughout Queensland

    2.3 ATSICHS ACCHO Brisbane

3.NT Jobs Alice Spring ,Darwin East Arnhem Land and Katherine

   3.1 Congress ACCHO Alice Spring

   3.2 Miwatj Health ACCHO Arnhem Land

   3.3 Wurli ACCHO Katherine

   3.4 Sunrise ACCHO Katherine

4. South Australia

   4.1 Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc

5. Western Australia

  5.1 Derbarl Yerrigan Health Services Inc

  5.2 Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS)

6.Victoria

6.1 Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS)

6.2 Mallee District Aboriginal Services Mildura Swan Hill Etc 

6.3 : Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-Operative 2 POSITIONS VACANT

7.New South Wales

7.1 AHMRC Sydney and Rural 

8. Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre ACCHO 

9.Canberra ACT Winnunga ACCHO

10. Other : Stakeholders Indigenous Health 

UNSW Director of Indigenous Health Education

The Lime Network : EVENT AND PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR

NACCHO Affiliate , Member , Government Department or stakeholders

If you have a job vacancy in Indigenous Health 

Email to Colin Cowell NACCHO Media

Tuesday by 4.30 pm for publication each Wednesday

Over 302 ACCHO clinics See all websites by state territory 

VACCHO State-wide Tobacco Co-ordinator 

VACCHO is the peak representative for the health and well being of Aboriginal people in Victoria, and champions community control and health equality for Aboriginal communities. We are a centre of expertise, policy advice, training, innovation and leadership in Aboriginal health. VACCHO advocates for the health equality and optimum health of all Aboriginal people in Victoria.

We are looking for someone who is knowledgeable in health control protocol, specifically in tobacco would be a distinct advantage – to lead our various innovative health change programs. In this role, your primary focus will be to support Victorian Aboriginal communities to reduce smoking rates, using a range of research and implementation strategies.

Your days will be varied, and will involve continuous communication with various government departments, and liaison with a range of internal stakeholders. Key to your skill set will be your solid report writing skills, up to date research competency, and a can do attitude to turn best practice theory into actual action.

You’ll be on the road working directly with our Member organisations, will work closely with fantastic internal teams, and be a part of a broader family in our very supportive office environment.

We are looking for someone who can build and maintain solid relationships, can manage projects effectively, and has excellent organisation and time management skills. You’ll be familiar with harm reduction models and implementing initiatives, and importantly, you’ll be passionate about reducing smoking rates in Victorian Aboriginal communities.

Experience working with Aboriginal organisations, communities and individuals in culturally appropriate ways will be critical to your success in the role.

We strongly encourage Aboriginal and/or Torres Straight Islander people to apply.

If this sounds like the job you are looking for, please review a copy of the Position Description.

To apply, please email a copy of your resume and Application Form to Human Resources.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Remote Health Centre Coordinator Beagle Bay Health Centre

Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services LTD (KAMS) is a well-established regional Aboriginal community controlled health service, founded in 1986, which provides centralised advocacy and resource support for 6 independent member services, as well as providing direct clinical services in a further 6 remote Aboriginal communities across the region.

Clinical services at Beagle Bay Health Centre have been provided by KAMS on behalf of the community of Beagle Bay since 1985. The Beagle Bay Community is a member of KAMS and has representation on the KAMS governing committee.

Beagle Bay Health Centre is a comprehensive Primary Health Care service staffed by General Practitioners, Registered Nurses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers.

About the Opportunity

KAMS now has a rewarding opportunity for a Remote Health Centre Coordinator to join their multidisciplinary team based in Beagle Bay, WA. This role will be offered on a full-time 6 weeks on, two weeks off roster basis.

In this role, you will be responsible for assisting the Health Centre Manager with the general management and day-to-day operations of a remote clinic providing leadership and support to the Beagle Bay health team.

Some of your key responsibilities will include (but will not be limited to):

  • Promoting and advocating health services with the local community Council;
  • Administering and maintaining clinical standards including all clinical assets according to standard policy and procedures;
  • Ensuring quality improvements are carried out and met to the required health clinical standards;
  • Managing workforce, including recruitment and orientation, staff development, performance, training, clinical supervision and in-service education;
  • Planning and reporting on a regular basis with senior management;
  • Ensuring staff have access to appropriate systems/programs/resources to enable them to perform their duties; and
  • Attending, and participating in, regular KAMS senior management meetings.

About the Benefits

KAMS is an organisation that truly values its team, and is committed to improving employee knowledge, skills and experience. In addition, staff development programs are not only encouraged but are often paid for by KAMS. These are highly attractive opportunities for someone with a desire to develop their professional knowledge and experience in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health!

There is also a wide range of fantastic additional benefits for the role, including:

  • Attractive base salary of $107,599 PLUS Super;
  • Accommodation provided whilst in the community;
  • District allowance of $2,149(single) and $4,298 (double);
  • Annual airfare $1,285 every 12 months;
  • Isolation airfares of $1,200; and
  • 25% of base salary for on call.

Working closely with patients, their families and carers, this is a role where you will witness the direct positive impact you’re making in the community, as part of a close-knit KAMS team. You will be continually recognised for your dedication and hard work!

APPLY HERE

Gidgee Healing Mt Isa QLD : Aboriginal Health Worker Closing 16 October 

POSITION SUMMARY:

The primary function of this position is to provide high quality services including assessment, examination, treatment and case management, along with contributing to the development of models of holistic health incorporating continuity of care.

Aboriginal Health Workers work within a clinical team environment with the aim of improving the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the provision of comprehensive and culturally valid primary health care services.

ABOUT GIDGEE HEALING:

Gidgee Healing provides a comprehensive and growing range of services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the areas of Mount Isa, North West and Lower Gulf of Carpentaria regions. Our core objective is to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to improve their health and welllbeing, whilst continually enhancing the quality and scope of care provided.

THE LIFESTYLE:

The Mount Isa region is the gateway to the Outback of Queensland, offers a relaxed and casual lifestyle, with a wealth of camping and exploring, scenic national parks, gorges, as well as top river, lake and open water fishing and recreation.

It is desirable if you have a Certificate IV in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care (Practice), currently studying or willingness to obtain one.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are encouraged to apply

Applications close COB Tuesday 16th October 2018

To apply online, please click on the appropriate link below. Alternatively, for a confidential discussion, please contact Priscilla Kondolo on (07) 4749 6508, quoting Ref No. 830715.

More Info Apply 

Aboriginal Health Worker Gippsland & East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-Operative

Organisational Profile

GEGAC is an Aboriginal Community organization based in Bairnsdale Victoria. Consisting of about 160 staff, GEGAC is a Not for Profit organization that delivers holistic services in the areas of Primary Health, Social Services, Elders & Disability and Early Childhood Education.

Position Purpose

To assist in the Primary Health care of patients in clinical areas of the Health service under the direction of the Coordinator/ General Practitioners and Practice Nurses. The role has a clinical assistance focus and will enable Aboriginal Clients to be supported during their treatment and their concerns responded to as they arise as well as the concerns of their families /Carers.

Qualifications and Registrations Requirement (Essential or Desirable).

Drivers Licence ( Victorian) Essential

Study in Aboriginal Culture – Cert 4 Aboriginal Health or equivalent Essential

Ability /experience liaising with other Health organisations

Desirable

First Aid Certificate Desirable

Customer service experience in a Health Setting. Desirable

A person of Aboriginal / Torres Strait Islander background

Desirable

How to apply for this job

A copy of the position description and the application form can be obtained below, at GEGAC reception 0351 500 700 or by contacting HR@gegac.org.au.

Or by following the below links –

Position Description –  https://goo.gl/CzmC14

Application Form –  https://goo.gl/JMPdML

Applicants must complete the application form as it contains the selection criteria for shortlisting. Any applications not submitted on the Application form will not be considered.

Application forms should be emailed to HR@gegac.org.au, using the subject line:  Aboriginal Health Worker

Or posted to:

Human Resources

Gippsland & East Gippsland Aboriginal Co-operative
PO Box 634
Bairnsdale Vic 3875

Applications close Friday, 12th October 2018 5.00pm.

No late applications will be considered.

A valid Working with Children Check and Police check is mandatory to work in this organisation

“this advertisement is pursuant to the ‘special measures’ provision at section 8 of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)”.

Aboriginal Health Worker Griffith NSW
Employment Type: Permanent Part Time
Position Classification: Aboriginal Health Worker
Remuneration: $51,608 – $76,009 per annum pro rata
Hours Per Week: 32
Requisition ID: REQ28400
Applications close: 24 October 2018
Aboriginal Targeted RoleImmerse yourself in a supportive and collaborative team environmentWhere you will be workingGriffith Base Hospital is a 117 bed C1 peer grouped  hospital providing a range of acute specialist services (both resident & visiting) including emergency medicine, general medicine,  surgery, paediatric medicine, oncology, obstetrics, intensive care, respiratory medicine, renal dialysis and rheumatology.  Each year there are approximately 19,500 emergency presentations, 2,500 operations and 540 births. Additional services at Griffith Base Hospital include physiotherapy, dietetics, pharmacy, occupational therapy and Aboriginal health.
There are also a range of diagnostic services including Pathology, CT, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound, General X-Ray and Mammography.Learn more about the benefits and lifestyle of GriffithWhat you will be doingThe position is a vital part of supporting and monitoring the journey and access of the Aboriginal patient through the hospital and health systems.
The position will provide emotional, practical, social and welfare support; health education opportunities for Aboriginal inpatients and communities: work with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal health staff to develop and implement programs and strategies for improving health outcomes for the Aboriginal individuals and communities

.The Aboriginal Health Worker has to be multi skilled to be able to deliver an appropriate service to meet the needs of Aboriginal patients from diverse cultural backgrounds, and to act effectively as cultural brokers between the Aboriginal patients and hospital system to ensure a two way understanding of the need to balance cultural needs and healthcare.Selection Criteria

  • Must be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent NB (applicants race is a genuine occupational qualification and Authorized by Section 14 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, NSW) and have demonstrated knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
  • TAFE or other qualifications in an appropriate health or welfare related discipline and/or extensive relevant experience in these fields
  • Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of current Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health priorities and ability to effectively and sensitively liaise and communicate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities
  • Demonstrated skills in client assessment, support, assistance and advocacy in health or related field and have the ability to develop and delivery culturally appropriate programs and resources

Please refer to the Position Description for the essential requirements and full selection criteria. All criteria must be addressed in your application.

Additional Information

  • Please note that to apply for this position you must be an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident, or be able to independently and legally live and work in Australia.  For more information, please see www.immi.gov.au

Find out more about applying for this position
For role related queries or questions contact Michelle Druitt on Michelle.Druitt@health.nsw.gov.au

MLHD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourage all suitably qualified applicants to apply, including Aboriginal People and people from racial, ethnic or ethno-religious minority groups and people with disability.

To view the position description or submit your applications please click the ‘Apply’ button below.

 

Australian Hearing / University of Queensland


Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship applications Close October 14 October

The Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme is designed to encourage and assist undergraduate students in health-related disciplines to complete their studies and join the health workforce.

Dr Puggy Hunter was the NACCHO Chair 1991-2001

Puggy was the elected chairperson of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, (NACCHO), which is the peak national advisory body on Aboriginal health. NACCHO has a membership of over 144 + Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and is the representative body of these services. Puggy was the inaugural Chair of NACCHO from 1991 until his death.[1]

Puggy was the vice-chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council, the Federal Health Minister’s main advisory body on Aboriginal health established in 1996. He was also Chair of the National Public Health Partnership Aboriginal and Islander Health Working Group which reports to the Partnership and to the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council. He was a member of the Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council (APAC), the General Practice Partnership Advisory Council, the Joint Advisory Group on Population Health and the National Health Priority Areas Action Council as well as a number of other key Aboriginal health policy and advisory groups on national issues.[1]

The scheme provides scholarships for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people studying an entry level health course.

Applications for PHMSS 2019 scholarship round are now open.

Click the button below to start your online application.

APPLICATION

Applications must be completed and submitted before midnight AEDT (Sydney/Canberra time) Sunday 14 October 2018. After this time the system will shut down and any incomplete applications will be lost.

Eligible health areas

  • Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health work
  • Allied health (excluding pharmacy)
  • Dentistry/oral health (excluding dental assistants)
  • Direct entry midwifery
  • Medicine
  • Nursing; registered and enrolled

Eligibility criteria

Applications will be considered from applicants who are:

  • of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent
    Applicants must identify as and be able to confirm their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status.
  • enrolled or intending to enrol in an entry level or graduate entry level health related course
    Courses must be provided by an Australian registered training organisation or university. Funding is not available for postgraduate study.
  • intending to study in the academic year that the scholarship is offered.

A significant number of applications are received each year; meeting the eligibility criteria will not guarantee applicants a scholarship offer.

Value of scholarship

Funding is provided for the normal duration of the course. Full time scholarship awardees will receive up to $15,000 per year and part time recipients will receive up to $7,500 per year. The funding is paid in 24 fortnightly instalments throughout the study period of each year.

Selection criteria

These are competitive scholarships and will be awarded on the recommendation of the independent selection committee whose assessment will be based on how applicants address the following questions:

  • Describe what has been your driving influence/motivation in wanting to become a health professional in your chosen area.
  • Discuss what you hope to accomplish as a health professional in the next 5-10 years.
  • Discuss your commitment to study in your chosen course.
  • Outline your involvement in community activities, including promoting the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The scholarships are funded by the Australian Government, Department of Health and administered by the Australian College of Nursing. The scheme was established in recognition of Dr Arnold ‘Puggy’ Hunter’s significant contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and his role as Chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

Important links

Links to Indigenous health professional associations

Contact ACN

e scholarships@acn.edu.au
t 1800 688 628

 

APNA Transition to Practice Program (TPP) 

Trying to find your feet in primary health care or want to try your hand at mentoring nurses new to primary health care?
This program will help you grow your skills, knowledge and confidence and set you up in your career. The 12-month program will support the transitioning nurse through tailored CPD, mentorship and support in primary health care settings such as (but not limited to) general practice, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health care services and community health.
Applications now open.
For more information and to apply, visitwww.apna.asn.au/transitiontopractice  
 
Building Nurse Capacity 
Are you looking to take the next step in your career? Want to learn new skills and knowledge so you can deliver a new model of care?
The Building Nurse Capacity Project will focus on the development of nurse-led (team-based) models of care that meet local population health needs, and contribute to building the capacity of the healthcare team. Grant funding and APNA support will be provided to successful applicants.  It will help you promote close collaboration between nurses and health practitioners, as well as the primary health care sector, health leaders, organisations and consumers, thanks to the team-based care approach.
Applications now open.
 

 

NACCHO Affiliate , Member , Government Department or stakeholders

If you have a job vacancy in Indigenous Health 

Email to Colin Cowell NACCHO Media

Tuesday by 4.30 pm for publication each Wednesday

2.1 There are 4 JOBS AT Apunipima Cairns and Cape York

The links to  job vacancies are on website

 


www.apunipima.org.au/work-for-us

As part of our commitment to providing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of Brisbane with a comprehensive range of primary health care, youth, child safety, mental health, dental and aged care services, we employ approximately 150 people across our locations at Woolloongabba, Woodridge, Northgate, Acacia Ridge, Browns Plains, Eagleby and East Brisbane.

The roles at ATSICHS are diverse and include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Aboriginal Health Workers
  • Registered Nurses
  • Transport Drivers
  • Medical Receptionists
  • Administrative and Management roles
  • Medical professionals
  • Dentists and Dental Assistants
  • Allied Health Staff
  • Support Workers

Current vacancies

NT Jobs Alice Spring ,Darwin East Arnhem Land and Katherine

3.1 There are 10 JOBS at Congress Alice Springs including

 

More info and apply HERE

3.2 There are 19 JOBS at Miwatj Health Arnhem Land

 

More info and apply HERE

3.3 There are 5 JOBS at Wurli Katherine

 

Current Vacancies

  • Program Coordinator (Syphilis Enhanced Response)

  • Registered Aboriginal Health Practitioner (Syphilis Enhanced Response)

  • Community Engagement Support Officer / Sexual Health Educator (CESO)

  • General Practitioner

  • Registered Nurse

  • Aboriginal Health Practitioner (Clinical)

More info and apply HERE

3.4 Sunrise ACCHO Katherine

Sunrise Job site

4. South Australia

   4.1 Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia Inc

Nunkuwarrin Yunti places a strong focus on a client centred approach to the delivery of services and a collaborative working culture to achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients. View our current vacancies here.

 

NUNKU SA JOB WEBSITE 

5. Western Australia

5.1 Derbarl Yerrigan Health Services Inc

Derbarl Yerrigan Health Services Inc. is passionate about creating a strong and dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander workforce. We are committed to providing mentorship and training to our team members to enhance their skills for them to be able to create career pathways and opportunities in life.

On occasions we may have vacancies for the positions listed below:

  • Medical Receptionists – casual pool
  • Transport Drivers – casual pool
  • General Hands – casual pool, rotating shifts
  • Aboriginal Health Workers (Cert IV in Primary Health) –casual pool

*These positions are based in one or all of our sites – East Perth, Midland, Maddington, Mirrabooka or Bayswater.

To apply for a position with us, you will need to provide the following documents:

  • Detailed CV
  • WA National Police Clearance – no older than 6 months
  • WA Driver’s License – full license
  • Contact details of 2 work related referees
  • Copies of all relevant certificates and qualifications

We may also accept Expression of Interests for other medical related positions which form part of our services. However please note, due to the volume on interests we may not be able to respond to all applications and apologise for that in advance.

All complete applications must be submitted to our HR department or emailed to HR

Also in accordance with updated privacy legislation acts, please download, complete and return this Permission to Retain Resume form

Attn: Human Resources
Derbarl Yerrigan Health Services Inc.
156 Wittenoom Street
East Perth WA 6004

+61 (8) 9421 3888

Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Aboriginal Corporation.

We are currently recruiting for the positions below and would appreciate if you could please share the details on your website and across your networks.

Position Title:                   Indigenous Outreach Worker (East Perth)

Advertisement:                Indigenous Outreach Worker Job in Perth – SEEK

Closing Date:                     Wednesday 17th October 2018 – 5pm

Position Title:                   Health Promotions Officer – Female (East Perth)

Advertisement:                Health Promotions Officer – Female Job in Perth – SEEK

Closing Date:                     Wednesday 17th October 2018 – 5pm

There may be an opening for an Aboriginal Health Practitioner position in the near future and you are welcome to send our expression of interest advertisement to those who may suit the role as well Expression of Interest – Aboriginal Health Practitioner Job in Perth – SEEK.

Aboriginal Liaison Officer

About the Organisation

The name Derbarl Yerrigan is the Wadjuk Noongar name for the Swan River. Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (DYHSAC), has a proud history of providing Aboriginal health services within the Perth metropolitan area and in 1974 was the first Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service to be established in Australia. DYHSAC has now grown to have four successful, busy clinics across the Perth metro area, delivering comprehensive healthcare and specialised programs along with an accommodation centre for clients requiring medical treatment away from home or Country.Our mission is to provide high quality, holistic and culturally secure health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in the Perth metropolitan region.

For more information about DYHSAC, please visit http://www.dyhs.org.au.

About the Opportunity

DYHSAC is currently seeking a full time Aboriginal Liaison Officer based at Midland site.

The primary responsibility of this role is to provide support, care co-ordination and advocacy to Aboriginal clients who are admitted to, already in or are being discharged from hospitals, and are Derbarl Yerrigan clients.

Please note: Aboriginality is a genuine requirement for this position as per Section 50D of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984.

Key responsibilities of the position includes:

  • Provide culturally secure support for Aboriginal patients of DYHSAC in respect of planned admissions to hospitals (relevant to the location of the ALO.
  • Participate in DYHS events and community development activities.
  • Participate in ongoing review and assessment of client’s progress.
  • Maintain accurate records for reporting and evaluations
  • Develop networks, participate in community projects and provide support to local committees and other community groups in the interest of DYHSAC.
  • Co-ordinate early follow-up care at DYHSAC clinics post discharge for the first 6 weeks.
  • Co-ordinate non- admitted patient care for DYHSAC clients.
  • Provide health education, advice and support particularly living in the metropolitan area.
  • Liaise with external organisations to deliver ongoing health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
  • Provide support to other service providers.
  • Undertake cultural education program and organise workshops of relevant hospital liaison issues for staff and clients.
  • Work with internal clinic staff to assist clients of DYHSAC to have a smooth transition into/out of hospital.
  • Provide regular data for various reports of client contact.

Essential Requirement for the position

  1. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 50D of the Equal Employment Opportunities Act.
  2. Certificate III in Aboriginal Health. Upon commencement you will be required to undertake full training to meet Certificate IV in Aboriginal Health.
  3. Comprehensive experience in establishing relationships and liaising with external support services and health service providers including Hospital Liaison.
  4. Experience in advocating on behalf of Aboriginal clients and demonstrated knowledge of Aboriginal culture and customs and its impact on health outcomes in aboriginal communities.
  5. Ability to maintain confidentiality and security of records and information.
  6. Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in providing assistance and support to Aboriginal clients.
  7. Ability to work autonomously with demonstrated ability to remain composed and positive under pressure.
  8. Well-developed interpersonal and negotiation skills and ability to work and develop collaborative partnerships

About the Benefits

Employment wages and conditions will be commensurate with qualifications and experience, and will be negotiated with the successful applicant. At Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Aboriginal Corporation, you will be joining an organisation which offers a flexible and family-friendly work environment and is led by a passionate and committed CEO.

It is an essential requirement for this position to undertake a National Police Check.

How to Apply:

Please apply through SEEK including a resume and a cover letter addressing the selection criteria. For any further information about the position, please contact HR Department on (08) 9421 3888.

Applications close: Tuesday 16 October  2018 at 5pm

The Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Aboriginal Corporation reserves the right to contact the current or most recent employer and evaluate past employment records of applicants selected for interview. The organisation reserves the right to re-advertise the position or to delay indefinitely final selection if it is deemed that applicants for the position do not constitute an adequate applicant pool.

 

DYHS JOB WEBSITE

 5.2 Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS)

Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS)

https://kamsc-iframe.applynow.net.au/

KAMS JOB WEBSITE

6.Victoria

6.1 Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS)

 

Thank you for your interest in working at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS)

If you would like to lodge an expression of interest or to apply for any of our jobs advertised at VAHS we have two types of applications for you to consider.

Expression of interest

Submit an expression of interest for a position that may become available to: employment@vahs.org.au

This should include a covering letter outlining your job interest(s), an up to date resume and two current employment referees

Your details will remain on file for a period of 12 months. Resumes on file are referred to from time to time as positions arise with VAHS and you may be contacted if another job matches your skills, experience and/or qualifications. Expressions of interest are destroyed in a confidential manner after 12 months.

Applying for a Current Vacancy

Unless the advertisement specifies otherwise, please follow the directions below when applying

Your application/cover letter should include:

  • Current name, address and contact details
  • A brief discussion on why you feel you would be the appropriate candidate for the position
  • Response to the key selection criteria should be included – discussing how you meet these

Your Resume should include:

  • Current name, address and contact details
  • Summary of your career showing how you have progressed to where you are today. Most recent employment should be first. For each job that you have been employed in state the Job Title, the Employer, dates of employment, your duties and responsibilities and a brief summary of your achievements in the role
  • Education, include TAFE or University studies completed and the dates. Give details of any subjects studies that you believe give you skills relevant to the position applied for
  • References, where possible, please include 2 employment-related references and one personal character reference. Employment references must not be from colleagues, but from supervisors or managers that had direct responsibility of your position.

Ensure that any referees on your resume are aware of this and permission should be granted.

How to apply:

Send your application, response to the key selection criteria and your resume to:

employment@vahs.org.au

All applications must be received by the due date unless the previous extension is granted.

When applying for vacant positions at VAHS, it is important to know the successful applicants are chosen on merit and suitability for the role.

VAHS is an Equal Opportunity Employer and are committed to ensuring that staff selection procedures are fair to all applicants regardless of their sex, race, marital status, sexual orientation, religious political affiliations, disability, or any other matter covered by the Equal Opportunity Act

You will be assessed based on a variety of criteria:

  • Your application, which includes your application letter which address the key selection criteria and your resume
  • Verification of education and qualifications
  • An interview (if you are shortlisted for an interview)
  • Discussions with your referees (if you are shortlisted for an interview)
  • You must have the right to live and work in Australia
  • Employment is conditional upon the receipt of:
    • A current Working with Children Check
    • A current National Police Check
    • Any licenses, certificates and insurances

6.2 Mallee District Aboriginal Services Mildura Swan Hill Etc 

Alcohol and Other Drugs Support Worker (Mildura)
Mental Health Nurse (Mildura)
AOD Life Skills Worker (Wiimpatja Healing Centre)
Midwife (Mildura)
Maternal and Child Health Nurse (Mildura)
General Practitioner (Swan Hill)

MDAS Jobs website 

6.3 : Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-Operative 2 POSITIONS VACANT

The Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program (ANFPP)

Nurse Supervisor (Division 1)

Full time – 38 Hours per week (Hours Negotiable)

Fixed Term Contract – ending 24/10/2019

The Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program supports women pregnant with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander baby and their families using a therapeutic, partnership approach. The program supports voluntary clients to improve their personal health and wellbeing, environmental health, increase their self- efficacy and improve the health and development of their children.

Further information on the Australian Nurse Family Partnership Program can be found of the following website: http://www.anfpp.com.au

Role purpose: The Nurse Supervisor is responsible for the supervision and day to day management of ANFPP team and program. To work within the local community, the Primary Health Care Service and ANFPP team to ensure the ANFPP is implemented in accordance with established guidelines and requirements, including using principles of reflective practice in supervision, staff development, modelling and building a strengths-based, culturally safe and client-centered program.

Salary Packaging is a benefit available for Part or Full Time Employees

Your application will need to include a copy of your Victorian Employee Working with Children Check and a police check obtained within the last 2 months.

For consideration for an interview, you must obtain a Position Description from Marieta on (03) 5820 6405 or email: marieta.martin@raclimited.com.au or download the Position Description from http://www.rumbalara.org.au/vacancies and address the Key Selection Criteria, include a current resume, copies of qualifications and a cover letter.

Applications close at 4pm on Friday, 19th October 2018 and are to be addressed to:

Human Resources Dept.

Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-Operative PO Box 614 Mooroopna Vic 3629

 

2.POSITION VACANT

Team Leader – Empowered Women, Children & Families (EWCF)

New Position – Full time – 38 Hours per week, Monday – Friday, 8:45am-5:00pm

Role purpose: The Team Leader is responsible for the day to day management and decision making for a range of direct service delivery functions, including Cradle to Kinder program, Children & Schooling program & provide support to Koorie Maternity Services & Yanda Together Youth Mentoring program.

The position provides leadership, direction and support to staff, ensuring efficient and effective delivery of programs and services in accordance with industry standards and principles of continuous improvement.

Key Selection Criteria:

* An understanding of the Child FIRST Alliance & Child Protection pathways, including reporting and legislative requirements associated.

* A sound knowledge of and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, values, family/kinship networks, parenting practices and issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

* Proven planning, organisation, management & supervision skills, including experience in similar role.

* Minimum Cert IV Leadership/Management, Community Services, Early Years/Education or related field.

Salary Packaging is a benefit available for Part or Full Time Employees

Your application will need to include a copy of your Victorian Employee Working with Children Check and a police check obtained within the last 2 months.

For consideration for an interview, you must obtain a Position Description from Marieta on (03) 5820 6405 or email: marieta.martin@raclimited.com.au or download the Position Description from http://www.rumbalara.org.au/vacancies and address the Key Selection Criteria, include a current resume, copies of qualifications and a cover letter.

Applications close at 4pm on Friday, 19th October 2018 and are to be addressed to:

Human Resources Dept.

Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-Operative PO Box 614 Mooroopna Vic 3629

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community are encouraged to apply

7.New South Wales

7.1 AHMRC Sydney and Rural 

Check website for current Opportunities

 

8. Tasmania

 

TAC JOBS AND TRAINING WEBSITE

9.Canberra ACT Winnunga ACCHO

 

Winnunga ACCHO Job opportunites 

10. Other : Stakeholders Indigenous Health 

UNSW Director of Indigenous Health Education

Apply nowJob no: 495137

Work type: Fixed term / Part time
Location: Sydney, NSW
Categories: Head of School / Director

  • Unique newly created opportunity
  • Significantly contribute to trends, initiatives and directions in Indigenous health education at UNSW
  • Fixed term – Part time (0.5 FTE) for 36 months
  • Location – Sydney NSW Australia

The Organisation

UNSW Medicine is a national leader in learning, teaching and research, with close affiliations to a number of Australia’s finest hospitals, research institutes and health care organisations. With a strong presence at UNSW Kensington campus, the faculty have staff and students in teaching hospitals in Sydney as well as regional and rural areas of NSW including Albury/Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie.

The Opportunity

The Director of Indigenous Health Education is responsible for providing strategic advice and support to the Senior Vice Dean Education as well as curriculum development and oversight regarding education on Indigenous health-related issues. The Director of Indigenous Health Education will work with the Senior Vice Dean Education, Associate Dean Education, Medicine Program Authority, Chairs of Medicine Phase and Curriculum Development Committees, Program Authority for Exercise Physiology as well as Program Authorities for Medicine’s postgraduate coursework programs and other key areas of the University to develop and contribute towards Indigenous health-related teaching.

  • Fixed term – Part time (0.5 FTE) for 36 months
  • Academic Level C: $125, 160 – $143, 593 plus 17% superannuation and leave loading

Responsibilities will include:

  • Collaborate with the Senior Vice Dean (Education) and Associate Dean (Education), Program Authorities and Committees to define Faculty goals to support Indigenous health education, including indigenous-health related curriculum development and Indigenous student recruitment and retention.
  • Provide strategic advice and assistance to the Associate Dean Education on all matters relating to Indigenous health education.
  • Provide advice to the Senior Vice Dean (Education) on trends, initiatives and directions in Indigenous health education and be responsible for the oversight of Indigenous health curricula within UNSW Medicine.
  • Work with UNSW Medicine and other university members to forward various Aboriginal statements and reconciliation action plans, include UNSW Elders.
  • Provide support and guidance to students regarding Indigenous matters.
  • Work with the Director of Development and Engagement to promote Indigenous philanthropy across the faculty.

About the Successful Applicant

  • Bachelors degree, ideally in the field of education or Indigenous health. Masters or PhD in the fields of education or Indigenous health would be an advantage.
  • Can demonstrate a thorough understanding of the issues, directions and challenges in indigenous health.
  • Knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history or extensive experience working with Indigenous peoples.
  • Sound understanding of University and Faculty administration, practices, policies and procedures.
  • Proven record of management experience with effective strategic leadership and team building capabilities, ideally within a higher education environment.

You should systematically address the selection criteria from the position description in your application. Click Link for the Position Description Download File PD – Director of Indigenous Health Education.pdf

Please apply online – applications will not be accepted if sent to the contact listed.

Contact:

Professor Gary Velan – Senior Vice Dean of Education

E: g.velan@unsw.edu.au

Applications close: 11pm 5th November 2018

This position is open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants only.  UNSW has obtained an exemption under section 126 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) to designate and recruit professional and academic positions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons only, to fulfil UNSW’s goal of a representative workforce rate.

Position Description

Advertised: AUS Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close: AUS Eastern Daylight Time

APPLY HERE 

The Lime Network : EVENT AND PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR (INDIGENOUS APPLICANTS ONLY)

The LIME Network – Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

Only Indigenous Australians are eligible to apply as this position is exempt under the Special Measure Provision, Section 12 (1) of the Equal Opportunity Act 2011 (Vic).

Salary: $88,171 – $95,444 p.a. (pro rata) plus 9.5% superannuation

The Event and Project Coordinator will take a lead in the coordination, planning and implementation of key projects and events of the LIME Network.  These include the LIME Connection international conference, stakeholder meetings, seminars and other events.

Close date: 14 Oct 2018

Position Description and Selection Criteria

0046502.pdf

For information to assist you with compiling short statements to answer the selection criteria, please go to: https://about.unimelb.edu.au/careers/selection-criteria

Advertised: AUS Eastern Standard Time
Applications close: AUS Eastern Daylight Time

Website 

NACCHO Aboriginal #WorldMentalHealthDay : Culture as key to mental wellbeing , evidence shows that culturally-safe early intervention and prevention programs and services are the most effective in reducing poor mental health and suicide

 ” NACCHO and the Sector Support Organisations appreciate the opportunity to make this submission on behalf of our Member Services.

With circumstances unimproved after many years of multiple policy approaches, there is a dire need to overturn poor mental health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This will require attention to the full spectrum of Aboriginal life experience. There needs to be commitment at all levels of government in terms of funding, policy development and support, for the implementation of culturally-appropriate programs and services.

There must be recognition that self-determination of Aboriginal people will be the foundation of true progress.

NACCHO strongly recommends that government engage in meaningful dialogue with it, the Sector Support Organisations and ACCHSs, in relation to the proposals canvassed in this submission, and work in partnership to address the significant and continual inequity of access to culturally-safe mental health and social / emotional wellbeing services for all Aboriginal people.”

Download a full NACCHO copy :

Network Submission – Mental Health Services Rural Remote Aust – 23.8.18 – FINAL

Read over 190 NACCHO Aboriginal Mental Health articles pubished over last 6 years 

 

“ In keeping with this Indigenous model of SEWB, AMSANT believes that integrating SEWB,
Mental health and AOD, which work toward preventing and addressing these issues, into
Primary Health Care (PHC) Services is the most cost-effective approach to the delivery of
mental health services throughout rural and remote NT.

In keeping with the model, SEWB programs require funding for multidisciplinary, culturally and trauma informed teams with expertise across these various aspects of wellbeing for Aboriginal communities.

SEWB services are designed to support individuals, families and communities in all aspects of life
that strengthen wellbeing,”

From AMSANT’s seperate submission 

sub129_AMSANT

Introduction

The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) welcomes the opportunity to provide input for the Senate inquiry into Accessibility and quality of mental health services in rural and remote Australia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent approximately 3% of the population, yet are disproportionately over-represented in a negative way on almost every indicia of social, health and wellbeing determinants.[i]

Commonly recognised factors causing these disparities include intergenerational trauma, racism and social exclusion, as well as loss of land and culture.[ii] They are vastly over-represented in mental health services[iii], and evidence of the gap in mental health outcomes compared with their non-Indigenous peers is well documented.[iv]

For example, a 2016 report states that Aboriginal males aged 25–29 years have the highest rates of suicide in the world.[v] Underscoring these health disparities, the rate of admissions to specialised psychiatric care has been found to be double that of non-Indigenous Australians.[vi]

Mental health and wellbeing is integral to the individual and collective ability to think, express and engage productively in work and in life.[vii] A multitude of relevant national frameworks and reforms have highlighted the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a priority, with a focus on prevention and early intervention. The nexus for bridging the gap is cultural security, which includes access to culturally-safe mental health and social / emotional wellbeing services.[viii] However, this access, in particular in regional, remote and very remote locations, is highly inconsistent and in many locations is non-existent.

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services

NACCHO is the peak body representing 145 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) across Australia. ACCHSs provide comprehensive primary health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at over 300 Aboriginal medical clinics. Three million episodes of care are delivered to around 350,000 people each year (over 47% of the Aboriginal population); a third of these in remote areas.

The ACCHS sector is the largest single employer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the country, employing 6,000 staff. Evidence that the ACCHS model of primary health care delivers better outcomes for Aboriginal people is well established. The model has its genesis in the people’s right to self-determination, and is predicated on principles that incorporate a holistic, person-centred, whole-of-life, culturally-safe approach. Without exception, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities lead, define, design, control and deliver their own services and programs, they achieve improved outcomes.[ix] The principles of self-determination and community control remain central to the people’s wellbeing and sovereignty.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to experience disadvantage in equity of access to mental health services. This is a major concern requiring immediate redress by governments at all levels. Despite inequitable levels of funding and resources[x], ACCHSs continue to meet the challenges of addressing the burden of disease and mental ill-health of communities. Further investment is needed to expand and build capacity of the Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce (AMHW), to deliver culturally-safe mental health and social / emotional wellbeing services. As the predominant primary health care providers to Aboriginal people, ACCHSs are best placed to deliver appropriate services. Aboriginal Health Workers and Health Practitioners (AHW/P) as ‘cultural brokers’ are vital to bridge the prevailing gap between mainstream mental health services and Aboriginal consumers’ access to mental health care, treatment and support.[xi]

The nature and underlying causes of rural and remote Australians accessing mental health services at a much lower rate

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to under-utilise health services, despite experiencing poorer health. They are over-represented in rural and remote areas, so the issue of remoteness in accessing mental health services is particularly important for them.[xii] Data from the 2011 Census show that 3% of Australians (669,881) identified as Indigenous; 21% lived in remote or very remote areas[xiii], compared to only 1.7% of non-Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal people represent 16% and 45% of all people living in remote and very remote areas respectively.[xiv]

The geographical challenges in ACCHS availability and lack of resources to access culturally-appropriate mental health services restricts choice for Aboriginal people; this is compounded when they have to travel long distances from their communities for care and treatment. Mainstream services cannot provide culturally-appropriate care for the mental health needs of Aboriginal people, particularly those living in rural, remote and very remote locations.

Culturally-safe mental health services – ACCHS’ preferred provider status

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people identify culture as key to mental wellbeing and evidence shows that culturally-safe early intervention and prevention programs and services are the most effective in reducing poor mental health and suicide.

Like all Australians, Aboriginal people are influenced by their experiences when accessing health services, including cultural responsiveness.[xv] In 2012–13, a reported 7% of Aboriginal adults avoided seeking health care because they had been treated unfairly by doctors, nurses or other staff at hospitals or surgeries.[xvi] Those with mental illness experience extreme social and emotional divorcement, alienation from their families, country of origin and their identity. Self-esteem and a sense of empowerment are important in recovery-based models of care, and arguably the best way to achieve this for Aboriginal people is to hand over control of the design and delivery of services to them.[xvii] In providing culturally-safe, holistic and community-based care, Aboriginal community controlled organisations have been identified as best placed to deliver mental health services.

It is important to emphasise that culture must be considered for best practice mental health models of service for Aboriginal people. This includes the multi-faceted impact of intergenerational trauma and its inextricable link to mental health and social / emotional wellbeing.[xviii]

Funding inequities

Despite 30% of Australia’s population living in regional, rural and remote areas[xix], Commonwealth mental health funding is inequitably distributed, and the delivery of services to these locations is severely compromised, resulting in greater costs overall. Ample evidence suggests that better allocation of resources and cost-effective funding in the ACCHS sector would result in better mental health outcomes for Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people not seeking the mental health care they need in a timely manner, if at all, due to a lack of culturally-safe services, results in individuals becoming increasingly unwell. This escalates emergency or voluntary admissions to hospitals, usually in an acute state – admission, treatment and follow-up cost around $19,782 per person.[xx] This is a significantly higher cost than investing in ACCHSs to deliver community-based mental health services, closer to where people live, keeping people well in the community and preventing hospital admissions.

Despite the ACCHS sector’s ongoing advice to governments at all levels, about effectively addressing the mental health disadvantage and disparities experienced by Aboriginal Australians, funding continues to be directed to mainstream services. Substantial funding and essential resources are redirected from ACCHSs and administered to Primary Health Networks. This lack of transparency is having a deleterious and inequitable impact on Aboriginal people’ access to appropriate services. Despite the rhetoric, funding needed for ACCHSs is not ending up in Aboriginal hands; if government is serious about closing the gaps in health and mental health services, it is imperative to direct funding for Aboriginal service delivery to the ACCHS sector.

The higher rate of suicide in rural and remote Australia

The 2016 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project (ATSISPEP) report noted that suicide has emerged in recent decades as a major cause of Aboriginal premature mortality and contributes to overall health and life expectancy gaps. In 2014, suicide was the fifth leading cause of death among Aboriginal people, with the age-standardised rate around twice as high as the non-Indigenous rate.[xxi] Alarmingly, Aboriginal children and young people are particularly vulnerable, comprising 30% of suicide deaths among those under 18 years of age. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Aboriginal people aged 14–34[xxii] and those aged 15–24 are over five times as likely to commit suicide as their non-Indigenous peers.

In Australia, rates of suicide and self-harm are higher in rural and remote areas, [xxiii]; and Aboriginal people are more than twice as likely to commit suicide than non-Indigenous people.[xxiv] From 2001–2010, most suicides among Aboriginal people occurred outside of capital cities, in stark contrast to non‑Indigenous suicides, which mostly occurred within cities.[xxv]

In recent years, several efforts have been made to tailor and implement suicide awareness training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and communities. However, as highlighted in the ATSISPEP report, efforts to reduce suicide must not only address social and economic disadvantage but narrow the gap in health status. Strategies need to promote healing and build the resilience of ‘individuals, families and communities by strengthening social and emotional wellbeing and culture’.[xxvi]

Addressing the higher rates of suicide in Aboriginal communities is a priority for any plan that aims to reduce suicide in rural and remote areas. It will require investment by all levels of government to increase the response capacity of health workers. Further investment in consultation with the communities is needed to design a national capacity-building strategy to respond to the issue.[xxvii]

The nature of the mental health workforce

A range of strategies and actions are required to create an effective, empowered workforce for the mental health wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These have been identified in a National Strategic Framework for 2017–2023[xxviii] on this topic. A key requirement is a highly skilled and supported workforce, operating in a clinically and culturally-safe way.

Identifying current capacity and gaps in the workforce is important, to better target investment[xxix]. This includes the organisational capacity of Aboriginal and mainstream mental health services as well as skill and availability gaps in the primary mental health professions – nursing, occupational therapy, psychiatry, psychology and social work. It is also vital to consider the links and development opportunities across the different workforces in mental health, social / emotional wellbeing, alcohol and other drugs, family violence and relevant others.

Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce

Critical to positive mental health outcomes for Aboriginal people in rural and remote areas is a reinvestment in community mental health services, and in a committed workforce. A comprehensive Aboriginal Mental Health Workforce (AMHW) is required to improve the cultural responsiveness and safety of these services, to provide appropriate systems of care.

The AMHW plays an important role as ‘cultural broker’, through its advocacy and cultural advice, in the mental health legislation of a number of jurisdictions. Established in both mainstream health services and the ACCHS, the AMHW delivers specialist, holistic and culturally-safe services, which are key to addressing disadvantage and improving mental health outcomes. It helps to bridge the cultural gap, enabling Aboriginal consumers to effectively access mental health services, including presence of an AHW/P during assessment and treatment.

In recognising that Aboriginal community controlled organisations are best placed to deliver health services to communities, improved coordination between ACCHSs and Local Health Districts is needed. The placement of Aboriginal mental health workers in the ACCHS sector, working in conjunction with mainstream services, could help develop integrated models of care, to increase the capacity and confidence of services to work with communities. This working partnership could potentially progress a historically arduous relationship and would increase the capacity of AHW/P in mental health and access to specialist support.

The uncertain and cyclic funding paradigm is a factor undermining the retention of a skilled Aboriginal workforce, and its training and working conditions. Consequently, this has a deleterious effect on achieving sustained improvements in treatment and care of Aboriginal people with mental health problems, particularly those with complex, severe and persistent illnesses.

The challenges of delivering mental health services in the regions

The challenges for people with mental illness in rural and remote areas are well known, and include distance, availability of health services, lower socioeconomic status, and shortages of GPs, specialist medical services and AHW/P. Most barriers in accessing mental health services in these communities are structural, including cost, transportation, or time constraints.[xxx] Geographic and professional isolation also make rural or remote communities less attractive to mental health practitioners, making it difficult to recruit and retain them.[xxxi]

Lack of funding for the ACCHS sector

A major contributor to the poor delivery of mental health services in rural and remote areas is the lack of funding. In the current context where health services, for mental health in particular, are under extreme pressure to meet urban population needs, the capacity of state governments to fund specialist mental health services to people outside of cities is diminished.[xxxii] The funding transition in 2013, from the Ministry of Health – Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health to the Department of the Prime Minister in Cabinet, led to a reduced AMHW and programs in the ACCHS sector, disadvantaging communities and the sector itself.

Continual under-funding of ACCHSs is a limiting factor that impedes the capacity to improve the mental health outcomes of Aboriginal people, particularly in rural, remote and very remote areas. Government investment is ad hoc, often directed towards mainstream service delivery, with non-Aboriginal services delivering care to Aboriginal people. These services are seen to lack the cultural knowledge, competence, capacity and understanding to effectively engage with Aboriginal people and their communities. Funding referred to mainstream services has resulted in many Aboriginal people failing to present at appointments or dis-engaging due to these services being culturally unsafe or inappropriate. It has also contributed to expensive increases in hospital admission rates for acute and complex conditions.

The ACCHS sector has consistently shown its capacity to achieve better health outcomes for Aboriginal people through delivering comprehensive, culturally-safe health, prevention and early intervention services in a more cost-effective way. However, adequate funding is still required to expand services in regions where they are inaccessible or demand is greater. ACCHSs contend that procurement approaches lacking in cultural safety will not provide equity of access for communities. These approaches, which deny Aboriginal community controlled services the opportunity to access resources to deliver appropriate services related to mental health, will continue to fall short, preventing effective social policy implementation and outcomes for communities and for government.

It is in the government’s interest to invest in the ACCHS sector to provide prevention and early intervention services, due to the significant economic burden of mental illness. There is a strong argument for optimising investment in areas where populations are most at risk and vulnerable.

Service delivery – need for greater coordination

Better services coordination between government and non-government organisations is a significant issue impacting Aboriginal people, particularly to address their needs in a culturally-appropriate and holistic way. Like many governments, the South Australian Government has acknowledged the barriers that departmental silos represent for the provision of appropriate and effective mental health care to Aboriginal people.

The Commonwealth Government’s Better Access to Mental Health Services Initiative is an example. This initiative is intended to mitigate access disparities and provide more coordinated care. However, application of the Modified Monash Model geographical classification system to determine eligibility requirements denies access for Aboriginal people living in many regional, remote and very remote locations, particularly in Western Australia.

Improved coordination of services is essential to reduce hospital admissions and ensure that Aboriginal people do not continue to be ‘lost’ in a system that does not understand or respond to their cultural and mental health needs. Paramount to ensuring consumers receive the right care is a more ‘wrap-around’, culturally-safe, holistic service model, implemented at all levels of government and non-government organisations. The ACCHS sector is the expert in this regard and is best placed to deliver services and educate the mainstream sector, with respect to relevant services for Aboriginal people.

Opportunities that technology presents for improved service delivery

The delivery of mental health services using new technologies is a growing area of practice and research interest. Building capacity within ACCHSs to effectively deliver technology‑based services is a sensible option, but how they will improve patient experience or access must be considered. Online services need to complement rather than replace an early human response in a crisis.

While the relative benefits of online services have not yet been evaluated in terms of their ability to augment traditional face-to-face mental health services, there are positive cost and service efficiencies. Research indicates that web-based services that provide mental health information and support can significantly improve mental health outcomes. New developments mean that cognitive behavioural therapies can be adapted into an online environment and be delivered without a counsellor, while providing the same outcomes at a fraction of the cost.[xxxiii]

Telehealth initiatives – such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing – are being used globally to deliver mental health services (assessment, consultation and therapy), and to fill prevention, assessment, diagnosis, counselling and treatment[xxxiv] service gaps in rural and remote locations. For people living in rural and remote Australia, the recent introduction of a new Medicare rebate, aimed at improving access to telehealth psychological services, is an important step. This means people can claim a rebate for up to seven videoconferencing consultations with psychologists and other mental health professionals. With Medicare data showing that per capita MBS expenditure on mental health services in remote areas is less than a quarter of that in major cities[xxxv], this is indeed a substantial improvement in the supply of services to disadvantaged populations.

A significant benefit of technology is the online access to training and referral advice for health professionals in rural and remote areas. Not only can web-based services have great potential for consumers, they can also offer education to mental health professionals, GPs and other staff.

While many approaches to online service delivery are still in their infancy, there are plenty of opportunities to combine research with new telehealth programs and evaluation of their effectiveness. A number of Member Services are currently trialling telehealth in remote areas with positive results, despite facing challenges with set-up and costs. While there is great potential for the development of mental health internet-based and mobile apps, it is important that these are inclusive and culturally appropriate for Aboriginal consumers. This requires investment and direct involvement of the ACCHS sector.

NACCHO Aboriginal Health Conferences and events : This week #WorldMentalHealthDay #WMHD2018 #MentalHealthPromise #10OCT This Month : Register and Download #NACCHOagm2018 Oct 30 – Nov 2 Program @hosw2018 #HOSW18 #HealingOurWay @June_Oscar #WomensVoices #IndigBizMth

 

This week 

World Mental Health Day Oct 10

World Mental Health Week Oct 7- 13 

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week (ATSIHAW) 28th November to 5th December : Expression of Interest open but close 26 October

This Month

NACCHO AGM 2018 Brisbane Oct 30—Nov 2 Registrations now open : Download the Program 

Future events /conferences

Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship applications Close October 14 October
National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Third edition) Workshop 10 October 

Now open: Aged Care Regional, Rural and Remote Infrastructure Grant opportunity.$500,000  closes 24 October 2018

The fourth annual Indigenous Business Month this year will celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in business, to coincide with the 2018 NAIDOC theme Because of Her, We Can.

 

Wiyi Yani U Thangani Women’s Voices project. 

2018 International Indigenous Allied Health Forum at the Mercure Hotel, Sydney, Australia on the 30 November 2018

AIDA Conference 2018 Vision into Action

Healing Our Spirit Worldwide
2nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference 20-21 November Perth

2019 Close the Gap for Vision by 2020 – National Conference 2019
This week 

This World Mental Health Day – on Wednesday 10 October – will be the biggest yet in Australia, with more than 700 organisations, companies, community groups and charities taking part, as well an official Guinness World Record Attempt in Wagga Wagga to raise awareness and reduce stigma.

The ‘Do You See What I See?’ campaign encourages people to make a #MentalHealthPromise and shed a more positive light on mental health in a bid to reduce stigma for the one in five Australians who are affected by mental illness annually.

More than 700 organisations have engaged with the campaign already this year, which has also seen more than 20,000 mental health promises made by individuals at http://www.1010.org.au .

Five days out from World Mental Health Day itself, on Wednesday 10 October, Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan says this year’s response has been the biggest ever.

“Year-on-year the interest in World Mental Health Day continues to grow and to me that’s a clear sign that we are reducing stigma, and more and more people are prepared to talk and hopefully seek help,” said Mr. Quinlan.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in the participation of workplaces over the last two years, and have tailored our messaging accordingly to encourage people to shed a more positive light on mental health at work.”

“We know from our recent Investing to Save Report with KPMG that investment in workplace initiatives could save the nation more than $4.5 billion, and to see some of the biggest employers in the country engage with this year’s campaign, is a clear sign that people are becoming more and more aware of just how important it is to look after mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.”

To help celebrate this year’s World Mental Health Day, and to add to the success of the campaign, Mental Health Australia has also linked up with the Wagga Wagga City Council and Bunnings Warehouse to attempt a Guinness World Record for the most number of people wearing high visibility vests in one location.

Aimed to again shed a positive light, and raise the visibility and awareness of mental health in a community, particularly amongst young men, tradies, farmers and their families, the high-viz world record attempt in Wagga on World Mental Health Day has already seen the people of the Riverina come together.

“We often speak about mentally healthy communities and this fun Guinness World Record Attempt has been a great opportunity to engage with, and unite the people of Wagga Wagga for a common goal,” said Mr. Quinlan.

“Thanks to the fantastic support of Bunnings and the Wagga Wagga City Council, as well as 3M and Triple M Riverina, we can’t wait to see a sea of high visibility vests in the Bunnings carpark next Wednesday morning, and who knows we might even break the current record of 2,136.”

To find out more or to register for the Guinness World Record Attempt go to www.1010.org.au/wagga (link is external)

Mental Health Australia would like to thank all the organisations who have shown their support this year and will be helping to raise awareness and reduce stigma next Wednesday 10 October on World Mental Health Day.

To find our more go to www.1010.org.au

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week (ATSIHAW) 28th November to 5th December : Expression of Interest open but close 26 October

In 2017 we supported more than 60 ACCHS to run community events during ATSIHAW.

We are now seeking final EOIs to host 2018 ATSIHAW Events

EOI’s will remain open until 26th October 2018

ATSIHAW coincides each year with World AIDS Day- our aim is to promote conversation and action around HIV in our communities. Our long lasting theme of ATSIHAW is U AND ME CAN STOP HIV”.

If you would like to host an ATSIHAW event in 2018, please complete the EOI form here Expression of Interest 2018 and then send back to us to at  atsihaw@sahmri.com

Once registered we will send merchandise to your service to help with your event.

For more information about ATSIHAW please visit http://www.atsihiv.org.au/hiv-awareness-week/merchandise/

ATSIHAW on Facebook     https://www.facebook.com/ATSIHAW/

ATSIHAW on Twitter          https://twitter.com/atsihaw

NACCHO AGM 2018 Brisbane Oct 30—Nov 2 Registrations still open

Follow our conference using HASH TAG #NACCHOagm2018

Download Draft Program as at 2 October

NACCHO 7 Page Conference Program 2018_v3

Register HERE

Conference Website Link:

Accommodation Link:                   

The NACCHO Members’ Conference and AGM provides a forum for the Aboriginal community controlled health services workforce, bureaucrats, educators, suppliers and consumers to:

  • Present on innovative local economic development solutions to issues that can be applied to address similar issues nationally and across disciplines
  • Have input and influence from the ‘grassroots’ into national and state health policy and service delivery
  • Demonstrate leadership in workforce and service delivery innovation
  • Promote continuing education and professional development activities essential to the Aboriginal community controlled health services in urban, rural and remote Australia
  • Promote Aboriginal health research by professionals who practice in these areas and the presentation of research findings
  • Develop supportive networks
  • Promote good health and well-being through the delivery of health services to and by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people throughout Australia.

Conference Website Link

Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship applications Close October 14 October

The Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme is designed to encourage and assist undergraduate students in health-related disciplines to complete their studies and join the health workforce.

Dr Puggy Hunter was the NACCHO Chair 1991-2001

Puggy was the elected chairperson of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, (NACCHO), which is the peak national advisory body on Aboriginal health. NACCHO has a membership of over 144 + Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and is the representative body of these services. Puggy was the inaugural Chair of NACCHO from 1991 until his death.[1]

Puggy was the vice-chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council, the Federal Health Minister’s main advisory body on Aboriginal health established in 1996. He was also Chair of the National Public Health Partnership Aboriginal and Islander Health Working Group which reports to the Partnership and to the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council. He was a member of the Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council (APAC), the General Practice Partnership Advisory Council, the Joint Advisory Group on Population Health and the National Health Priority Areas Action Council as well as a number of other key Aboriginal health policy and advisory groups on national issues.[1]

The scheme provides scholarships for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people studying an entry level health course.

Applications for PHMSS 2019 scholarship round are now open.

Click the button below to start your online application.

APPLICATION

Applications must be completed and submitted before midnight AEDT (Sydney/Canberra time) Sunday 14 October 2018. After this time the system will shut down and any incomplete applications will be lost.

Eligible health areas

  • Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health work
  • Allied health (excluding pharmacy)
  • Dentistry/oral health (excluding dental assistants)
  • Direct entry midwifery
  • Medicine
  • Nursing; registered and enrolled

Eligibility criteria

Applications will be considered from applicants who are:

  • of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent
    Applicants must identify as and be able to confirm their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status.
  • enrolled or intending to enrol in an entry level or graduate entry level health related course
    Courses must be provided by an Australian registered training organisation or university. Funding is not available for postgraduate study.
  • intending to study in the academic year that the scholarship is offered.

A significant number of applications are received each year; meeting the eligibility criteria will not guarantee applicants a scholarship offer.

Value of scholarship

Funding is provided for the normal duration of the course. Full time scholarship awardees will receive up to $15,000 per year and part time recipients will receive up to $7,500 per year. The funding is paid in 24 fortnightly instalments throughout the study period of each year.

Selection criteria

These are competitive scholarships and will be awarded on the recommendation of the independent selection committee whose assessment will be based on how applicants address the following questions:

  • Describe what has been your driving influence/motivation in wanting to become a health professional in your chosen area.
  • Discuss what you hope to accomplish as a health professional in the next 5-10 years.
  • Discuss your commitment to study in your chosen course.
  • Outline your involvement in community activities, including promoting the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The scholarships are funded by the Australian Government, Department of Health and administered by the Australian College of Nursing. The scheme was established in recognition of Dr Arnold ‘Puggy’ Hunter’s significant contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and his role as Chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

Important links

Links to Indigenous health professional associations

Contact ACN

e scholarships@acn.edu.au
t 1800 688 628

National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Third edition) Workshop 10 October 

The RACGP and NACCHO invite you to a workshop to be held prior to GP18, that
will support your practice team to maximise the opportunity for the prevention of
disease at each health service visit.

A National Guide contributor and a cultural educator will discuss how best to utilise
the third edition of the National Guide when providing care for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people.

The workshop will also include a focus group exploring implementation of the
National Guide in both mainstream and Aboriginal Community Controlled Primary
Health Care Services (ACCHSs), as well as the characteristics of a culturally
responsive general practice.

Program

• Background and purpose of the National Guide
• Features of the National Guide, including:
• Recommendation tables
• Good practice points
• Evidence base
• Lifecycle wall chart
• Putting the National Guide

Date
Wednesday 10 October 2018

Time
Registration and lunch 12.00 pm
Workshop 12.30–4.00 pm

Venue
Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre
1711 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads

Cost
Free of charge

RSVP
Friday 5 October 2018

Registration essential

Registration
Email daniela.doblanovic@racgp.org.au
or call Daniela Doblanovic on 03 8699 0528.

We will then contact you to confirm

 

Now open: Aged Care Regional, Rural and Remote Infrastructure Grant opportunity.$500,000  closes 24 October 2018

This grant opportunity is designed to assist existing approved residential and home care providers in regional, rural and remote areas to invest in infrastructure. Commonwealth Home Support Programme services will also be considered, where there is exceptional need. Funding will be prioritised to aged care services most in need and where geographical constraints and significantly higher costs impede services’ ability to invest in infrastructure works.

Up to $500,000 (GST exclusive) will be available per service via a competitive application process.

Eligibility:

To be eligible you must be:

  • an approved residential or home care provider (as defined under the Aged Care Act 1997) or an approved Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) provider in exceptional circumstances (refer Frequently asked Questions) ; and
  • currently operating an aged care service located in Modified Monash Model Classification 3-7 or if a CHSP provider, the service is located in MMM 6-7. (MMM Locator).

More Info Apply 

The fourth annual Indigenous Business Month this year will celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in business, to coincide with the 2018 NAIDOC theme Because of Her, We Can.

Throughout October, twenty national Indigenous Business Month events will take place showcasing the talents of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women entrepreneurs from a variety of business sectors. These events aim to ignite conversations about Indigenous business development and innovation, focusing on women’s roles and leadership.

Indigenous Business Month is an initiative driven by the alumni of Melbourne Business School’s MURRA Indigenous Business Master Class, who see business as a way of providing positive role models for young Indigenous Australians and improving quality of life in Indigenous communities.

Since the launch of Indigenous Business Month in 2015, [1] the Indigenous business sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Australia delivering over $1 billion in goods and services for the Australian economy.

Jason Eades, Director, Consulting at Social Ventures Australia and Indigenous Business Month 2018 host said:

“It is a privilege to be involved in Indigenous Business Month, to be able to take the time to celebrate and acknowledge the great achievements of our Indigenous entrepreneurs and their respective businesses. Indigenous entrepreneurs are showing the rest of the world that we can do business and do it well, whilst maintaining our strong cultural values.”

The latest ABS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey 2014-15 shows that only 51.5 percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women participate in the workforce compared to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men at 65 percent.

The Australian Government has invested in a range of initiatives to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women entrepreneurs in the work-placeincluding: [2) Continued funding for girls’ academies in high schools, so that young women can realise their leadership potential, greater access to finance and business support suited to the needs of Indigenous businesses with a focus on Indigenous entrepreneurs and start-ups, and expanding the ParentsNextprogram and Fund pre-employment projects via the new Launch into Work program providing flexibility to meet the specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

Michelle Evans, MURRA Program Director AND Associate Professor of Leadership at the University of Melbourne said:

“The Indigenous Business Month’s aim is to inspire, showcase and engage the Indigenous business community. This year it is more significant than ever to support the female Indigenous business community and provide a platform for them to network and encourage young Indigenous women to consider developing a business as a career option.”

Indigenous Business Month runs from October 1 to October 31. Check out the website for an event near you (spaces are limited).

The initiative is supported by 33 Creative, Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre at the University of Melbourne, Iscariot Media, and PwC.

For more information on Indigenous Business Month visit

·         The Websitewww.indigenousbusinessmonth.com.au

·         Facebook

·         Twitter

·         LinkedIn

Wiyi Yani U Thangani Women’s Voices project.

June Oscar AO and her team are excited to hear from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls across the country as a part of the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Women’s Voices project.

Whilst we will not be able to get to every community, we hope to hear from as many women and girls as possible through this process. If we are not coming to your community we encourage you to please visit the Have your Say! page of the website to find out more about the other ways to have your voice included through our survey and submission process.

We will be hosting public sessions as advertised below but also a number of private sessions to enable women and girls from particularly vulnerable settings like justice and care to participate.

Details about current, upcoming and past gatherings appears below, however it is subject to change. We will update this page regularly with further details about upcoming gatherings closer to the date of the events.

Please get in touch with us via email wiyiyaniuthangani@humanrights.gov.au or phone on (02) 9284 9600 if you would like more information.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Pathways borders

Current gatherings

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls are invited to register for one of the following gatherings

Pathways borders

Upcoming gatherings

If your community is listed below and you would like to be involved in planning for our visit or would like more information, please write to us at wiyiyaniuthangani@humanrights.gov.au or phone (02) 9284 9600.

Location Dates
Port Headland October 2018
Newman October 2018
Dubbo TBC
Brewarrina TBC
Rockhampton TBC
Longreach TBC
Kempsey TBC

Pathways borders

 

Download HERE

2018 International Indigenous Allied Health Forum at the Mercure Hotel, Sydney, Australia on the 30 November 2018.

This Forum will bring together Indigenous and First Nation presenters and panellists from across the world to discuss shared experiences and practices in building, supporting and retaining an Indigenous allied health workforce.

This full-day event will provide a platform to share information and build an integrated approach to improving culturally safe and responsive health care and improve health and wellbeing outcomes for Indigenous peoples and communities.

Delegates will include Indigenous and First Nation allied health professionals and students from Australia, Canada, the USA and New Zealand. There will also be delegates from a range of sectors including, health, wellbeing, education, disability, academia and community.

MORE INFO 

AIDA Conference 2018 Vision into Action


Building on the foundations of our membership, history and diversity, AIDA is shaping a future where we continue to innovate, lead and stay strong in culture. It’s an exciting time of change and opportunity in Indigenous health.

The AIDA conference supports our members and the health sector by creating an inspiring networking space that engages sector experts, key decision makers, Indigenous medical students and doctors to join in an Indigenous health focused academic and scientific program.

AIDA recognises and respects that the pathway to achieving equitable and culturally-safe healthcare for Indigenous Australians is dynamic and complex. Through unity, leadership and collaboration, we create a future where our vision translates into measureable and significantly improved health outcomes for our communities. Now is the time to put that vision into action.

Registrations Close August 31

Healing Our Spirit Worldwide

Global gathering of Indigenous people to be held in Sydney
University of Sydney, The Healing Foundation to co-host Healing Our Spirit Worldwide
Gawuwi gamarda Healing Our Spirit Worldwidegu Ngalya nangari nura Cadigalmirung.
Calling our friends to come, to be at Healing Our Spirit Worldwide. We meet on the country of the Cadigal.
In November 2018, up to 2,000 Indigenous people from around the world will gather in Sydney to take part in Healing Our Spirit Worldwide: The Eighth Gathering.
A global movement, Healing Our Spirit Worldwidebegan in Canada in the 1980s to address the devastation of substance abuse and dependence among Indigenous people around the world. Since 1992 it has held a gathering approximately every four years, in a different part of the world, focusing on a diverse range of topics relevant to Indigenous lives including health, politics, social inclusion, stolen generations, education, governance and resilience.
The International Indigenous Council – the governing body of Healing Our Spirit Worldwide – has invited the University of Sydney and The Healing Foundation to co-host the Eighth Gathering with them in Sydney this year. The second gathering was also held in Sydney, in 1994.
 Please also feel free to tag us in any relevant cross posting: @HOSW8 @hosw2018 #HOSW18 #HealingOurWay #TheUniversityofSydney

2nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference 20-21 November Perth

” The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention and World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference Committee invite and welcome you to Perth for the second National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference, and the second World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference.

Our Indigenous communities, both nationally and internationally, share common histories and are confronted with similar issues stemming from colonisation. Strengthening our communities so that we can address high rates of suicide is one of these shared issues. The Conferences will provide more opportunities to network and collaborate between Indigenous people and communities, policy makers, and researchers. The Conferences are unique opportunities to share what we have learned and to collaborate on solutions that work in suicide prevention.

This also enables us to highlight our shared priorities with political leaders in our respective countries and communities.

Conference Website 

2019 Close the Gap for Vision by 2020 – National Conference 2019
Indigenous Eye Health and co-host Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) are pleased to announce the Close the Gap for Vision by 2020 – National Conference 2019 which will be held in Alice Springs, Northern Territory on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 March 2019 at the Alice Springs Convention Centre.
The 2019 conference will run over two days with the aim of bringing people together and connecting people involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander eye care from local communities, ACCOs, health services, non-government organisations, professional bodies and government departments from across the country. We would like to invite everyone who is working on or interested in improving eye health and care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
More information available at: go.unimelb.edu.au/wqb6 

NACCHO Aboriginal Health and #Nutrition : Download @HealthInfoNet review that confirms community involvement is the most important factor determining the success of Aboriginal food and nutrition programs

‘ It is important to note that from all the available evidence reviewed, that the most important factor determining the success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander food and nutrition programs is community involvement in the program initiation, development and implementation, with community members working in partnership across all stages of development’.

HealthInfoNet Director, Professor Neil Drew

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet (HealthInfoNet) at Edith Cowan University has published a new Review of programs and services to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition and food security.

Download

Review+of+programs+and+services+to+improve+Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+nutrition+and+food+security

This review is a companion document to the recent Review of nutrition among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people published in February 2018. It builds on the broad discussion in that review by capturing a wider sample of evaluated programs and services and providing more detail about successful programs.

Written by Amanda Lee from the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, The Sax Institute and Kathy Ride from the HealthInfoNet, the review highlights that improving diets, food supply and food security to better prevent and manage poor nutrition and diet-related disease is vital to the current and future health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This review identifies that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are motivated to tackle diet-related health issues and they recognise the importance of improving nutrition to prevent and manage growth faltering and chronic disease. However, community effort needs to be supported through the building of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition workforce, and adequate government investment of funds and policy commitment to sustain improvement of nutrition and diet-related health.

Improving diets, food supply and food security to better prevent and manage poor nutrition and diet-related disease is vital to the current and future health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people.

Effective action requires a whole-of-life approach, across the whole health continuum, including: preventive community interventions; public health nutrition policy actions; nutrition promotion; and quality clinical nutrition and dietetic services .

Previous reviews of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander food and nutrition programs have consistently noted the lack of availability of rigorously-evaluated interventions, especially with respect to long term evaluations .

Quality evaluations with practical recommendations are critical to helping the workforce build on what has been learnt. Evaluation reports and recommendations need to be publically available for policy makers and practitioners to learn from, apply and build on .

Other reviews have found that most nutrition interventions have focused on remote settings despite most Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people living in urban and regional areas.

Most of these employed a comprehensive, whole-of-population approach – combining provision and promotion of healthier options in community food stores with nutrition education – which was found to be effective .

As with all health programs, nutrition programs should be developed with the target communities, be delivered according to cultural protocols, be tailored to community needs, and not be forced, or perceived to be forced, upon communities (see Box 1)

A major success factor is community involvement in (and, ideally, control of) decisions relating to all stages of program initiation, development, implementation and evaluation [9; 10; 14]. Program implementation methods that build confidence among collaborating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous health agencies are fundamental to building capacity to enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition and health .

The typical short-term funding cycles experienced in this area are at odds with the time required for community stakeholders to develop capacity to mobilise and build momentum for specific interventions.

An effective ecological approach to chronic disease prevention also requires inter-organisational collaboration in planning and implementation . While many programs targeting nutritional issues are implemented as healthy lifestyle programs to address obesity, it must be remembered
that diet is more than a ‘lifestyle’ choice – it is determined by the availability of and access to healthy food, and by having the infrastructure, knowledge and skills to prepare healthy food.

To improve diet-related health sustainably it will be necessary to take a food systems approach .

The underlying factors influencing nutrition and food security in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities include socioeconomic factors such as income and employment opportunities, housing, over-crowding, transport, food costs, cultural food values, education, food and nutrition literacy, knowledge, skills and community strengths.

Key points

• Nutrition, public health and Indigenous health experts are calling for a nationwide, comprehensive, sustained effort to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition.

Primary prevention of diet-related disease and conditions

• The most effective community-based programs tend to adopt a multi-strategy approach, addressing both food supply (availability, affordability, accessibility and acceptability of foods), and demand for healthy foods.
• Supply of micronutrient supplements rather than food does not address the underlying issues of food insecurity, poor dietary patterns or high rates of obesity.
• The population health intervention of folate fortification of bread flour has had the desired effect of increasing folate status in the Australian Aboriginal population.
• Analysis of remote store sales data during the Northern Territory Emergency Response found that income management provided no beneficial impact in relation to purchasing of tobacco, soft drink or fruit and vegetables.
• Nutrition programs implemented at the community level mainly focus on improving food supply and/or increasing demand for healthy food.
• As with all health programs, all nutrition programs should be developed with communities, be delivered according to cultural protocols, be tailored to community needs, and be directed by the communities.

Primary health care and clinical nutrition and dietetic services

• Primary health care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people need to deliver both competent and culturally appropriate dietetic and chronic disease care.
• Health services run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities provide holistic care that is relevant to the local community and addresses the physical, social, spiritual and emotional health of the clients.
• The involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers has been identified by health professionals and patients as an important factor in the delivery of effective clinical care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including in dietetics and
nutrition education.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition workforce

• A trained, well-supported and resourced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nutrition workforce is essential to deliver effective interventions.
• It is estimated that less than 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have ever trained as nutritionists and/or dietitians in Australian universities.

NACCHO Example from Nhulundu Health Service

******************** W I N ********************
A $100 GROCERY VOUCHER & TUCKA-TIME GIFT PACK

To enter simply like our page, comment a photo showing us your healthy meal and share! 🍉🍊🍓🥦🥑

Giveaway closes 5pm Friday 16/10/18. Winners will be announced on 18/10/18. You can enter as many times as you wish, good luck to everyone!

Get healthy, get cooking and get snapping

 

NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Racism Debate : “Racism ‘alive and it’s kicking’ @June_Oscar Indigenous commissioner challenges Chin Tan our new @AusHumanRights Race Discrimination Commissioner’s stance

” I’m hearing from women and girls across the country that racism is one of the key emerging issues. I know from my own personal experiences that racism is alive and it’s kicking.”

“It’s critical that he as the new race discrimination commissioner is aware of the prevalence of racism across the country and it’s experiences from the everyday lived realities of women and girls and Indigenous peoples … and personal experiences of racism in the schoolyard and in public places,”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner June Oscar has declared that racism in Australia is “alive and it’s kicking” in response to comments by the nation’s newly appointed race discrimination commissioner that Australia is not a racist country.

“Calling out racism is very important, but I want to be very careful that we put things in context – because I do share a view that that can be overplayed sometimes,

It’s important to remember the race discrimination [commissioner] role is not meant to divide, it’s meant to enhance communities and strengthen them.”

In a clear departure from his predecessor,  Chin Leong Tan, Australia’s new race discrimination commissioner said there were limits to the power of “calling out” racism – even for the race discrimination commissioner. see interview Part 2 below 

 ” How do we balance the steps forward against the steps backwards to arrive at our answer that Australia is or isn’t a racist country? How we compare the arts against the justice system, or politics against social media?

How much weight do we give to the stated intentions of white people to the stated interpretations of non-white people? But these are not homogenous groups either. There are plenty of white people who understand racism exists, and then we have some people of colour who will say that they do not believe Australia is a racist country.

Racism is insidious. It impacts on people’s health, their education, housing and employment opportunities, and their sense of self and safety living in Australia.”

Luke Pearson is a Gamilaroi man, and is the founder and CEO of IndigenousX. see in full Part 3


NACCHO Aboriginal health and racism :

Read HERE : What are the impacts of racism on Aboriginal health ?

 

 WATCH June Oscar interview 

Article by Patricia Karvelas 

Key points:

  • June Oscar travelling across Australia to hear from Aboriginal and Torres Strait women
  • Indigenous people are often “watched and followed” in supermarkets
  • Aboriginal communities are being punished under a “racist” employment scheme

The Morrison Government’s newly appointed race discrimination commissioner Chin Leong Tan has rejected claims that Australia is a racist country ahead of assuming his official role on Monday.

The lawyer has also revealed he will not use his position to solicit complaints.

But in an interview with the ABC’s National Wrap program, Commissioner Oscar said that she will inform the new race discrimination commissioner of “encounters of institutional racism” that confront Indigenous peoples on a “daily basis”.

“It’s critical that he as the new race discrimination commissioner is aware of the prevalence of racism across the country and it’s experiences from the everyday lived realities of women and girls and Indigenous peoples … and personal experiences of racism in the schoolyard and in public places,” she said.

Commissioner Oscar said she would work with Commissioner Tan to ensure that people were aware of the processes available to them when they do encounter experiences of vilification and discrimination.

Indigenous people subjected to everyday racism

Data obtained by the ABC has revealed the impacts of how Indigenous communities are being punished under a “racist” employment scheme.

Unemployed job seekers can be docked up to $50 per day for missing work-for-the-dole activities.

But statistics show that places with higher numbers of Indigenous participants were issued with more penalties.

Commissioner Oscar questioned why the sector is treated in this manner, offering a grassroots solution.

“I think we can help to address the employment and the active engagement of participants who are on this program by supporting local organisations and creating innovative work-for-the-dole programs informed by the people who live in these communities,” she said.

“We know that the access to different forms of employment may vary across these communities but we certainly shouldn’t be penalising people who are living in poverty.”

Commissioner Oscar has been travelling the country with the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) project, which she hopes will “elevate” the voices of the nearly 2,000 women and girls she has encountered.

She identified “racist attitudes” experienced in public spaces like supermarkets as one of the key emerging issues raised, revealing her own personal encounters of “being watched and followed”.

“Why would someone select to a focus on, you know, my right in accessing these public places and not others who may appear to look differently to myself?”

The Commissioner will head to the Torres Strait next week, continuing conversations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women after her most recent sessions in far north Queensland, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.

The Women’s Voices project’s final report is expected to be handed down in mid-2019.

Interactive map: which regions are being issued with the most work-for-the-dole fines?

Part 2: ‘Balancing’ act: Australia’s new race commissioner is not inclined to commentary or advocacy

Chin Leong Tan, Australia’s new race discrimination commissioner, sees his role very differently to predecessor Tim Soutphommasane. For one thing, he is not inclined to commentary or advocacy. Instead, he approaches issues with a clinical dispassion befitting his background as a commercial and property lawyer. One of his favourite words is “balance”.

FROM SMH 

Take the most controversial debate in race politics last year: the bid to repeal or dilute section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which makes it unlawful to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person on the basis of race.

“It’s not for me to comment on legislation that’s been there for 40-odd years,” says Mr Tan, who takes up his new position today 8 October.

“Law is a living creature. If there’s the community sense that it’s time to perhaps look at some changes … my role is really to then arbitrate, and not to push for a view.”

When pushed, he praises section 18C as “a reflection of Australian values and views that we have”. But it is not clear if he believes those values should endure regardless of the prevailing sentiments in Canberra.

“I defend the existing section 18C for what it is … it’s there as a law and I comply with the law,” Mr Tan says.

It’s a similar story when it comes to African gang violence in Victoria. The debate has elicited claims of race-baiting and dog-whistling ahead of a state election – particularly directed at Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who claimed Melburnians were afraid to go out to restaurants at night.

“He has a view and he expressed it. People had opposing views. That’s largely the debate that’s going on out there,” Mr Tan says.

“It’s not my role to canvass an opinion about what politicians say from time to time, unless it becomes a public issue of a dimension that requires my involvement within the confines the Act.”

The clash with Dr Soutphommasane’s approach, particularly during his final months, could hardly be more stark. In his final speech, the former commissioner warned “race politics is back”, and singled out Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Dutton, Tony Abbott, Andrew Bolt and others for criticism.

Dr Soutphommasane is a former Labor staffer and was appointed to the role by Labor in the dying days of the second Rudd government. Mr Tan unsuccessfully sought Liberal Party preselection in an on-again, off-again relationship with the party – he said he resigned his membership about a month ago after resuming it last year.

Attorney-General Christian Porter praised Mr Tan as “a well-known and recognised leader in the multicultural community” who would “represent all Australians”.

In a clear departure from his predecessor, Mr Tan said there were limits to the power of “calling out” racism – even for the race discrimination commissioner.

“Calling out racism is very important, but I want to be very careful that we put things in context – because I do share a view that that can be overplayed sometimes,” he said.

“It’s important to remember the race discrimination [commissioner] role is not meant to divide, it’s meant to enhance communities and strengthen them.”

Mr Tan was born in Malaysia to Chinese parents, and migrated to Melbourne in the 1980s. After leaving commercial law in 2011, he headed the Victorian Multicultural Commission, and since 2015 he has been director of multicultural engagement at Swinburne University of Technology.

His new $350,000-a-year job sits within the Australian Human Rights Commission, which has been the focus of political argy-bargy since the Coalition’s spectacular falling out with former president Gillian Triggs over asylum seekers. Some conservatives argued for the race discrimination role to be scrapped or renamed, but the government opted to do neither.

Part 3 “Is Australia a racist country?”

From Indigenous X 

It’s a contentious question, and one that has no easy answer. (Well, it does have an easy answer – yes, but it takes some unpacking to understand the question and the answer).

First of all, what do we mean by ‘Australia’?

Do we mean 50% +1 of the total population? (or 50% + 1 of the white population?)

Are we talking about personal perspectives and experiences? One person in Australia might not see racism in their workplaces or their social groups. Or they might not define what they see as racism where someone else might. They might have all sorts of inbuilt response mechanisms they use to justify to themselves and to others how they couldn’t possibly be racist – ‘It was just a joke!’ ‘You’re being too sensitive’. ‘I didn’t mean it that way – you’re taking it out of context!’. ‘They can’t be racist, they are a lovely person!’. ‘I can’t be racist – I have an Aboriginal friend!’. ‘I can’t be racist, I’ve never even met an Aboriginal person!’. The list is endless.

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If a person experiences racism everyday of their lives is it fair for them to think ‘Australia is a racist country’? Especially if their experiences are compounded by the lack of other people standing up for them, or even believing them when they try to raise it.

Or is it not about individual or collective group experiences and is about ‘official Australia’, eg to what extent does racism exist in our public spaces and in our institutions? And importantly, how is racism responded to when it occurs.

How does Australia respond to racist people, or people who do racist things? Do we hold them accountable? Do we condemn them, fire them from their jobs, or do we elect them, promote them, or give them their own tv show?

There are examples of all of these that can be found. Which one you think happens more than others probably depends on who you listen to more. An average IndigenousX reader probably has a very different view on this than an average Andrew Bolt reader. But even that dichotomy isn’t clear cut. There are likely people who are reading this right now who do or say racist stuff, and there are probably Andrew bolt readers who don’t – not many, I admit, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility.

How does Australia respond to racist people, or people who do racist things? Do we hold them accountable? Do we condemn them, fire them from their jobs, or do we elect them, promote them, or give them their own tv show?

Australia, as a collective group of people, has competing forces and competing views. No one person best exemplifies an ‘average Aussie’, so answering the question ‘is Australia racist?’ is an almost impossible question to answer if we don’t qualify it and contextualise it.

That’s why it is such a great quote to use in media spaces, or in politics. It’s click bait. It’s a dog whistle. It means nothing but is guaranteed to cause a controversy and polarise people.

One person saying ‘Australia is not a racist country’ can mean something very different from someone else who says it. A person could be saying this to appeal to the common humanity and empathy that exists in most of us, or someone could be saying it to appeal to the fervour for racism denialism that is so strong in Australia. It can be said to dismiss lived experience, or to optimistically appeal to our greater humanity.  It’s so loaded now though (and maybe it always was) that anyone who says it, regardless of intent, will rightly be met with much eye rolling and dismissive responses. It is now the national equivalent of ‘I’m not racist but’ except it doesn’t even get a ‘but’.

And what about the ‘alarming rise in anti-white racism’ that Pauline Hanson and Mark Latham complain about? Well, that’s nonsense and we probably don’t need to spend much time on that one. It is definitely worth considering the rise in white nationalism that their racist nonsense represents though. The new trend on framing white people as the victims of racism to justify actual  racism, and how seemingly innocuous slogans like ‘It’s ok to be white’ are actually deeply embedded within white supremacist movements.

Shooting Jon Stewart GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

A better question might be to look at to what extent does it exist, and how is it responded to in Australia?

Racism in Australia exists. It exists in our institutions and in our public spaces. There are those who oppose it, but there is also a lot of racism among our self-proclaimed ‘white allies’. But how do we judge whether racism is growing or shrinking in Australia?

We have more black people commenting in the mainstream media on issues that affect black people, but we also have more people dying in custody. How do you balance that on the scales? We have governments spending more than ever on Indigenous businesses, but conversations about self-determination or reparations have entirely disappeared from federal politics.

How do we balance the steps forward against the steps backwards to arrive at our answer that Australia is or isn’t a racist country? How we compare the arts against the justice system, or politics against social media? How much weight do we give to the stated intentions of white people to the stated interpretations of non-white people? But these are not homogenous groups either. There are plenty of white people who understand racism exists, and then we have some people of colour who will say that they do not believe Australia is a racist country.

Racism is insidious. It impacts on people’s health, their education, housing and employment opportunities, and their sense of self and safety living in Australia.

Racism exists within our institutions and because so many white people deny it, and so many people of colour are uncomfortable discussing it for fear of the inevitable backlash it brings, and thanks to the myth of the meritocracy, this in turn perpetuates racism within our society.

We look at Aboriginal prison rates and label Aboriginal people as criminals rather than looking at racism in policing or in sentencing. We see Aboriginal suspension rates, or low attendance rates, in school and blame Aboriginal children and parents instead of looking at our curriculum, pedagogy, and how and when school policies are enforced.

We ignore Indigenous expertise and lived experiences and instead look at Aboriginal people as a problem to be solved through ‘carrot and stick’ approaches, usually with a big stick and tiny carrot. Instead of supporting Indigenous led solutions, we get Tony Abbott as our special envoy.

Speaking of Tony, we heard him when he was PM say that Australia was ‘nothing but bush’ before white people got here, or our current PM say that Australia was ‘born’ when white people got here, but we must remember that there are entire generations of white Australians who were taught the exact same thing when they were at schools. Some of those people are now teachers themselves. Or police, or judges, or doctors or nurses.

Aboriginal people were taught the same thing in school too, at least in the past generation or two where we’ve actually been allowed to attend. What lessons did we learn in school? That we were not respected, not good enough, not smart enough, not welcome. The same lesson we learn when we here our PMs talk so disrespectfully about us.

Racism is a vicious cycle.

We know its impacts affect intergenerational trauma, but its perpetuation is intergeneration too.

Racism is insidious. It impacts on people’s health, their education, housing and employment opportunities, and their sense of self and safety living in Australia. It isn’t just words and hurt feelings.

Anti-racism isn’t just saying that you oppose racism, it’s understanding what racism is and being aware of different strategies for responding it. Anti-racism isn’t just a value, it’s a skill set.

A skill set that I would expect a Race Discrimination Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission to have.

So, when our newest appointment to this role says that he doesn’t think Australia is a racist country, it does not fill me with confidence that he has the skills, or the desire, to help make Australia an anti-racist country.

Luke Pearson is a Gamilaroi man, and is the founder and CEO of IndigenousX.

 

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #ACCHO Deadly Good News stories : #NSW @Galambila ACCHO Keynote at #NATSIHWAsym18 #QLD @Apunipima #NT @MiwatjHealth #VIC Wathaurong ACCHO

1.National : Australian Digital Health Agency has produced a My Health Record animation for ACCHOs that has been translated into 13 different languages

2. NSW : Keynote at #NATSIHWAsym2018 Creating Value at Galambila ACCHO Aboriginal Health Service

3. QLD : The Apunipima ACCHO Cape York Social Emotional Wellbeing Team Walk to Raise Awareness of Mental Health

4.NT : Miwatj ACCHO Tackling Indigenous Smoking  Team were invited by Yalu to join a camp out at Ŋayawili Outstation

5. VIC : Aboriginal Community Health and Fitness Challenge comes to Wathaurong ACCHO

6.WA : Not good news : As PM Scott Morrison abandons WA’s remote communities

 

 View hundreds of ACCHO Deadly Good News Stories over past 6 years

Download the Interim Draft Program released 1 October 

NACCHO 7 Page Conference Program 2018_v3

MORE INFO AND REGISTER FOR NACCHO AGM

How to submit a NACCHO Affiliate  or Members Good News Story ?

Email to Colin Cowell NACCHO Media 

Mobile 0401 331 251

Wednesday by 4.30 pm for publication each Thursday /Friday

 

1.National : Australian Digital Health Agency has produced a My Health Record animation for ACCHOs that has been translated into 13 different languages:

Watch Translation 

  • Yolngu matha (NT – Arnhem Land)
  • Pitjanytjatjarra  (NT, SA and WA – APY Lands)
  • Arrernte (NT – Central desert)
  • Warlpiri (NT – Central desert)
  • Gurindji Kriol (NT – North/central west region)
  • Roper River Kriol (NT – North/central east region)
  • Tiwi (NT – Tiwi Islands)
  • Murrinh Patha  (NT – Port Keats region)
  • Kunwinjku (NT – Arnhem Land)
  • Alyawarr (NT – Central desert)
  • Anindilyakwa (NT – Groote Eylandt)
  • Pintupi Luritja (NT, WA – APY Lands)
  • Burarra (NT – Arnhem Land)

You can check them out here 

2. NSW : Keynote at #NATSIHWAsym2018 Creating Value at Galambila ACCHO Aboriginal Health Service

 ” No matter where I worked, there were cultural clashes that caused division in workplaces especially in Aboriginal Affairs because of the risk factor politically and socially”

Kristine Garrett CEO Galambila ACCHO is from Central Queensland with ancestral ties to the Wulli Wulli and the Darumbal people of the region and was a keynote speaker for NATSIHWA Professional Development Symposium 2018, ‘Engaging our Workforce’, the focus was on upskilling  Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners through a series of interactive workshops. 

Originally Published Indigenous X

For most of my career I have travelled up and down the east coast of Australia doing different jobs. At the age of 27 I was living and working on the Block in Redfern. I was there when the Eora Centre (back then it was the Visual and Performing College) was just being built. They were radical times – one Radio Redfern Tagline ‘The Station that make your Black Hearts Burn’. Nostalgic I know but, them were the days.

In 2013 I was fortunate to be offered the CEO Position at Galambila in Coffs Harbour New South Wales. As someone from off-country, and a Murrie to boot, you have to work hard on community and kinship protocols.

No matter what age you have to walk the culture path, be humble, pay respect to elders, ask where you can or cannot go and ask what community want to see at their organisation. Sometimes it is something very simple like offering a cup of tea.

Building rapport is sometimes based on unwritten codes – we are still oral people and so much is dependant on what we say and do; or we do what we say. Some family groups already knew me from the Redfern days or had ways of finding out about me. So my transition was slow and I really wanted to gain an insight into the community and the organisation.

No matter where I worked, there were cultural clashes that caused division in workplaces especially in Aboriginal Affairs because of the risk factor politically and socially. Sometimes subtle organisational norms, other times quite blatant practices bordering on racism, and sometimes we as Aboriginal people are too accepting of the racial overtones.

My observations at Galambila that initially bio-medical constructs dominated the culture of our organisation and it caused tension across into other areas. Our Aboriginal workforce are from the community so they faced the same social disadvantage, sometimes they are the only income of the extended family, at times they cannot pay bills, they face violence and as a CEO I too carry a cultural load..

What occurs when tensions are driven from multiple identities; bio-medical, political, social and individualised, it becomes unclear what we stand for as an organisation.

We face those tensions today especially relating to Traditional Medicine. Even today I continue with my debate about traditional medicine; we can place a bowl of Apples on the reception table and say ‘this is good for you’ and yet we can’t say the same for Wattle Tree Tea, Sarsprilla Vine or even my go to herb native Gumbi Gumbi.

Is it that they haven’t been studied? Or is it because they haven’t been grafted and commercialised? I am yet to find the answer so I continue to stimulate the conversation.

The World Health Organisation has established guidelines for alternative approaches, acupuncture etc and we are sometimes too slow to capitalise on our opportunities. It becomes a resourcing issue always doing the urgent rather than the important things.

Major changes were introduced in 2014 at Galambila. The Aboriginal Workforce moved to front-line services, it didn’t matter whether the workers were drivers, facility maintenance workers, receptionist, admin, doctors, nurses, Aboriginal Health Workers, Board members, community members or other key stakeholders everybody could have a say.

The challenge was we were no closer to knowing what we stood for as an organisation. We needed a framework to bind all the differencing of opinions to identify our true essence of what we say and do.

Through a quality framework ‘Yiidagay Darundaygu’ (Gumbaynggir Language ‘Always becoming good for a Purpose’). The Cultural Integrity was formed and we are still working on it today.

Giinagay is hello in Gumbaynggir Language – our Board were the real drivers to the introduction of Gumbaynggir Language across the organisation as it provides a connection, automatically when you engage with Galambila you are part of something wonderful.

Galambila’s Image is paramount we are no longer known as Gamin-billa, our business is to care and sometimes that is as simple as a smile when you walk into the Clinic, offering a cup of tea.  Laughter is the sweet sound of success not forgetting Galambila is also a place where we can cry. Giinagay is hello in Gumbaynggir Language – our Board were the real drivers to the introduction of Gumbaynggir Language across the organisation as it provides a connection, automatically when you engage with Galambila you are part of something wonderful.

What has been an unexpected benefit to our approach, has been Galambila serving an active Aboriginal Clients demographic representing 87% of the Aboriginal population on the Coffs Coast.  Our medicare income has tripled over 4 years. To lead collectively is a willingness to dream for the same things. With a stable Board of Directors, fantastic management, solid staff and loyalty to our community anything is possible – but be warned it is a lot of hard bloody work.

Awesome address by Tyson Morris who started at Galambila Health Service with no qualifications. He now has a Cert 4 in Fitness and completed his clinical training. Galambila is all about up skilling and providing training and study for all their Health Workers.

 

3. QLD : The Apunipima ACCHO Cape York Social Emotional Wellbeing Team Walk to Raise Awareness of Mental Health

Conquer the Corrugations – Cape York Mental Health Awareness Walk, has just completed its fourth annual walk from Coen to Archer River in Cape York and Apunipima Cape York Health Council (Apunipima) were proud sponsors and participants in this year’s event.

Completed over two days, walkers and horse riders, complete the 42 kilometres from Coen to Archer River Roadhouse, camping overnight, just beyond the halfway point on a cattle station.

The 2018 event marks the third year that Maureen Liddy, Apunipima’s Social Emotional Wellbeing Team Leader in Coen has completed the challenge. This year she led a team of Apunipima staff from Coen and Cairns in their first Conquer the Corrugations walk.

“The walk is a good way to demonstrate that with determination we can overcome and achieve anything.” Maureen said.

“It’s important to raise the awareness of mental health in the Cape and this event does a great job getting the message out.” Said Maureen.

Maureen said that even though the event was both a physical and mental challenge, there was support each step of the way from fellow walkers and the organisers.

“People really come together to cheer each other on, give a hug if it’s needed or simply listen to your story while you walk. Often that is all you need to do to help someone whose mental health is suffering.” Maureen added.

Emma Jackson one of the organisers of Conquer the Corrugations, said that the walk was a way to demonstrate that life is a series of ups and downs, just like the corrugations in a dirt road.

“There may be down times, but there will also be up times and if we save one life, if we help one person get the help they need, the event is a success.” Emma said.

“The reason that I am so passionate about this event, is because I want my children to know that it is OK to not be OK all of the time, and to know that there is always someone you can talk to about how you are feeling.” Emma added.

Rachel McIvor and Randall Fyfe, from Apunipima Social Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) Centre in Coen were the backbone of the team ensuring that the Apunipima walkers did not need to worry about a chair, or bed at the end of the long days over the long weekend. Rachel also participated on the second day by walking hand in hand with each member of the team across the line in true team spirit.

Maureen’s passion for the event and her determination to walk the entire distance this year, won her the people’s choice award “Spirit of the Walk.” The final 19 kilometres of the walk Maureen completed in socks and thongs, because of the large blisters she developed on day one. That is the spirit of the walk!

“I may be a bit stiff and sore, but I’ll be back next year.”

We have no doubt that Maureen will be one of the first to register for the 2019 Conquer the Corrugations and her infectious enthusiasm will ensure that Apunipima is well represented at next year’s event.

4.NT : Miwatj ACCHO Tackling Indigenous Smoking  Team were invited by Yalu to join a camp out at Ŋayawili Outstation.

Last week, Glen, Oscar and Tarlissa from the Miwatj TIS Team were invited by Yalu to join a camp out at Ŋayawili Outstation.

Our TIS team provided a lot of education on the harmful effects of smoking and the long-term consequences. #StartTheJourney #MiwatjHealth

 

5. VIC : Aboriginal Community Health and Fitness Challenge comes to Wathaurong ACCHO 

 Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative is proud to be launching I Dare Ya!, a free Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing program for the Geelong Community.

With six weeks, six ‘Deadly Dares’ and six fun workouts to challenge yourself and one grouse piece of merchandise up for grabs, I Dare Ya is the most fun you’ll ever have shaking up your health and wellbeing!

Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative invites the Geelong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community to join in I Dare Ya. Learn from Health Professionals about how to create sustainable change, be inspired by motivational speakers who have turned their health around and meet new people on the journey to living their most deadly and healthy lives.

I Dare Ya is a localized and culturally based health promotion program that addresses the growing rates of physical inactivity, obesity and chronic disease in the Aboriginal Community but is the one behavior change program they can’t wait to be apart of!

“With over 50 registrations already, it is the whole of Community and after hours approach that is driving the successful uptake of I Dare Ya” says Laura Thompson, a Gunditjmara woman and managing director of Spark Health.

Each week we will take on a different topic to help us reach our goals before getting moving. We have something for every fitness level. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out or running marathons – we’ve got you covered!

Registrations are open for I Dare Ya and more information can be found at

https://sparkhealth.com.au/pages/i-dare-ya

Week One of I Dare Ya kicks off on Thursday 11th October at Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative (62 Morgan Street, North Geelong VIC 3215).

The Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Op are excited to be partnering with Spark Health to launch I Dare Ya in Geelong. “We are proud to offer innovative opportunities for our Community to come together to be healthy, strong and deadly role models. We can’t wait to see everyone there!

  • Free Six Week Health and Wellbeing Program at Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative (62 Morgan Street, Geelong North)
  • Dates: Thursday 11th October to Thursday 15th November 2018.
  • Six Weeks, Six Deadly Dares, Six Fun Workouts, One piece of grouse merch!
  • Registrations now open: www.surveymonkey.com/r/iDareYa
  • Kids welcome, families encouraged to come together.

About Spark Health:

Spark Health is an Aboriginal-led health promotion, Aboriginal Community engagement and communications social enterprise who are experts in designing engaging and innovative Community based programs that add years to peoples’ lives.

At Spark, we are excited about health and believe in the change and ripple effect of a healthy lifestyle in closing the gap.

www.sparkhealth.com.au

About Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative:

The Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative Ltd was formed by the community in 1978 to support the social, economic, and cultural development of Aboriginal people, particularly within the Geelong and surrounding areas.

The Co-operative provides a range of services including; family and community services, support to young people, justice support services; cultural heritage services, and health services.  The Co-operative expanded to include a Community Controlled Health Service, which contributes toward addressing the inequality in health status of Aboriginal people. The Wathaurong Health Service supports the general well-being of Aboriginal people by providing holistic health care with clinical and primary care services as well as health promoting activities. Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative Ltd is the largest employer of Aboriginal people within the Geelong region.

www.wathaurong.org.au

6.WA : Not good news : As PM Scott Morrison abandons WA’s remote communities

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s obstinate defence of the Commonwealth Government’s axing of funding to support about 165 remote communities in Western Australia, illustrates his indifference for some of Australia’s most vulnerable people.

Housing Minister Peter Tinley was responding to the Prime Minister’s assertion today that support for remote housing is purely a State responsibility, following the expiration of a $1.2 billion, 10-year joint funding agreement between the Commonwealth and WA on June 30.

The Commonwealth has a 50-year history of supporting remote communities – many of which were established in WA as a result of Federal Government policy.

Under the terms of the former agreement, the Commonwealth contributed about $100 million annually to support the approximately 12,000 people living in 165 remote communities in WA.

The State Government’s annual contribution totals almost $90 million to support and maintain the nation’s most distributed population.

The WA Government has been trying to negotiate a new long-term funding agreement but the Commonwealth has consistently indicated it wants to walk away from any further involvement in funding WA’s remote communities.

Comments attributed to Housing Minister Peter Tinley:

“Premier Mark McGowan wrote to then PM Malcolm Turnbull in May this year to try to gain an agreed outcome to negotiations for a new long-term deal to support remote communities.

“He never got a reply. So last month he wrote to the new PM, Mr Morrison, reiterating the State’s position and asking for his personal intervention to resolve the issue. He is still to receive a reply to that letter.

“Yet today, we see the PM waltzing around Perth declaring that support for vulnerable Western Australians is no longer in the interests of the Commonwealth and that remote housing funding is purely a State responsibility.

“Walking away from a long-term funding agreement for remote communities will leave a $400 million hole in WA’s forward estimates and abandon thousands of Western Australians to further distress.”