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#NACCHOagm2017 Aboriginal Health Conference : Media Alert : Hear our national #ACCHO ” Voices ” in Canberra this week

  ” Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation leaders and health experts from across Australia will come together in Canberra this week to examine key policy issues and projects that are making a difference in closing the gap in Indigenous health.

The theme of the conference is Our Health Counts: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

NACCHO would like to acknowledge that we will be gathering on the traditional Ngunnawal and Ngambri lands and acknowledge owner’s past, present and future “

Download the full conference program here https://www.nacchoconference.com.au/program/

 The NACCHO Members’ Conference and AGM will provide a forum for our Aboriginal community controlled health (ACCHO ) 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.

Social Media

Follow on Twitter: #NACCHOagm2017 @NACCHOAustralia

Facebook : A limited number of sessions and interviews will be broadcast via our FACEBOOK Page @NacchoAboriginalHealth

National Media Contact: Jenny Stokes 0478 504 280

NACCHO Social Media: Colin Cowell 0401 331 251

NACCHO Contact at Conference: Oliver Tye 0450 956 942

Download the full conference program here https://www.nacchoconference.com.au/program/

The conference will also:

  • Launch a new Memorandum of Understanding between NACCHO and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia to improve access to medicine for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • Reveal what the 2016 Census statistics tell us about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
  • Launch the Mayi Kuwayu Study – an Aboriginal led longitudinal survey of more than 400,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults to provide the first large scale evidence of relationship between cultural engagement and health
  • Highlight PWC’s landmark report into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island incarceration rates.

The conference will be opened by the Secretary of the Department of Health, Glenys Beauchamp and Professor Brendan Murphy will later address delegates about an Enhanced Multijurisdictional Response to Sexually Transmitted Infections and Blood Borne Viruses in Indigenous Communities.

Background : We honour on our conference poster  the first Aboriginal ” Voices to go to Canberra”

 ” Jimmy Clements and another Wiradjuri man, John Noble were one of the earliest practitioners of what the politics of visibility, of being present where you are not meant to be and where your presence creates discomfort.

Regardless of whether they were as unaware or indifferent to the meaning of the event, as is often suggested, their presence was a powerful act, contesting claims of the erasure of Indigenous people from the land and place.”

For its poignancy and historical significance, is the image of Jimmy Clements, an old Wiradjuri man, sitting in the dust with his dogs and holding an Australian ensign, at the 1927 opening of Parliament House in Canberra.

A few days later the Canberra Times – again with an emphasis on Indigenous connection to country – reported:

“Where his dusky forebears have gathered in native ceremonial for centuries past, a lone representative of a fast diminishing race saluted visiting royalty. Despite the grotesque garb and untamed mane, the Aborigine comported himself not without dignity. With his three faithful dogs, he made an immediate target for a battery of cameras.”

Jimmy Clements (c. 1847 – 28 August 1927) was an Aboriginal elder from the Wiradjuri tribe , and was present at the opening of the Provisional Parliament House in Canberra on 9 May 1927.

He was also known as “King Billy”[1] and also by Nangar or Yangar.[2]

Clements and another Wiradjuri man, John Noble, had walked for nearly a week over the mountains from Brungle Mission near Gundagai, New South Wales.[3]

The two men were the only indigenous people to attend the first opening of parliament.

Clements was initially told to move on by police at the ceremony due to his attire but due to popular support from other members of the crowd he was among prominent citizens who were presented to the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother).[1]

The National Archives of Australia describes it as “possibly the first recorded instance of Aboriginal protest at Parliament House in Canberra”.

It was the precursor to so much activism – from the 1938 Day of Mourning, the fight for recognition and much else in 1967, and the ongoing battle for land rights that manifested with the enduring tent embassy, just across the road, on Australia Day 1972.

The sign out front reads: Sovereignty never ceded.

Monash University’s Maryrose Casey wrote of Clements and Noble in the International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies: “Regardless of whether they were as unaware or indifferent to the meaning of the event, as is often suggested, their presence was a powerful act, contesting claims of the erasure of Indigenous people from the land and place.

Clements died on 28 August 1927, aged 80, in Queanbeyan, New South Wales near Canberra

See Guardian Article

 

NACCHO Aboriginal Health and the Referendum #Ulurustatement : PM rejects ‘#Indigenousvoice’ to parliament

 ” The Referendum Council said the Voice to Parliament was a “take it or leave it” proposal for the Parliament and the Australian people. We do not agree.

The Council’s proposal for an Indigenous representative assembly, or Voice, is new to the discussion about constitutional change, and dismissed the extensive and valuable work done over the past decade – largely with bipartisan support.

We are confident that we can build on that work and develop Constitutional amendments that will unite our nation rather than establish a new national representative assembly open to some Australians only.”

Prime Ministers Press Release Response to Referendum Council’s report on Constitutional Recognition see in full Part 3 Below or Download HERE

PM response

“Yet again after a decade of discussions and millions of dollars spent on Constitutional Recognition it is unfortunate we have come to this. We have come to a point where seemingly no action will be taken.”

The Prime Minister already understands that a minimalist approach will not satisfy many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

The Uluru Statement Working Group (USWG) is clearly disappointed about the news of the Turnbull Cabinet rejecting the Referendum Council’s blueprint.  says USWG Co-Chair Josephine Crawshaw See full release Part 2

‘The Prime Minister is still committed to recognition within the constitution.

‘We are not at a point of despair, it is a point of opportunity that still prevails and will still exist in options that are available to both the government and the opposition that recognises Aboriginal people as being a part of the history of this nation.’

Minister for Indigenous Health Ken Wyatt told Sky News a voice for Indigenous Australians is still feasible within other ways and means

 

” We are pleased to release the Final Report of the Referendum Council, a body established in 2015 to provide guidance on constitutional change to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

This is an issue of importance to all Australians, and one that deserves careful and thorough consideration.”

Malcolm Turnbull  and Bill Shorten Joint Press Release (see separate comments below part 2 and 3 ) July 17

Download Here  Referendum_Council_Final_Report

Part 1 Media Coverage ABC

The Prime Minister has dashed hopes for a referendum to establish a new Indigenous advisory body, saying the idea is neither “desirable or capable of winning acceptance”.

The decision has been met by anger among Indigenous people from across the country who endorsed the landmark Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The Uluru proposal was rejected at Cabinet five months on from the historic constitutional summit in Central Australia.

The Government has now formally rejected the key recommendation of the Referendum Council — a report it commissioned to consult widely with Indigenous people on constitutional change.

Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday said in a statement a new advisory body “would inevitably become seen as a third chamber of Parliament”.

“Our democracy is built on the foundation of all Australian citizens having equal civic rights, all being able to vote for, stand for and serve in either of the two chambers of our national Parliament — the House of Representatives and the Senate,” the statement said.

“A constitutionally enshrined additional representative assembly for which only Indigenous Australians could vote for or serve in is inconsistent with this fundamental principle.”

Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt denied the Government had been cowardly.

“It’s a pragmatic level of thinking about the reality of what will fly with the Australian people and what won’t,” he said.

“That’s a real kick in the guts for the Referendum Council and certainly a slap in the face of those proponents,” shadow assistant minister Pat Dodson said.

Senator Dodson said he hoped the Uluru convention’s other main proposal — for a treaties commission outside of the constitution — was not junked.

He pointed to reports earlier this decade that called for racial sections of the constitution to be removed, along with a statement acknowledging First Peoples.

Senator Dodson co-chaired an expert panel, which in 2012 suggested repealing a section that allows Parliament to make laws for racial groups, and scrapping another part that contemplates excluding specific races from voting.

Timing on Uluru anniversary ‘unfortunate’, Minister concedes

The Government’s announcement it would reject the proposal came on the 32nd anniversary of Uluru being handed over to its traditional owners.

Indigenous Affair Minister Nigel Scullion said the timing was unfortunate and was only because information was leaked to the media.

He said Cabinet had no choice but to block the proposal.

“We know it would have absolutely zero chance of success … the only other alternative would be death by process,” Mr Scullion said.

“I don’t need evidence … we have done a lot of polling, not on this particular is matter, but on other matters.

“Evidence is a long string, I’m not going to point that we do or don’t have. It’s our instincts.”

‘Turnbull has broken our hearts’

Mr Turnbull said he would establish a joint parliamentary committee with the Opposition to examine alternative proposals for constitutional change to benefit Indigenous people.

But the Referendum Council’s Noel Pearson described the decision as devastating for the Indigenous community.

“I think Malcolm Turnbull has broken the First Nations hearts of this country, expressed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart,” Mr Pearson said.

“He accused John Howard of doing that in 1999 and he has done the same thing in relation to recognition of Indigenous Australians.”

Victoria’s Aboriginal Affairs Minister Natalie Hutchins said the Federal Government had turned its back on Aboriginal people.

“To have gone to the lengths of setting up an advisory council and then totally rejecting what has come forward, it just makes you wonder where their commitment to Aboriginal Australians is,” she said.

Joe Morrison from the Northern Land Council said the Government had taken a step backwards.

“I think the Parliament’s failed the nation in terms of providing the requisite level of leadership here, and I think Prime Minister Turnbull needs to explain himself,” he said.

“The proposal that was created out of Uluru was … a key part but there was also the truth and justice-telling. But they were also laying the foundations for the substantial changes to the constitution.”

Josie Crawshaw, a child protection advocate and a delegate at Uluru, said she was deeply disappointed.

“While our children are languishing in the jails and our communities are poverty-stricken, they’ve just wasted 10 years of a conversation, and tens of millions of dollars, to shelve this,” she said.

Rod Little, co-chairman of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, said: “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been let down once again.”

Part 2 The Uluru Statement Working Group (USWG) is clearly disappointed about the news of the Turnbull Cabinet rejecting the Referendum Council’s blueprint.

USWG Co-Chair Josephine Crawshaw expressed a sense of this situation being like ground hog day for the First Nations People. That disappointment is shared by USWG Co-Chair Suzanne Thompson, although Thompson said that “her people were patient people.”

“Yet again,” Crawshaw said “after a decade of discussions and millions of dollars spent on Constitutional Recognition it is unfortunate we have come to this. We have come to a point where seemingly no action will be taken.”

The Prime Minister already understands that a minimalist approach will not satisfy many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Kirribilli Statement made this abundantly clear in past years.

Our aspirations are high, but the Prime Minister appears to believe that the Australian people will not support these aspirations. This is a very unfortunate view for the Prime Minister to hold, particularly when he has the highest platform to inspire all Australians to achieve great things for this country and for all its people.

The Uluru Statement Working Group has a mandate. This mandate came from 250 delegates that participated in a comprehensive series of dialogues around the country. These delegates have entrusted the USWG with ensuring that the government does not overlook what they have asked.

The Referendum Council may have finished it’s task, but the USWG certainly has not. We fight on to ensure that the aspirations in the Uluru Statement from the Heart be progressed. USWG seeks to establish a Makaratta Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.

Thompson points out how lopsided many of the current Governments priorities and funding commitments appear to be at present. “When looking at the other big issues, such a Marriage Equality,” Thompson stated, “it seems that considerable time, money and effort can be found by the current government.”

In contrast, a commitment to address the fundamental issue of Constitutional recognition appears to be waning. Worse still, political “leaders” are not taking onboard the ideas and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are being pushed aside, time and time again.

Part 3 Press Release

Prime Minister – The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP

Attorney General – Senator The Hon. George Brandis QC

Minister for Indigenous Affairs – Senator The Hon. Nigel Scullion

The Turnbull Government has carefully considered the Referendum Council’s call to amend the Constitution to provide for a national Indigenous representative assembly to constitute a “Voice to Parliament”.

The Government does not believe such an addition to our national representative institutions is either desirable or capable of winning acceptance in a referendum.

Our democracy is built on the foundation of all Australian citizens having equal civic rights – all being able to vote for, stand for and serve in either of the two chambers of our national parliament – the House of Representatives and the Senate.

A constitutionally enshrined additional representative assembly for which only Indigenous Australians could vote for or serve in is inconsistent with this fundamental principle.

It would inevitably become seen as a third chamber of Parliament. The Referendum Council noted the concerns that the proposed body would have insufficient power if its constitutional function was advisory only.

The Referendum Council provided no guidance as to how this new representative assembly would be elected or how the diversity of Indigenous circumstance and experience could be fairly or democratically represented.

Moreover, the Government does not believe such a radical change to our constitution’s representative institutions has any realistic prospect of being supported by a majority of Australians in a majority of States.

The Government believes that any proposal for constitutional change should conform to the principles laid down by the 2012 Expert Panel, namely that any proposal should “be capable of being supported by an overwhelming majority of Australians from across the political and social spectrums”.

The Referendum Council said the Voice to Parliament was a “take it or leave it” proposal for the Parliament and the Australian people. We do not agree.

The Council’s proposal for an Indigenous representative assembly, or Voice, is new to the discussion about constitutional change, and dismissed the extensive and valuable work done over the past decade – largely with bipartisan support.

We are confident that we can build on that work and develop Constitutional amendments that will unite our nation rather than establish a new national representative assembly open to some Australians only.

The challenge remains to find a Constitutional amendment that will succeed, and which does not undermine the universal principles of unity, equality and “one person one vote”.

We have listened to the arguments put forward by proponents of the Voice, and both understand and recognise the desire for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to have a greater say in their own affairs.

We acknowledge the values and the aspirations which lie at the heart of the Uluru Statement. People who ask for a voice feel voiceless or feel like they’re not being heard. We remain committed to finding effective ways to develop stronger local voices and empowerment of local people.

Our goal should be to see more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians serving in the House and the Senate – members of a Parliament which is elected by all Australians.

The Government has written in response to Mr Shorten’s call for a Joint Select Committee, and have asked that the committee considers the recommendations of the existing bodies of work developed by the Expert Panel (2012), the Joint Select Committee on Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (2015) and the Referendum Council report (2017).

The Coalition continues to aim to work in a bipartisan way to support Constitutional recognition.

NACCHO Aboriginal Health News Alert : Download the $33.4 Billion 2017 Indigenous Expenditure Report :

 ” Australia’s failure to meet Closing the Gap targets or to design policies that help improve the lives of Indigenous Australians means that governments need to pick up the slack.

 We are spending more than we would like on reacting to disadvantage (for example, A$4.1 billion on “public order and safety”) compared to activities that reduce disadvantage (for example, only A$1.3 billion on tertiary education or A$411 million on early childhood education).

What we still don’t know (and can’t extrapolate from this report) is whether the money we are spending on Indigenous Australians is having any positive impact whatsoever. This report certainly doesn’t provide the data or the level of policy rigour to answer that much more important question.

More targeted information and higher-quality evaluations are urgently needed. Crucially, Indigenous peoples need to be involved at all stages to provide more meaningful answers.”

From the Conversation

 ” An estimated $33.4 billion of Australian, State and Territory government expenditure was spent on services provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2015-16, according to the 2017 Indigenous Expenditure Report.

Around 18 per cent of this expenditure was on targeted programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and the remainder was through non-targeted, or mainstream, services.”

Download the Report HERE and read Commission press release PART 2 below

2017 Indigenous Expenditure Report $33 Billion

Share of funding to Indigenous-run groups falls over past nine years

Australian funding to other organisations earmarked as Indigenous spending has increased by one third

Reports The Guardian

The proportion of funding that goes directly to Indigenous-run organisations has fallen over the past nine years, while funding to other organisations that is earmarked as Indigenous spending has increased by one third.

The social researcher Eva Cox said the decreased portion of targeted Indigenous funding was concerning. “We do know that Indigenous-specific services do tend to deliver on outcomes,” she told Guardian Australia.

Cox said the focus should not be on how much money was spent but on where and how it was spent, and which organisations received the funding.

Indigenous expenditure accounts for 6% of total expenditure, while Indigenous Australians make up 3.2% of the population. That was an understandable and necessary concentration of funding, Cox said, because it addressed an area of higher need.

“It’s obvious if we are going to deal with a population that is isolated and has entrenched levels of disadvantage then it’s going to cost us more,” she said. “And it should cost us more money but it should be well spent.”

She said the implication from successive government reports, including a damning Australian National Audit Office report on the federal government’s flagship Indigenous advancement strategy, was that money had not been well

“Continuing to spend the money does not necessarily mean that the services are well thought out, well-placed, or well-delivered,” she said.

Melbourne University researcher Elise Klein said targeted funding was necessary to address structural disadvantages faced by vulnerable groups.

“Just to direct funds towards Indigenous programs isn’t enough,” Klein said. “It again matters the kinds of programs that are being funded – just because they say they are doing good doesn’t mean they are. It also matters about who is delivering the programs as there has been a dramatic decrease (and in some cases cessation) of funding to Indigenous community organisations.

“For example only 46% of organisations funded under the Indigenous advancement strategy are Indigenous – receiving only 55% of the total funding.”

The Northern Territory had the highest rate of targeted Indigenous funding nationally, with $20,348 of the $65,929 spent per person directed toward Indigenous-specific services. The Territory also had the highest per person spending, because of higher levels of chronic need and the greater cost of delivering services to remote areas.

Of the bigger states, New South Wales and Queensland directed the lowest proportion of funding toward Indigenous-specific services, with 12% and 15% respectively.

However, both states had the highest overall Indigenous expenditure, with NSW spending $9bn, or $38,452 per person, while Queensland spent $8.5bn or $40,350 per person.

Part 2 Productivity Commission Press Release

Since 2008-09 (and after adjusting for inflation), targeted expenditure has remained relatively constant at around $6.0 billion, while expenditure on mainstream services has increased by almost one-third (from $20.9 billion to $27.4 billion).

Per head of total population, expenditure (targeted and mainstream) equated to $44 886 per Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian, around twice the rate for non- Indigenous Australians ($22 356) and similar to ratios previously reported back to 2008 -09.

 

Around two-thirds of the higher per person expenditure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians is accounted for by greater intensity of service use (reflecting greater need and younger age profile), with the remaining one-third accounted for by the higher cost of providing services (such as in remote locations).

Peter Harris, Chairman of the Productivity Commission and Chair of the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision emphasised the importance of robust, public evaluations to understand the adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of government spending, something which is outside the scope of this report.

‘Understanding which policies and programs deliver outcomes effectively is vital for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Australians, and all Australians. Without understanding what works and why, we cannot say if money is being well spent’ he said.

The full suite of information on this report, including the report, data tables and a ‘how to’ video for accessing the 2017 report data can be found at:

http://www.pc.gov.au/ier2017

The report is produced by the Productivity Commission for the Steering Committee

Background Related Productivity report

Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2016

The Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report measures the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

This comprehensive report card measures where things have improved (or not) against 52 indicators across a range of areas including governance, leadership and culture, early childhood, education, health, home and safe and supportive communities, and includes case studies on things that work to improve outcomes.

The report is produced in consultation with all Australian governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

The 2016 report was released on 17 November 2016

This report measures the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and was produced in consultation with governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Around 3 per cent of the Australian population are estimated as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin (based on 2011 Census data).

Outcomes have improved in a number of areas, including some COAG targets. For indicators with new data for this report:

  • Mortality rates for children improved significantly between 1998 and 2014, particular for 0<1 year olds, whose mortality rates more than halved (from 14 to 6 deaths per 1000 live births).
  • Education improvements included increases in the proportion of 20–24 year olds completing year 12 or above (from 2008 to 2014-15) and the proportion of 20–64 year olds with or working towards post-school qualifications (from 2002 to 2014-15).
  • The proportion of adults whose main income was from employment increased from 32 per cent in 2002 to 43 per cent in 2014-15, with household income increasing over this period.
  • The proportion of adults that recognised traditional lands increased from 70 per cent in 2002 to 74 per cent in 2014-15.

However, there has been little or no change for some indicators.

  • Rates of family and community violence were unchanged between 2002 and 2014-15 (around 22 per cent), and risky long-term alcohol use in 2014-15 was similar to 2002 (though lower than 2008).
  • The proportions of people learning and speaking Indigenous languages remains unchanged from 2008 to 2014-15.

Outcomes have worsened in some areas.

  • The proportion of adults reporting high levels of psychological distress increased from 27 per cent in 2004-05 to 33 per cent in 2014-15, and hospitalisations for self-harm increased by 56 per cent over this period.
  • The proportion of adults reporting substance misuse in the previous 12 months increased from 23 per cent in 2002 to 31 per cent in 2014-15.
  • The adult imprisonment rate increased 77 per cent between 2000 and 2015, and whilst the juvenile detention rate has decreased it is still 24 times the rate for non-Indigenous youth.

Change over time cannot be assessed for all the indicators — some indicators have no trend data; some indicators report on service use and change over time might be due to changing access rather than changes in the underlying outcome; and some indicators have related measures that moved in different directions.

Finally, data alone cannot tell the complete story about the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, nor can it fully tell us why outcomes improve (or not) in different areas. To support the indicator reporting, case studies of ‘things that work’ are included in this report. However, the relatively small number of case studies included reflects a lack of rigorously evaluated programs in the Indigenous policy area.

 

 

Aboriginal Health News : Our #NACCHO Members #Deadly good news stories #TAS #NT #NSW #QLD #WA #SA #VIC #TAS

1.1 #NACCHOagm2017 and Members’ Conference Program launched

2.NSW : Award winning Katungul Aboriginal Corporation  in new partnership with Deadly Choices

3. WA : AHCWA Gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous longevity surges in WA

4.SA: National Disability Insurance Scheme Aboriginal community consultation

5.QLD : Apunipima’s ACCHO Napranum Centre Working to National Standards

6. VIC : VACCHO : Korin Korin Balit-Djak: Aboriginal health, wellbeing and safety strategic plan 2017–2027 

7. NT: AMSANT APO NT :  Failure guaranteed if you don’t involve us, say Aboriginal organisations

8.ACT : Winnunga ACCHO Newsletter September 2017

9. Tas: Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre : Hobart seeks OZ Day move

 View hundreds of ACCHO Deadly Good News Stories over past 5 years

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

1.1 #NACCHOagm2017 and Members’ Conference Program launched

 Download the 48 Page Conference Program

NACCHO 2017 Conference Program

You can follow on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook using HASH Tag #NACCHOagm2017

The NACCHO Members’ Conference and AGM will provided 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

2.NSW : Award winning Katungul Aboriginal Corporation  in new partnership with Deadly Choices

“It’s important to all our staff, because even though we work for the organisation, we are still community members and part of the wider family,

 All our staff have a strong investment in not only seeing Katungul succeed, but because of our long community and family history, we also have those ties with the community, so it’s not only about what’s happening now but also building a strong base for future generations.

Those historical family and cultural ties reflects our ‘Koori health in Koori hands’ philosophy.”

Katungul chief executive officer Rob Skeen said the awards had definitely been a huge boost for staff, particularly receiving the peer-to-peer recognition of both the people’s choice and NAIDOC awards

Since taking over as CEO last year, Mr Skeen has seen the number of employees grow from 30 to 56 and the health service was getting recognition for its accomplishments from a range of other services and government entities.

Katungul has won the Excellence in Business Award in the Far South Coast Regional Business Awards. This follows their recent win in the Eurobodalla Business Awards.

The Excellence in Business award recognises a business employing more than 20 people that has attained significant growth and is able to demonstrate the specific strategies and processes implemented to achieve sustainable growth over the previous 24 months.

Katungul Aboriginal Corporation provides culturally appropriate health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities on the Far South Coast of NSW. Staff are committed to providing high quality treatment and services in a culturally appropriate way.

Facilities include general practice and medical and dental clinics. Allied health programs are in place for eye health, otitis media and maternity care. There are many outreach programs available to serve the wider community.

At Katungul, they strive to work in partnership with local health services to ensure all specific medical, dental, social and emotional wellbeing needs are satisfied to a high standard.

Katungul serves communities from Eden to Batemans Bay.

Katungul will now be a finalist  in the NSW State Business Awards to be decided in Sydney in late November.

This is a significant achievement and reflects the hard work put in by all staff and the Board over the last few years.

Katungul and Deadly Choices will launch their partnership with a community day on Saturday 4 November

3. WA : AHCWA Gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous longevity surges in WA

The disparity between the life expectancy of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal West Australians has surged, bucking a national trend that shows a closing of the gap, a new report has found.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, released this week, shows the life expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous West Australians increased from 14.7 years to 15.1 years in men and 12.9 years to 13.5 years in women in a comparison of data between 2005-2007 and 2010-2012.
Nationally, the gap decreased from 11.4 years to 10.6 years for men and remained stable at 9.6 years to 9.5 years for women during the same period.

The figures come despite the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2017: Western Australia report showing small increases in the life expectancy of indigenous males in WA from 64.5 to 65 years and indigenous females from 70 to 70.2 years between 2005–2007 and 2010–2012.

Aboriginal Health Council of WA chairperson Michelle Nelson-Cox said despite the improvements to indigenous longevity and several other health outcomes, there was still a long way to go and health education remained a key focus.

“Positively, this report identifies several areas of improvement in Aboriginal health, including a 48% drop in deaths from circulatory diseases and five-fold increase in the rate of indigenous health checks being claimed,” Ms Nelson-Cox said.

The report showed a substantial increase in the rate of indigenous-specific health checks being claimed, rising from 42 per 1000 in 2006-07 to 254 per 1000 in 2014-15, she said.

“This is a significant move that shows health education campaigns and our commitment to making health checks more available to Aboriginal communities are having an impact,” she said.

“But we remain deeply concerned at several findings, including that the rate of indigenous women smoking during pregnancy is five times higher than non-indigenous women and the disparity in notifications for sexually transmitted infections for indigenous Australians.

“In addition, the death rates for chronic diseases are much higher for indigenous Australians than non-indigenous Australians.

“To that end, this report highlights the need for greater investment in evidence based, culturally safe, high quality responsive and accessibly primary health care for Aboriginal people in WA.

“AHCWA urgently calls on the government to provide further support to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) who continue to be the strongest, most effective means to addressing the gap in health outcomes.

“Without this investment, achieving our Closing the Gap targets will remain out of reach.”

Ms Nelson-Cox said while it was recognised that governments invested significant funding in Aboriginal health, Aboriginal community and community-controlled organisations were the most effective agencies.

There also needed to be greater transparency and accountability of other stakeholders in the sector, she said.

AHCWA is the peak body for Aboriginal health in WA, with 22 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) currently engaged as members.

4.SA: National Disability Insurance Scheme Aboriginal community consultation

Read over 25 NACCHO Disability NDIS articles HERE

 5.QLD : Apunipima’s ACCHO Napranum Centre Working to National Standards
 

Charkil-Om Primary Health Care Centre received AGPAL accreditation for the first time in September, just after celebrating its first birthday in August.

AGPAL (Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited) accreditation is independent recognition that a practice meets the requirements of governing industry standards which are set by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

Apunipima’s Quality and Risk Manager Roberta Newton said accreditation acknowledged the high standard of care being provided to the community by the Charkil-Om team.

‘So stringent are the AGPAL standards that many mainstream clinics need more than one go to achieve accreditation,’ she said.

‘To achieve it first time is a real coup, not only for the staff but also for our community.’

While AGPAL accreditation is not mandatory, all Apunipima primary health care centres are either accredited or working towards accreditation.

‘We wanted the community to know that their health and wellbeing is our priority,’ Roberta said.

‘By choosing to attend an accredited practice, our patients know they will get quality and safe care that meets the national standards.’

The Centre offers a full range of culturally appropriate comprehensive primary health care services including doctors, nurse and maternal and child health worker supported by a range of visiting services, and is fast becoming a real hub for the community.

Charkil-Om Primary Health Care Centre manager Kelvin Coleman said the AGPAL team were impressed with both the Centre and its operation.

‘The AGPAL accreditors were particularly impressed that we were able to source full time permanent doctors and committed staff to deliver such comprehensive services in a remote area,’ he said.

“All of our staff played a valuable role in working together meet the AGPAL standards. Receiving AGPAL accreditation is an acknowledgement of the dedication, care and commitment of our staff.’

‘I am incredibly proud of what our team have achieved, not only for ourselves, but most importantly for our community.’

6. VACCHO : Korin Korin Balit-Djak: Aboriginal health, wellbeing and safety strategic plan 2017–2027 

Key messages

  • Korin Korin Balit-Djak means ‘Growing very strong’ in the Woi wurrung language. It provides an overarching framework for action to improve the health, wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal Victorians now and over the next 10 years.
  • The purpose of Korin Korin Balit-Djak is to realise the Victorian Government’s vision for ‘Self-determining, healthy and safe Aboriginal people and communities’ in Victoria.

VIEW WEBSITE HERE

Korin Korin Balit-Djak emerges at a significant time for both Aboriginal communities in Victoria and the government. It follows the government’s commitment to self-determination for Aboriginal Victorians.

The Department of Health and Human Services commissioned work that has informed both Korin Korin Balit-Djak and the discussion about Aboriginal self-determination across all areas of the Victorian Government and community. This research and discussion has underpinned a new policy platform for Aboriginal health, wellbeing and safety.

Korin Korin Balit-Djak is informed by an extensive consultation process with Aboriginal communities across Victoria, as well as a strong evidence base, including Koolin Balit evaluation findings (Victorian Government 2012). The plan details how the department will work with Aboriginal communities, community organisations, other government departments and mainstream service providers – now and into the future – to improve the health, wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal people in Victoria.

Korin Korin Balit-Djak covers five domains:

  • Aboriginal community leadership
  • prioritising Aboriginal culture and community
  • system reform across the health and human services sector
  • safe, secure, strong families and individuals
  • physically, socially and emotionally healthy Aboriginal communities.

Korin Korin Balit-Djak will be reviewed and updated every three years.

Korin Korin Balit-Djak is guided by the government’s vision to achieve optimum health, wellbeing and safety for all Victorians so they can live the life they value. It aligns with the department’s strategic directions and aspires to address, and ultimately eliminate, systemic racism within the Victorian health and human service sectors.

Digital story: Dixon Patten

Victorian Aboriginal artist Dixon Patten was commissioned by the department to produce the artwork titled Korin Korin Balit-Djak. In this video, he explains how his artwork depicts the way the department will work with Aboriginal communities to ensure the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal people.

7. NT: AMSANT APO NT :  Failure guaranteed if you don’t involve us, say Aboriginal organisations

“We have been calling on the Minister for Indigenous Affairs to clarify and formalise the Community Development Program reform process since last December. Every request is met with silence,

The Prime Minister and Minister for Indigenous Affairs never tire of talking about how they want to do things with us, not to us. That they want new ways of working with Aboriginal people. Yet here is a program that affects the lives of 29,000 Indigenous people and has caused immense harm, and we still can’t get confirmation of a process that includes us,”

John Paterson CEO AMSANT spokesperson from APO NT

The Australian Government must step out from behind closed doors and involve Indigenous people in a transparent process for reforming the discriminatory remote ‘work for the dole’ scheme, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT (APO NT)1 urged today.

The Government committed to reviewing the program, called the ‘Community Development Program’ (CDP) and consulting with remote communities in May 2017.

Australia’s election to the world’s leading human rights body, the UN Human Rights Council, this week relied on a pledge to support the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ‘in both word and deed’. The Declaration requires the Government to work in partnership with Aboriginal people and respect the right to self-determination.

“The Australian Government said to the world that it would tackle Indigenous disadvantage in partnership with our people. Meanwhile the Government’s racially discriminatory program results in Aboriginal people receiving more penalties than other Australians, and hurts our communities,” said Mr Paterson.

“If the Government is serious about the promises it made to get elected to the Council, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs will immediately announce an independent and transparent reform process involving a partnership with Aboriginal people,” added Mr Paterson.

APO NT launched a positive alternative to CDP in Canberra last month (APO NT alternative to CDP). Our model would create 10,500 part time jobs to be filled by people in remote communities who currently get less than the minimum wage to do work they should be employed and paid properly to do. Our model would create new jobs and enterprises, strengthen communities and get rid of pointless administration. It has incentives to encourage people into work, training and other activities, rather than punishing people who are already struggling.

David Ross from APO NT, said, “Thirty-three organisations from around Australia have endorsed our new model. We have done the work, we want to talk, and we want a program that will actually deliver positive outcomes on the ground.”

“The Australian Government appears to be unable to put the rhetoric of collaboration into practice. What do all these commitments mean if they don’t deliver a seat at the table on this fundamental issue? Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past and impose a top-down program from Canberra that is guaranteed to fail in remote Australia,” Mr Ross concluded.

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SCHEME

The CDP is the main program of job related assistance for unemployed people in remote areas of Australia. It is the equivalent of job active (formerly JSA) and Disability Employment Services in the rest of the country.

The CDP has around 35,000 participants, around 83% of whom are identified as Indigenous.

People with full time work capacity who are 18-49 years old must Work for the Dole, 25 hours per week, 5 days per week, at least 46 weeks per year (1150 hours per year). Under job active Work for the Dole only starts after 12 months, and then for 390-650 hours per year.

Despite having a caseload less than a 20th the size of job active, more penalties are applied to CDP participants than to jobactive participants.

In the 21 months from the start of CDP on 1 July 2015 to the end of March 2017, 299,055 financial penalties were applied to CDP participants. Over the same period, 237,333 financial penalties were applied to jobactive participants.

8.ACT : Winnunga ACCHO Newsletter September 2017

Download a PDF copy HERE

Winnunga AHCS Newsletter September 2017

9. Tas: Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre : Hobart seeks OZ Day move

 

Welcome your comments about all these ACCHO stories

 

NACCHO Aboriginal #HealthStarRating and #Nutrition @KenWyattMP Free healthy choices food app will dial up good tucker

“Users simply scan the barcode of a product with their phone to see if it’s a healthy choice,

Once scanned, the app gives a ‘thumbs up’, ‘thumbs down’, or ‘thumbs sideways’ message, according to how healthy the product is.

“One of the app’s best features is that, once it’s downloaded, all the information is on your phone and there’s no need for the internet, so it’s ideal for people living in remote areas.”

Minister for Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt AM, said the Uncle Jimmy’s Good Tucker app was easy to use and a first for remote communities.

Read over 30 NACCHO Articles about Healthy Food and Nutrition

The GOOD TUCKER app has been launched with the intention to assist people living in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to make healthier food and beverage choices at the local store.

Federal Minister for Indigenous Health, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM gave the official thumbs up to the free app today. The app allows shoppers to scan a food or beverage product’s barcode and instantly reveal if it is a healthy option, should be consumed in moderation or avoided altogether.

DOWNLOAD INFO HERE

The app has been championed by the Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies), the University of South Australia (UnisSA) and Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up! , which has been promoting awareness and the benefits of a healthy diet to Indigenous children for more than 10 years.

Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup, CEO of Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up!, said there was an overwhelming need for the app.

“We know that there is over consumption of ultra-processed foods particularly in remote Indigenous Australian communities. These foods are typically energy dense and high in added sugar and salt which fuels the obesity epidemic and a raft of early onset chronic diseases.

“The GOOD TUCKER app shows at a glance how healthy or unhealthy a product is with a simple thumbs up, sideways or down message. The Thumbs rating is derived from a combination of the products’ Health Star Rating and Australian Bureau of Statistics’ discretionary food classification,” Mr Bidstrup said.

The app has been more than two years in the making with joint input from Menzies, UniSA and Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up!.

Associate Professor Julie Brimblecombe, head of the nutrition program at Menzies, said she hoped the GOOD TUCKER app would help to tackle the significant health gap facing many people living in remote communities.

“We know that nutrition plays a huge role in contributing to poor health. Making even small changes to our diets, such as consuming a little less salt and added sugar, and eating less fat (particularly saturated fat) and energy (kilojoules) could help prevent diseases including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

This app will help people to change their shopping habits as well as generate new learning about healthy food choices for community residents and store managers,” Assoc Prof Brimblecombe said.

The GOOD TUCKER app, which is powered by the highly successful FoodSwitch app, provides Thumbs ratings for tens of thousands of products on sale in food stores all across Australia.

It also provides guidance about take-away foods, such as pizzas and burgers and other non-packaged, non-barcoded items like fresh fruit and vegetables.

Prior to the launch the app was trialled by Indigenous musicians and performers at the Bush Band Bash concert in Central Australia , Wiraduri woman, Johanna Campbell said she found it educational and easy to use and is looking forward to it being introduced into rural and remote communities across Australia.

“The GOOD TUCKER app is great. To be able to scan the barcode on a food packet to find out if it is healthy or not will be really useful. Some foods are not so obviously unhealthy, so to be able to receive a thumbs up, sideways or down will help buy healthier options at the store,” Ms Campbell said.

Dr Tom Wycherley from UniSA’s Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), said the app uses imagery and branding that is easily interpretable and familiar to communities.

“The GOOD TUCKER app builds on existing Thumbs Up! branding that has been seen in many communities for over 10 years and provides information in a culturally appropriate form. Early feedback is really positive but the real test now will be to see if this can noticeably change food choices.”

A full evaluation of the app is planned to take place after the release.

The GOOD TUCKER app works on:

1. Apple mobile devices that have a camera with auto-focus. Requires iOS 7.0 or later.

2.Android devices running versions 4.0.x and above that have a camera with autofocus.

As all the information is in the app there is no need for the user to be in internet or phone range to use the app

Part 2 Minister Wyatt’s Press Release  :Free healthy food app dials up good tucker for remote Indigenous communities

A new mobile phone app launched today promises to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote areas make healthy food choices.

The thumbs rating is based on the Government’s Health Star Rating system and the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

“The app is named in honour of legendary singer Jimmy Little, who established the Jimmy Little Foundation and dedicated much of his life to promoting better Indigenous health,” said Minister Wyatt.

“People in remote communities can face considerable food challenges, from the combination of limited supplies, particularly the difficulty in getting fresh fruit and vegetables, and limited storage.

“Uncle Jimmy’s app will complement our work to make good food more accessible in remote areas, through the Outback Stores scheme. The accredited stores provide healthy food cheaper than in other remote area stores and implement a nutrition strategy that includes health promotion activities and cooking demonstrations.

“Improving food choices is one of the most effective ways of helping close the gap in Indigenous health, with poor diet behind 10 per cent of diseases.”

The Good Tucker app was created by the Jimmy Little Foundation, in partnership with the Menzies School of Health Research, the University of South Australia and the George Institute for Global Health.

The app links with the Health Star Ratings system, which has more than 7,500 food products displaying the Health Star Rating logo.

Background

The GOOD TUCKER app was developed by Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up!, The University of South Australia and Menzies School of Health Research in partnership with The George Institute, to provide a simple way for people to identify the healthiest food and drink options available in stores.

Uncle Jimmy Thumbs Up! was established in 2007 by legendary Australian entertainer Dr. Jimmy Little AO with veteran musician and founding CEO Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup.

The Thumbs Up! program uses music and new media to bring awareness of good nutrition and healthy lifestyle to Indigenous children living in regional and remote communities across Australia. Thumbs Up! engages with the whole of community, including traditional owner groups, schools, local food stores, health services and community groups.

 How do I get the Good Tucker app?

iPhone1 users: Download Good Tucker from the App Store1, either online or on your device.

Android2 smartphone users: Download Good Tucker from Google Play2, either online or on your Android smartphone.

The app is free of charge. An internet connection (mobile/cellular data or Wi-Fi) is required to download it and to share information by social media and email. Standard usage charges may apply – check with your internet and mobile service providers for more information.

Once the Good Tucker app has been downloaded onto your phone you do NOT need to have phone or internet connection for it to operate. All information on products will be stored on the phone.

Other FAQs about the APP

Welcome to the Good Tucker APP!

A simple and easy way of checking out how healthy a food product is.

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Aboriginal Community Controlled Health #JobAlerts #Doctors #Australia2030 This week #Mamu #Yerin #Katungul @DanilaDilba @CAACongress @IUIH_

This weeks #Jobalerts

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

1. Mamu Health Service Limited FNQ : Chief Executive Officer

2.Yerin Aboriginal Health Services Inc. Social Worker

3.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Program National Manager (Indigenous Identified)

4. Scholarship opportunity, the Australian Hearing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Master of Audiology Scholarship

5-13 Danila Dilba ACCHO Darwin 8 Positions

14. Senior Rural Medical Practitioner – Port Augusta

15.Nhulundu Health Service : General Practitioner : Gladstone QLD

16. Katungul Aboriginal Corporation Community NSW  : Medical Practitioner 

17. Miwatj Health NT Tackling Indigenous Smoking Community Worker

18-26  Congress ACCHO Alice Springs 8 positions

 27-31  JOBS AT IUIH Brisbane

32 . Daybreak Coach Sydney

VIEW Hundreds of past Jobs on the NACCHO Jobalerts

 

How to submit a Indigenous Health #jobalert ? 

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

1. Mamu Health Service Limited FNQ : Chief Executive Officer

Mamu Health Service Limited is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation with clinics in Innisfail, Tully, Babinda, and Ravenshoe. Our mission statement is:

“Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who live in the Great Green Way and Inland Savannah regions to live long healthy lives.”

We are currently recruiting for the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to drive our organisation to achieve this vision through our strategic directives.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be accountable to the Mamu Health Service Limited Board of Directors for the leadership, efficient and effective management of the organisation according to strategic directives. The CEO will also be responsible for ensuring the legislative and funding requirements are met including appropriate financial, human resources, infrastructure, continuous quality and service delivery programs are in place to deliver high quality Comprehensive Primary Health Care.

We are looking for someone who has a passion for the promotion of health care within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and is committed to the sustainable and long-term growth of the organisation.

This is a full time position located in the town of Innisfail. The successful applicant will be required to live within the Innisfail community in order to work and collaborate with the Board of Directors, as well as develop a strong network of relationships throughout the health industry and communities.

All applicants must be willing to undertake an AFP Criminal History Check, and must hold a current Blue Card with Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian.

To apply for this vacancy, a full application package can be obtained from our website on www.mamuhsl.org.au, or please don’t hesitate to contact Jenna Pensini from Human Resource Dynamics on 07 4051 7307 or jenna@hrdynamics.com.au to register your interest.

Please submit your resume and written responses addressing the selection criteria to:

Jenna Pensini – Human Resource Dynamics

jenna@hrdynamics.com.au

Applications close 5.00pm Wednesday 8th November 2017.

Under section 25 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, there is a genuine occupational requirement for the incumbent to be of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Descent.

 2.Yerin Aboriginal Health Services Inc. Social Worker

We are an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, you will join a multidisciplinary team where you will provide professional social work services whilst working in a supportive environment. If you are passionate about improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through counselling services for our community experiencing mental health, then we would like you to join our team!

You will provide support, counselling and other intervention strategies to enhance individuals wellbeing.

Contact Jo Stevens 02 43511040 to obtain an application pack before applying

Job Closes 5pm 10th November 2017

Apply here

3.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Program National Manager (Indigenous Identified)

  • An excellent opportunity to join one of Australia’s leading international not for profits
  • Permanent, 35 hours per week
  • Melbourne based

Around the globe, Oxfam works to find practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. We save lives and help rebuild livelihoods when crisis strikes. And we campaign so that the voices of the poor influence the local and global decisions that affect them.

The Role

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Program National Manager plays a central role in planning, managing and delivering programs and developing strong partnerships with  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Program sits within Oxfam Australia’s Program Section and is responsible for setting and delivering on our strategy to work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, communities and individuals. The program collaborates with and supports the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to bring change in their lives and communities.

Having worked for more than 30 years to support self-determination, Oxfam Australia is seeking a committed leader to lead the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Program’s team in strategy development, program funding, awareness raising and to develop and maintain relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

This is an Indigenous Identified role and is part of Oxfam Australia’s commitment to creating a culturally competent and diverse workforce.

We have a number of measures in place to support our Indigenous staff including an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy, RAP and cultural protocols.

You will have

The successful candidate will be able to meet the following selection criteria:

  • Experience leading and supporting teams of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, and building culturally strong, high functioning and effective teams
  • High level of understanding of the development and public policy issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, including a proven track record of working effectively with or alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ organisations and movements
  • Demonstrated success in program management supported by strong financial management and administration skills
  • Advanced knowledge of a technical or skill area relevant to Oxfam Australia’s program (i.e.gender, campaigns, advocacy, capacity building)

We can offer you

  • A base salary of $107,720 plus superannuation and access to generous NFP tax concessions (specifically, a salary packaging scheme offering up to $18,450 of your salary tax free)
  • The opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause
  • A flexible and supportive workplace with ample opportunities for career progression and development
  • The chance to meet and work with people who are some of the best in their fields

This is an Indigenous Identified role only open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The filling of this position is intended to constitute a special measure under section 8(1) of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), and s 12 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic).

Appointment to this position will require a satisfactory clearance of a police check and/or Working with Children Check.

Oxfam Australia is committed to the safeguarding of children and young people.

To be eligible for this position, you must have the legal right to work in Australia.

For enquiries relating to this position, please contact Emma O’Brien via emmao@oxfam.org.au

Click on the Apply Online button at the base of the advertisement
Complete the on-line application form and attach three separate documents, cover letter (max 2 pages), CV (max 2 pages) and a response addressing the selection criteria outlined in the ad
Applications close: Friday 17 November at 11pm (AEST)

APPLY

4. Scholarship opportunity, the Australian Hearing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Master of Audiology Scholarship.

The scholarship, valued at $15,000 over two years, will recognise and support Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students enrolled in the Master of Audiology at Flinders University. Its main purpose is to encourage individuals of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background to study audiology and to enter the profession, which we feel is a very worthwhile goal.

Please note: In order to be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must first have gained admission to the Master of Audiology, through the normal competitive entry process.

Applications for the Master of Audiology for the 2018 intake close on 6 November 2017.

5-13  Danila Dilba ACCHO Darwin 8 Positions

1 Aboriginal Health Practitioner (AHP) / Registered Nurse
2 Transport Officer
3 Team Leader, Deadly Choices
4 Manager – Marketing and Communications
5 Team Leader, Mobile Unit
6 Community Support Worker (AOD)
7 Indigenous Outreach Worker (Palmerston)
8 Clinical Psychologist

WEBSITE

14. Senior Rural Medical Practitioner – Port Augusta

 

Established in the early 1970’s, Pika Wiya Health Service Aboriginal Corporation provides culturally appropriate, comprehensive primary health care services, social support and training to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The organisation operates from its premises in Port Augusta and also has clinics at Davenport, Copley and Nepabunna communities. Pika Wiya Health Service Aboriginal Corporation also provides services to the communities of Quorn, Hawker, Marree, Lyndhurst and Beltana.

About the Opportunity

Pika Wiya Aboriginal Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (Pika Wiya) now has a full-time opportunity for a Senior Rural Medical Practitioner to join their team in Port Augusta, SA.

Reporting to the Medical Director, you will be responsible for the provision of high-level primary health care, ensuring continuity care for individuals, and for prevention programs for the population.

This will be done primarily through the Port Augusta clinic (bulk-billing clinic) – servicing a combination of booked and walk in clients – and also by visiting a remote clinic once a month.

To be successful in this position, you will hold an AHPRA recognised medical degree including general or specialist registration and a Medicare Australia Provider Number.

You will also have demonstrated experience working in a medical practice and have the ability to provide high-quality clinical skills in a rural general practice. Additionally, you must have a good knowledge of the Australian health system and the Medicare billing system.

It is crucial to this role that you have a good understanding of Aboriginal community and health and be willing to involve yourself in the community.

About the Benefits

In return for your hard work and dedication, you will be rewarded with an attractive base salary of $225,000 plus super.

You will also be eligible generous salary packaging, up to$16,000 through Maxxia, to increase your take home pay!

Pika Wiya is also willing to negotiate relocation assistance and accommodation subsidies for the right candidate.

Make a real difference to the health and well-being of a vibrant community – Apply Now!

15.Nhulundu Health Service : General Practitioner : Gladstone QLD

 General Practitioner

(Full time positions based in Gladstone)

Nhulundu Wooribah Indigenous Health Organisation Inc. (“Nhulundu”) is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service delivering an integrated, comprehensive primary health care service to the whole Gladstone community.

Services include; bulk billing GP services, chronic disease management program, diabetes education, health promotion programs, mums and bubs clinic, aged care and community support service functions.

The position is responsible for providing best practice comprehensive primary health care. Leadership in the safety and quality of clinical services delivered by the health team. Optimising uptake and income generation across the service through MBS billings

This is an exciting opportunity to join an enthusiastic and committed team and make a direct impact on improved health outcomes in the community.

  • Competitive Salary Package – including salary sacrifice
  • Well Balanced working environment – Hours = Monday – Friday 8.30 – 5.00pm

Key Requirements include

  • Qualified Medical Practitioner, holding unconditional current registration with the Medical Board of Australia
  • Eligible for unrestricted Medicare Provider Number
  • Vocational Registration preferred
  • Knowledge, understanding and sensitivity towards the social, economic and cultural factors affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health; An ability to communicate and empathise with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

You will be supported by a team of dedicated clinic staff including Registered Nurses Aboriginal Health Workers, the Tackling Indigenous Smoking team, Dietician/Diabetes Educator, Medical Receptionist, Practice Manager and visiting Specialists and Allied Health providers

Enquiries and Applications (Resume) can be addressed to:

Karen Clifford – Business Service Manager:

By Email: jobs@nhulundu.com.au

By Phone: 0428 228 851

 

 

 

 16. Katungul Aboriginal Corporation Community NSW  : Medical Practitioner 

 

 

Katungul ACCMS is an Aboriginal Community controlled corporation providing community and health services to Aboriginal Australians located in the South Coast of NSW. Katungul has recently been recognised for its excellence in business in the Eurobodalla and Far South Coast NSW Business Awards.
The role will involve working with a multi disciplinary team of health workers and other staff to provide culturally attuned, integrated health and community services on the Far South Coast of New South Wales.
Applicants will ideally be fully accredited as General Practitioners with experience working in an Aboriginal Medical service. However other General Practitioners  who do not meet this criteria will be considered.
Remuneration and terms of employment will be negotiated with the successful candidate(s).
Enquries should be directed to Chris Heazlewood, Human Resources Manager on 02 44762155 or by email chrish@katungul.org.au

 Download Position description  

MEDICAL PRACTITIONER October 2017

17. Miwatj Health NT Tackling Indigenous Smoking Community Worker

Job No: MHAC19
Location: Ramingining
Employment Status: Part Time
No. of Vacancies: 2
Closing Date: 30 Dec 2020

Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation is the regional Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service in East Arnhem Land, providing comprehensive primary health care services for over 6,000 Indigenous residents of North East Arnhem and public health services for close to 10,000 people across the region.

Tackling Indigenous Smoking Community Worker .5

Are you reliable, self-motivated and hardworking? Do you want to make a difference to Indigenous health? You will work with individuals, clients, families and communities to help quit tobacco use. You will deliver and promote healthier life choices and encourage smoke free behaviour. You will report to the Coordinator TIS on progress and issues. You will need to maintain confidential client information, have the ability to speak and understand Yolngu Matha and have a good understanding of Yolngu kinship and traditional systems.

You must have a current NT Class C Drivers License and a current Ochre Card (or the ability to obtain one).

Click here for Job Description

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are encouraged to apply.

18-26 Congress ACCHO Alice Springs 8 positions

Thank you for your interest in working with Congress!

CONGRESS HR Website

We have two types of applications for you to consider:

General Application

  • Submit an expression of interest for a position that may become available.
  • This should include a covering letter outlining your job interest(s), an up-to-date resume and three current employment referees.

Applying for a Current Vacancy

  • Applying for a specific advertised vacancy.
  • Before applying for any position general or current please read the section ‘Job App FAQ‘.

TRANSPORT OFFICER

Hourly Rate: $22.78 + 25% casual loading

Location: Alice Springs | Job ID: 3696530| Closing Date: 01 Dec 2017

GENERAL PRACTITIONER – ALICE SPRINGS

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress) has over 40 years’ experience providing comprehe …

Location: Alice Springs | Job ID: 3677297| Closing Date: 30 Dec 2017

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST – EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS

Multiple Positions Available

Location: Alice Springs | Job ID: 3683459

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST- CLIENT SERVICE ROLES

Client Service Officer     …

Location: Alice Springs | Job ID: 3672944| Closing Date: 31 Dec 2017

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST- CLINICAL ROLES

Location: Alice Springs | Job ID: 3672893 | Closing Date: 31 Dec 2017

 

27 – 31 JOBS AT IUIH Brisbane

 

IUIH and its members are constantly looking for healthcare workers, GP’s, allied health professionals, medical and health related students to fill short or long term vacancies within their growing operations.Current job opportunities are listed below:

 

Website HERE

32 . Daybreak Coach Sydney

Team: Clinical

Hours: 7 am – 1 pm (Monday to Friday)

Location: Sydney HQ, with extensive opportunity to work remotely

Salary: $50,000 + superannuation + entitlements

Role: Daybreak Coach

We are a tech charity focused on building software that supports people to change their relationship with alcohol. We support the largest community in the country focused on this social problem and we continue to grow rapidly.

Our product, the Daybreak app, offers live text-based coaching alongside a supportive community and science-based exercises.

What is a Daybreak Coach?

A Daybreak Coach is a person that helps our members uncover and operationalise health related goals, build and maintain motivation, and identify barriers to overcome them; all of these with a focus on changing a member’s relationship with alcohol and enhancing wellbeing.

Daybreak Coaches are experienced and trained in our process of changing people’s relationship with alcohol. They do not limit conversations to alcohol consumption, but do not explore topics more suited to therapy or completely unrelated to alcohol behaviour change. When these topics come up, a Daybreak Coach will facilitate the right kind of support for our members.

Daybreak Coaches are not there to supplant crisis lines or clinics. When possible they will endeavour to direct members to this kind of support, but are not equipped to deliver it.

Responsibilities:

  • Maintain ongoing chat conversations with Daybreak members from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm Monday to Friday;
  • Respond to coaching requests in a timely manner;
  • Deliver proactive coaching invitations to members based on our pre-defined scenarios;
  • Administrate Daybreak “experiments” for our members;
  • Deliver feedback for continuous improvement;
  • Assist in the creation of scripts, guidelines, proactive scenarios and conversation prompts.

Suitable candidates will possess:

  • Regulatory framework requires a Certificate IV in Mental Health, Counseling, Drug and Alcohol, Social Work, or related fields;
  • At least 3 years experience in AOD behaviour change;
  • Excellent written english;
  • Organised and effective, capable of maintaining multiple clients in ongoing conversations;
  • Warmth and empathy;
  • Comfortable working at the fringe of mental health intervention technology.

Some of our benefits:

  • Be part of shaping the next chapter for Australia’s most unique charity;
  • Flexible, family friendly workplace;
  • Tax free salary options as a Health Promotion Charity (PBI) up to $15,900pa;
  • Generous remote working options;
  • Competitive, externally benchmarked salaries.

Contact Details: Chris Raine, CEO – chris@hellosundaymorning.org

CV and cover letter

 

NACCHO Aboriginal Health and #Ulurustatement #COAG : Pat Anderson expresses dismay over political silence on #Ulurustatement

“As a health professional it beggars belief that COAG can meet on this yet the Referendum Council work and Uluru outcome ‘Voice Treaty Truth’ is not raised,

It highlights that politicians and policy makers do not understand Closing the Gap is inextricably linked to Voice Treaty Truth.

Structural reform is the missing ingredient in addressing disadvantage and the fact that no one at COAG acknowledged that shows they have no idea what they are doing.”

Ms Anderson will use the ­annual Charles Perkins oration ­tonight (October 25 ) to say the ­almost complete silence from government — five months after the Uluru constitutional convention recommended the advisory body — proves its urgent need.

See NACCHO Uluru Statement earlier this year

NACCHO Aboriginal Health #treaty : #Uluru Summit calls for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution

Establishing a proposed Indigenous parliamentary advisory body would mean Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were “at last in the main building, not in the demountable out the back”, a frustrated Lowitja Institute chair Pat Anderson will say.

From todays Australian

Her address will come on the heels of Cape York lawyer Noel Pearson furiously lashing out at white Australia’s failure “to take responsibility for your country” on the issue. “I’m angry about the intransigence and the lack of responsibility taken, angry that our people are constantly seeking the sentiment of Australia and not getting a response,” Mr Pearson told a packed Sydney Institute gathering on Monday.

Ms Anderson will question why a COAG meeting this week specifically addressing indigenous issues, including recalibrating the Closing the Gap targets, failed to address constitutional reform.

See our NACCHO post for COAG Communique earlier this week

Aboriginal Health #COAG #ClosetheGap :’Historic’: Sweeping overhaul of #Indigenous #ClosingtheGap strategy welcomed

She­ ­co-chaired the council appointed by Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten to make concrete proposals. The ‘Voice Treaty Truth’ slogan refers to the three key issues identified in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, formalised at the end of the three-day convention in May.

They were the constitutionally enshrined body to provide an indigenous “voice” to parliament, as well as formal treaty-making and truth-telling processes.

The Law Council of Australia yesterday threw its “full and unqualified support” behind the call for a parliamentary body, which would have no veto powers and would not constitute an extra chamber of parliament, but whose role would be merely to advise governments.

“We are calling for genuine commitment from all parliamentarians to implement the Referendum Council’s recommendations swiftly,” Law Council president Fiona McLeod SC said. “The Law Council considers (them) to be a necessary and important step towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ self-determination.”

Referendum Council member and East Arnhem Land leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu warned Mr Turnbull at the Garma cultural festival in August that he would press him to act on the Referendum Council recommendations. Mr Turnbull has questioned whether the plan was delivered with enough detail, but Ms Anderson will say tonight that “the details of how to establish such a body would need to be carefully negotiated with the parliament once its establishment was agreed through referendum”.

NACCHO Aboriginal Health Alert : Shifting the Health Dial: 5 year Productivity Commission review and 6 key recommendations

 ” Better health care creates no losers : Australia is beset by a rising wave of complex chronic health conditions that will lead to many years of life spent in ill health, lower involvement in work and rising costs for the health care system. Suppliers rather than patients are the centre of the current system — an anachronism built on paternalism.

Prevention and management of these conditions by integrating care provided by GPs and other clinicians with care in hospitals is one antidote. Change can be orchestrated locally if the Australian, State and territory Governments move away from centralised control.

It is time to move to full adoption of patient-centred care, where the outcomes for, and experiences of, people are the key focus, but getting buy-in from clinicians is a critical part of this.

Reform of Australia’s health care system will not just be better for patients, but may save up to $140 billion over the next 20 years ”

For all 6 Recommendations see PART 3 Below

Download Paper 4 : Healthier Australians

productivity-review-supporting4

All Productivity Papers can be viewed here

  • 4.9 million adults (nearly 30% of the adult population) are obese (p. 45)

Part 1 :Health system overhaul could boost economy: Productivity Commission- Media Report

A DRAMATIC overhaul of Australia’s health system could boost the economy by $200 billion over two decades, a Productivity Commission ­report has found.

The review blames a lack of communication between healthcare specialists for contributing to many of the issues faced by every Australian, and calls for a “reboot” of the way the system is integrated.

The 1200-page “Shifting the Dial” report, released 24 October , has found that despite the average Australian living to 82.8 years — the third highest among developed countries — Australians are spending the longest amount of time in ill health.

The wide ranging review also warns that fundamental flaws in the university system have led to one in every five graduates being unable to get a full-time job.

Productivity Commission chairman Peter Harris criticised “non-existent communication between different parts of the health system” and recommended the federal government consider strategic overhauls to the way the sector operates.

The review warns that 17.5 per cent of Australians have mental or behavioural problems and a suicide rate double the economically best-performing countries.

It found less than 20 per cent of GPs know when their patients have been into an emergency ward, compared with 68 per cent in the Netherlands and 56 per cent in New Zealand.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the findings should force governments and the sector to consider the effectiveness of the health system.

“Improving the health of Australians is not just about enhancing our quality of life, it’s an economic growth strategy,” Mr Morrison will say when launching the findings today.

“Healthy and happy people are naturally more productive people.”

The report suggests linking university funding to the success of students, seizing on data showing almost 25 per cent of graduates who find jobs take work in areas not relevant to the degree they had studied

Productivity Commission report reinforces that health is wealth—and it’s time for change

‘Individual health leads to national wealth, and it’s great to see that the Productivity Commission has recognised this in its Shifting the dial: 5 year productivity review report released today’, says Alison Verhoeven, Chief Executive of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA).

‘It’s also gratifying that the report recommends shifting the focus of our health system from providers to patients.

‘AHHA has been advocating for some years now for better patient-centred and integrated care, with attached funding and care pathways, and information flows.

‘We have also been advocating for health funding mechanisms based on value and outcomes, rather than on service volumes—which the Commission is also recommending.

‘We also support the Commission’s call for better integration of primary care and hospital care at a local level, with a view to boosting preventative measures and minimising unnecessary hospital admissions.
 
‘We think it is incumbent on the Commonwealth to use the recommendations in this report as a starting point for negotiating its post-2020 public hospital funding agreement with the states and territories.

‘This could also be a good opportunity for the Commonwealth and the states and territories to work in partnership to deliver a unified primary healthcare and hospital system focused on people receiving the care they need and want, at the right time in the right place by the right provider.’
 
(Source: AHHA)

Part 2 : Productivity Commission media briefing

Mediocrity beckons if we let it

In the future, we cannot rely on high commodity prices or, given an ageing Australia, labour participation rates, to drive national income.

We might try to invest more to add to growth, but capital must be paid for, and investment to GDP rates are already at historically high levels, so there may not be much room to move.

That means that innovation and learning — doing things better — is the key for prosperity. Yet this has languished in Australia (and many other countries) for a decade.

A new agenda focused on individuals

Getting better outcomes involves new agendas involving the non market economy (mainly education and healthcare), the innovation system, using data, creating well-functioning cities, and re-building confidence in institutions. And no one wants clogged cities or arteries.

Better health care creates no losers

Australia is beset by a rising wave of complex chronic health conditions that will lead to many years of life spent in ill health, lower involvement in work and rising costs for the health care system. Suppliers rather than patients are the centre of the current system — an anachronism built on paternalism.

Prevention and management of these conditions by integrating care provided by GPs and other clinicians with care in hospitals is one antidote. Change can be orchestrated locally if the Australian, State and territory Governments move away from centralised control.

It is time to move to full adoption of patient-centred care, where the outcomes for, and experiences of, people are the key focus, but getting buy-in from clinicians is a critical part of this.

Reform of Australia’s health care system will not just be better for patients, but may save up to $140 billion over the next 20 years.

Australia’s education system is a mixed bag of excellence and mediocrity

Slipping school results and concerns about teaching quality raise questions about how Australians will adapt to the wave of changes in the economy over the coming decades.

The vocational education and training system is in disarray.

It will not be too long before universities will be the key vehicle for skill formation, yet their teaching function plays a subordinate role to their research role, and the outcomes for many graduates are poor.

Better teaching quality, re-building the VET sector, genuine options for acquiring new skills as people switch jobs and careers, using new technological models for educating people, and creating teaching-only universities are just a few of the many changes that need to be made.

Excising Utopia from Australia’s city policies

Australian cities are under pressure — rising population and congestion, poor infrastructure decisions, ad hoc and anticompetitive planning and zoning, and an unsustainable funding basis for roads. Stamp duties are bad taxes, a bonanza in times of rising housing prices, but unfair and inefficient.

Road funds that respond to where people want roads is one step to change, as is a switch to taxes on unimproved land value. There are good models of zoning and planning that could readily be adopted, and infrastructure decisions could be enhanced by taking out the ‘Utopia’ factor in their preparation.

Cooperative reform is still possible

While Australians’ trust in governments and their institutions is low and fragile, there are practical things that can be done to make governments work better.

A key will be that the Council of Australian Governments chooses to restore its role as a vehicle for economic and social reform.

The scope for the vital big reforms will require commitment to a joint reform agenda by all jurisdictions. This should be negotiated in 2018, collecting all ideas into a cohesive whole.

Prosecute the usual suspects too

Of course, market-based reforms are evident and available — to address the persistent failure of Australia’s energy market, redundant regulations, and flaws in workplace relations — but we know this already.

General

  • From 2003-04 to 2015-16, the gains to market sector GDP from ‘doing things better’ have been nearly zero (p. 33)
  • The ‘non-market’ sector (including health care and social services, education and training, and public administration and safety) accounts for 27% of employment in Australia (p. 192)

Health

  • More than 10 million Australians have three or more long-term conditions (SP4, p. 10)
  • Years of life spent in ill-health are nearly 11 years — highest in the OECD (p. 45)
  • 4.9 million adults (nearly 30% of the adult population) are obese (p. 45)
  • 11.7 million people have no or low exercise levels (2 in 3 adults) ( p. 45)
  • Moving from poor health to fair health increases labour participation rates by 34 percentage points (SP4. p. 14)
  • 75% of acute bronchitis is treated with antibiotics. The appropriate rate is close to zero (p. 61)
  • Unnecessary waiting in doctor’s rooms costs Australians around $1 billion annually in lost time (p. 64)
  • 40% of people with a health-related qualification have inadequate health literacy (p. 65)

Part 3 Recommendation :

2.1 Implement nimble funding arrangements at the regional level

The Australian, State and Territory Governments should allocate (modest) funding pools to Primary Health Networks and Local Hospital Networks for improving population health, managing chronic conditions and reducing hospitalisation at the regional level.

HOW TO DO IT

Set aside a small share (say 2 to 3 per cent) of activity-based funding to hospitals to create a Prevention and Chronic Condition Management Fund (PCCMF) for each Local Hospital Network (LHN) to commission activities that improve population health and service quality, or reduce hospitalisations and broader health expenditures.

Where they are directly related to prevention and management of chronic conditions, allocate the expected funding from the Practice Incentives Program and other Medical Benefit Schedule items to Primary Health Networks (PHNs) in each region.

Give LHNs autonomy about how they spend from their PCCMF (including a license to fund innovations) and give them certainty over future funding contributions to allow planning.

Assess the returns from PCCMF investments. Let LHNs retain some of the returns from PCCMFs, with the remainder shared among Australian, State and Territory Governments.

Disseminate the lessons from effective interventions funded through PCCMFs to other regions.

Ensure formal collaboration between LHNs and PHNs to improve population health and the effectiveness and efficiency of primary health care. Where relevant, involve other regional groups with capabilities in managing population health, including Local Governments and community organisations.

The Australian Government should allow LHNs to commission the services of GPs by amending section 19 of the Health Insurance Act 1973, with the proviso that the LHNs operate in formal agreement with their region’s PHN. The Australian Government should also remove any administrative constraints on PHNs allying with LHNs to commission GP services.

Amend the Australian Government’s prospective Health Care Home model so that LHNs and PHNs can introduce local variants, with supplementary funding and design features determined by them through collaboration.

Clinician buy-in is essential to achieving change and will be led by PHNs, which have often built good relationships with local leaders.

Further details are in Conclusions 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 of Supporting Paper 5.

Recommendation 2.2 Eliminate low-value health interventions

Australian governments should revise their policies to more rapidly reduce the use of low-value health interventions.

HOW TO DO IT

More quickly respond to international assessments indicating low-value medical interventions.

Create more comprehensive guidelines and advisory ‘do not do’ lists.

Disseminate best practice to health professionals, principally through the various medical colleges, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and similar state-based bodies.

Collect and divulge data at the hospital and clinician level for episodes of care that lead to hospital-acquired complications and for interventions that have ambiguous clinical impacts (such as knee arthroscopies).

Provide accessible advice to patients about potentially low-value services and improve their health literacy using the measures covered by Recommendation 2.3.

Ensure that ongoing processes for reviewing existing Medical Benefit Schedule items are more rapid and comprehensive than occurred under the arrangements prior to the Robinson Review.

Give priority to de-funding interventions that demonstrably fail cost effectiveness tests, moving from volume to value.

Remove the tax rebate for private health insurance ancillaries.

More details are in Conclusion 7.1 of Supporting Paper 5.

Recommendation 2.3 Make the patient the centre of care

All Australian governments should re-configure the health care system around the principles of patient-centred care, with this implemented within a five year timeframe.

HOW TO DO IT

Develop well-defined measures of people’s experience of care and the outcomes they observe (so-called Patient Reported Experience and Outcome Measures — PREMs and PROMs), and integrate these into disease registries. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care should be the orchestrator of these developments.

Publish results so clinicians, hospitals and patients see how the system is working at a grass roots level.

Consult with consumer groups representing patients and with the various medical colleges to achieve acceptance of the new model and its implications for practices.

Improve patient health literacy to a level that far more people would have a capacity to self-manage chronic conditions, make informed end of life decisions, and be able to solicit from, and interpret information given by, clinicians (Supporting Paper 5).

Use My Health Record and other IT platforms to involve people in their health decisions.

Give people a greater capacity for making choices between alternative suppliers, underpinned by transparent measures of prices and performance.

Give greater weight to patient convenience, and develop and disseminate technologies that assist this.

Systematically include an understanding of patient-centric care in the education and training of new health professionals, and use the various professional bodies to disseminate an understanding of the issues to existing health professionals.

Use data analysis to identify very high service users across all major service types and discover the reasons for their high use (Recommendation 2.4). Use this to customise care plans and other targeted early interventions to improve their health status and reduce their use of services.

Recommendation 2.4 Use information better

Australian governments should cooperate to remove the current messy, partial and duplicated presentation of information and data, and provide easy access to health care data for providers, researchers and consumers.

HOW TO DO IT

Identify the key relevant health datasets, including those that provide aggregated information about population health, and ensure that:

  • links to health datasets and survey results are included on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website
  • registers of health care data are created and published on data.gov.au, in line with recommendation 6.4 of the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Data Availability and Use (PCDAU).

Implement recommendation 6.6 of the PCDAU regarding the establishment of the Office of the National Data Custodian, which will have responsibility for the implementation of data management policy for health care and other data.

Streamline approval processes for access to data, in line with recommendation 6.7 of the PCDAU.

In doing so, priority should be given to making health datasets available, with a focus on projects that:

  • allow evaluation of initiatives by Primary Health Networks and Local Hospital Networks at the regional level
  • use data analytics to discover bottlenecks in integrated care systems, prospectively identify high-risk groups, identify the long-run effectiveness of preventative measures, and better isolate low-value interventions.

Governments should cooperate to reduce the existing inconsistencies in the multiple population health surveys and hospital and other satisfaction/experience surveys, accompanied by the development of benchmarks for gauging the relative performance of health care providers and purchasers across all national regions.

Any webpages or other sources that provide information to consumers about health care services should be comprehensive and maintained, and if that is not cost-effective, they should cease to be funded by governments.

Ensure uptake of electronic medical records by health professionals and hospitals by making them easy to use, and in some cases, linking access to additional funding to their adoption of integrated information systems.

Use My Health Record for both information and as a platform for providing clinically proven advice to patients, with the potential development of links between it and wearable technologies.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, in collaboration with other State and Territory Government agencies, should be a clearinghouse for the results of evaluations of regional innovations, and report on the diffusion of substantiated best practices across regions.

Create a cooperative ‘Champions Program’ that uses people with hands-on-experience with innovations to assist others to copy them.

Recommendation 2.5 Embrace technology to change the pharmacy model

The Australian Government should move away from community pharmacy as the vehicle for dispensing medicines to a model that anticipates automatic dispensing in a majority of locations, supervised by a suitably qualified person. In clinical settings, pharmacists should play a new remunerated collaborative role with other primary health professionals where there is evidence of the cost-effectiveness of this approach.

HOW TO DO IT

Identify the best dispensing technologies from those that are currently available.

Determine the necessary credentials for the supervisor of automated dispensing, but with those qualifications involving substantially less training than currently are required for pharmacists.

Consult with the relevant training institutions — most likely in the vocational education and training sector — to develop courses for such qualifications.

Inform the various university departments of pharmacy about the reduced need for future supply of pharmacists.

Determine the locations for automated dispensing, taking into account accessibility and security, but eliminating unnecessary boundaries on locations now endemic in pharmacy planning rules.

Trial the technologies in remote and rural areas where there are currently shortages of pharmacists.

In consultation with Primary Health Networks, Local Hospital Networks, the various medical colleges and any other relevant clinical bodies, define the role of pharmacists in a collaborative clinical model.

Identify where it is cost effective to use pharmacists in primary health, taking into account the capabilities of lower-cost health professionals, and the increasingly greater capacity for information systems to provide accurate advice about medicines to GPs and other professionals.

Phase in the changes after the Sixth Pharmacy Agreement has lapsed, using the time to test it in some natural settings to refine the model.

Recommendation 2.6 Amend alcohol taxation arrangements

The Australian Government should move towards an alcohol tax system that removes the current concessional treatment of high-alcohol, low-value products, primarily cheap cask and fortified wines.

HOW TO DO IT

Ideally, this would be achieved through a uniform volumetric tax rate for alcoholic beverages, calibrated to reflect the health impacts of alcohol consumption. Exemptions could be made for the first 1.15 per cent of alcohol (consistent with the current policy for beer).

A transition period would be needed to allow the wine industry time to adapt.

Phasing out the existing range of concessional alcohol excise rates — including for draught beer and brandy — would also help to simplify the tax system and make it less distortionary.

Alternative models that would avoid significant price reductions for expensive products — with the regressive income impacts this would entail — could include a modified WET (wine equalisation tax) system with a minimum volumetric tax or the introduction of floor price regulation.

However, further work on these options is needed to determine their feasibility in light of likely administrative burdens and implementation issues.

Tax measures should be accompanied by other policies that increase education about alcohol and assist people with alcohol-related conditions.

Aboriginal Health Events This Week #Australia2030 # BreastCancerAwareness #SaveADate #NACCHOagm2017 #BlackLivesMatter

This week

24 October 2017 ACOSS National Conference, in partnership with VCOSS

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

26-27 October  :Diabetes and cardiovascular research, stroke and maternal and child health issues.

Next Week

31 October –2 Nov  : #NACCHOAGM2017  Members Meeting Canberra

2 November Black Lives Matter Founders and leaders visit Australia to accept 2017 Sydney Peace Prize

15 November  One Day NATSIHWA Workshop SA Forum

14- 15 November  : 6th Annual NHMRC Symposium on Research Translation.

15 -18 November  :National Conference on Incontinence Scholarship Opportunity close 1 September

27-30 November  :Indigenous Allied Health Australia : IAHA Conference Perth

December 7-8 Aboriginal Men and Family Violence Conference in Adelaide

8 December  : 30th Human Rights Awards Sydney

14 December Shepparton  One Day NATSIHWA Workshop VIC Forum

11-12 April 2018  :6th Rural and Remote Health Scientific Symposium  Canberra call for extracts

If you have a Conference, Workshop Funding opportunity or event and wish to share and promote contact

Colin Cowell NACCHO Media Mobile 0401 331 251

Send to NACCHO Social  Media

mailto:nacchonews@naccho.org.au

24 October 2017 ACOSS National Conference, in partnership with VCOSS

Is the event where community leaders, policy and decision makers, practitioners, academics and people with lived experience come together to collectively tackle the issues driving poverty and inequality in Australia.  Leading thinkers and decision makers from the community, public, and private sectors will collaborate to identify challenges and workshop responses to move us towards a brighter and more equitable 2030.

The conference is a public policy dialogue where we will collectively strategise options for effective reform. It focuses on the promotion of social cohesion and addressing the drivers behind poverty and inequality.

This year the conference program has an updated format to cover greater opportunities to spark conversations that inspire action. ACOSS and VCOSS are partnering to offer a series of breakout sessions in addition to our plenaries. Because now more than ever there are so many issues, of such great importance, that need our attention.

Each plenary session takes the form of a facilitated conversation between a dynamic panel of thought leaders and the ACOSS/VCOSS conference attendees. We engage expert facilitators to help energise and focus these discussions.

We avoid lengthy addresses and instead run an interactive format that allows for a dialogue between expert panelists, conference attendees and online communities across a number of platforms. Each breakout session is an interactive debate or a facilitated workshop that goes into greater depth, greater breadth, or greater action on the conference’s 2030 focus; asking not only ‘where do we want to be’ but also ‘how are we going to get there?’

We use a conference app, live Twitter feed, live streaming and traditional media (print, TV, radio broadcast) to ensure the conversation happens across a number of platforms, opening our reach from hundreds to thousands of active participants.

The feedback following our 2016 conference was overwhelming, with delegates heralding it as our best event to date. Hundreds of sector leaders were in attendance and we trended on Twitter both days.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Appointments for breast screening can be made online (http://www.breastscreen.qld.gov.au) or by calling 13 20 50

and in Alice Springs

WARNING: WOMEN’S BUSINESS

October is #breastcancer awareness month and provides an opportunity to focus on breast cancer and the impact the disease has on our mob.…
Congress is offering the first 200 eligible* Aboriginal women that have a women’s health check or cervical screen at any Congress Clinic, or a mammogram at Breastscreen Nt an exclusive Deadly Choices Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Shirt.

To find out if you’re eligible and to book an appointment, call 8951 4400 or your local Congress clinic today.

*To be eligible you must an Aboriginal congress client and due for a mammogram, cervical or women’s health check during the promotion period. Pink ribbon shirts are strictly limited and will be substituted for available health check initiative deadly choices shirts when stock runs out.

Resources

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Working together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to improve cancer outcomes

WEBSITE

Women’s Business Workshop – Community Education Resource

This community education resource has been developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and health professionals working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to conduct a Women’s Business Workshop.

The workshop promotes the importance of awareness and early detection of breast and gynaecological cancers.

October 27 : Last chance to have your say: Optimal Care Pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer
 

Cancer Australia and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services are currently undertaking national public consultation on the Optimal Care Pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer (OCP). The consultation period closes at 5pm on Friday 27 October 2017.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak health bodies, organisations, associations and health professionals are encouraged to provide input to the draft OCP, which aims to improve cancer outcomes and experiences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by facilitating consistent, safe, high-quality and evidence-based cancer care based on an optimal pathway of care.

The pathway also intends to provide clinicians and health administrators with an agreed, nation-wide approach to cancer care across the cancer continuum.

Input from stakeholders is extremely valuable and we invite you to provide feedback and comments on the OCP.

How can I respond?
Please provide feedback by 5pm Friday 27 October 2017 to Cancer Council Victoria by email optimalcare.pathways@cancervic.org.au.

Cancer Council Victoria is coordinating the feedback for the OCP national public consultation.

The OCP is available on Cancer Council Victoria’s website as are Reviewer Guidelines to support your response.

Please share this e-alert with your networks and contacts.

We look forward to receiving your input.

26-27 October Diabetes and cardiovascular research, stroke and maternal and child health issues.

‘Translation at the Centre’ An educational symposium

Alice Springs Convention Centre, Alice Springs

This year the Symposium will look at research translation as well as the latest on diabetes and cardiovascular research, stroke and maternal and child health issues.  The event will be run over a day and a half.
The Educational Symposium will feature a combination of relevant plenary presentations from renowned scientists and clinicians plus practical workshops.

Registration is free but essential.

Please contact the symposium coordinator on 1300 728 900 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm) or via email at events@baker.edu.au  

31 October –2 Nov #NACCHOAGM2017  Members Meeting Canberra

Welcome to 2017 NACCHO Annual Members’ Conference and AGM

Follow our conference using HASH TAG #NACCHOagm2017

Download next weeks Program HERE

NACCHO 2017 Conference Program

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.

Where :Hyatt Hotel Canberra

Dates :Members’ Conference: 31 October – 1 November 2017
Annual General Meeting: 2 November 2017

CLICK HERE

2 November Black Lives Matter Founders and leaders visit Australia to accept 2017 Sydney Peace Prize

Black Lives Matter Founders and leaders visit Australia to accept 2017 Sydney Peace Prize

Black Lives Matter Global Network Founders above (from left to right), Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network will be awarded the 2017 Sydney Peace Prize (SPP). Its Founders – Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, with Toronto Chapter Leader Rodney Diverlus – will travel to Australia to collect the Prize at the City of Sydney Lecture and Award Ceremony at Sydney Town Hall on November 2.

“To turn a radically inclusive message into a rallying cry for millions of people as the Black Lives Matter Global Network has done requires vision, leadership, heart and courage,” said Archie Law, Chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation.

“Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi and the many other Black Lives Matter leaders challenge us all to rethink, reimagine and reconstruct the societies we live in. This is an urgent and vital challenge, not least here in Australia.”

Since creating the social media hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in 2012, the Black Lives Matter Founders have strategically built the scaffolding of an on-the-ground political network that now has more than 40 chapters worldwide. The movement has become a catalyst for discussion, debate, dissent and personal expression for those who want to see an end to state and racially fuelled violence. Today, Black Lives Matter has developed into a social movement with global reach and relevance.

“We receive this award with tremendous gratitude and in solidarity with organisers throughout Australia who, in the face of egregious oppression, fightback against the state and proclaim that all Black Lives Matter,” said Patrisse Cullors.

Black Lives Matter’s focus on social and economic justice has strong relevance to Australia’s First Peoples who face highly disproportionate rates of imprisonment, death while in custody, and low life expectancy in comparison to non-Indigenous Australians.

“This movement resonates around the globe and here in Australia, where we have become inured to the high incarceration rates and deaths in custody of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It’s as if their lives do not matter,” said Aboriginal leader, former Commissioner into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and 2008 Laureate Senator Pat Dodson.

President of Australian South Sea Islanders Port Jackson, Emelda Davis, whose ancestors were brought to Australia as forced labour (‘Blackbirding’), has applauded the Australian recognition of Black Lives Matter and believes its core messages have strong relevance to issues being faced by various black and Indigenous communities in Australia.

“Our untold Australian history of slavery is still unknown to the majority of Australians, but it haunts the minds, hearts and soul of our people. Addressing the hard realities our black and disadvantaged communities face takes guts and tenacity. Black Lives Matter is a bottom-up approach, a call for solidarity and truth telling for First Nation’s people and Australian South Sea Islanders as two of the most disadvantaged races in Australia,” said Ms Davis.

The Sydney Peace Prize is Australia’s international Prize for Peace, awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation at the University of Sydney with support from the City of Sydney. The Sydney Peace Prize brings the Sydney community together to talk about peace, justice and nonviolence, and to honour some of the world’s most inspiring peacemakers.

Previous recipients of the Sydney Peace Prize include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, Arundhati Roy, Senator Pat Dodson, Professor Noam Chomsky, and Naomi Klein.

Tickets and media passes are available for the City of Sydney Lecture and Award ceremony, the Gala Dinner, and an In Conversation hosted by the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.

The City of Sydney Peace Prize Lecture and Award Ceremony will feature the City of Sydney Peace Prize lecture presented by Black Lives Matter Founders Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. Other speakers include Larissa Behrendt, Maxine Beneba Clarke, and Lord Mayor Clover Moore. Legendary Aboriginal singer/songwriter Archie Roach will perform.

November 2, 5:30pm- 8:00pm, Sydney Town Hall. Tickets: $25-$45

https://events.ticketbooth.com.au/event/SPPLecture2017

The 2017 Sydney Peace Prize Gala Dinner is the Sydney Peace Foundation’s annual fundraising event, providing an opportunity to celebrate the 2017 SPP recipient and hear from a range of inspiring speakers, including The Hon. Linda Burney MP and Tracey Spicer. Legendary Aboriginal singer/songwriter Archie Roach will perform live.

November 3, 7:00pm-11:00pm, Dockside, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour. Tickets: $265 single – $3,000 table of 12

https://events.ticketbooth.com.au/event/SPPGalaDinner2017

Black Lives Matter Global Network Founders in conversation with Jack Latimore, hosted by the Wheeler Centre.

November 4, 8:00pm-9:00pm, the Melbourne Exhibition and Conference Centre. Tickets: $15-$25

https://www.wheelercentre.com/events/black-lives-matter-in-conversation

Media Opportunities

Black Lives Matter Global Network Chapter Leaders are available for phone interviews, as well as Chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation, Archie Law.

The Founders will also give an address on Wednesday November 1, at the National Press Club Address, Canberra, 11:35am – 1:30pm. Contact:

https://www.npc.org.au/speakers/alicia-garza-patrisse-cullors-rodney-diverlus/

 

 

15 November  One Day NATSIHWA Workshop SA Forum

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers Association (NATSIHWA) 

Join the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers Association (NATSIHWA) for a one day CPD networking workshop focussed on current workforce development opportunities.

Upskill and strengthen your skill level in a specialised area and find out what is happening through program development, education and funding opportunities.

Hear from organisations such as: PHN Primary Heath Network, CranaPlus, Autism QLD, Rheumatic Heart, PEPA Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach, Diabetes Australia, IBA Indigenous Business Australia, HESTA Superannuation, 1800 RESPECT, Hearing Australia and more to be annuonced in the coming months (tailored for your specific region).

Register HERE

14-15 November : 6th Annual NHMRC Symposium on Research Translation.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Lowitja Institute, Australia’s national institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, are proud to be co-hosting the 6th Annual NHMRC Symposium on Research Translation.

This partnership indicates an alignment of priorities and a strong commitment from our two institutions to deliver a measurable, positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Australia’s First Peoples.

Under the theme “The Butterfly Effect: Translating Knowledge into Action for Positive Change”, the Symposium will be an opportunity to bring relevant expertise to the business of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research translation and put forward Indigenous perspectives that inform the most effective policies and programs. It will also be a forum to share knowledge of what successful research looks like at community level and what the key elements of success are.

We look forward to the participation of delegates with community, research and policy expertise, including outstanding keynote speakers Dr Carrie Bourassa (Canada) and Sir Mason Durie (New Zealand). We are confident that through our joint commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, the Symposium will make a significant contribution to the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, families and individuals. This commitment also signals the importance of working together as equal partners, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

More info HERE

15 -18 November :National Conference on Incontinence Scholarship Opportunity

The Continence Foundation of Australia is offering 10 scholarships to support health professionals to attend the 26th National Conference on Incontinence. The conference will be held in Sydney on 15-18 November 2017.  The conference program and registration brochure can be found here.
This scholarship program is open to registered nurses and physiotherapists with an interest in continence care working in rural and remote areas of Australia. The scholarship includes full conference registration, including clinical workshops and social events, flights and accommodation. The top applicant also has the opportunity to participate in a placement at a Sydney continence clinic. Previous unsuccessful applicants are encouraged to apply.
Applications closed Friday 1 September.
Applications are being taken online. Click here to find out more and to apply.  

27-30 November Indigenous Allied Health Australia : IAHA Conference Perth

iaha

Abstracts for the IAHA 2017 National Conference are now open!

We are calling for abstracts for concurrent oral presentations and workshops under the following streams:
– Care
– Cultures
– Connection

For abstract more information visit the IAHA Conference website at: https://iahaconference.com.au/call-for-abstracts/

December 7-8 Aboriginal Men and Family Violence Conference in Adelaide

Unlike so many other conferences on this subject, our gathering will consist of over 95% Aboriginal speakers and examine what’s really going on with Aboriginal men and their use of violence.

Kornar Winmil Yunti (KWY) and No To Violence will be hosting the event which will support and promote good initiatives and ground-breaking approaches to working with Aboriginal men and families to address family violence. Our aim is to take the outcomes of the conference to government and other funding sources to draw attention to the initiatives being undertaken by Aboriginal communities.
Registrations are open for this conference now and we’d love it if you could promote the event with the below website.
KWY is an Aboriginal organisation based in Adelaide delivering services across South Australia to Aboriginal families to address family violence. No To Violence is the peak body for organisations and individuals working with men to end their violence and abuse towards family members. Both KWY and NTV are non-profit organisations.
8 December 30th Human Rights Awards Sydney

Tickets are now on sale for the 30th Human Rights Awards to be held in Sydney on Friday, 8 December 2017. What better way to recognise the individuals and organisations that are dedicated to human rights and celebrate their achievements!

Each year, more than 500 people from the community sector, government and business come together to recognise the impact of human rights in Australia.

Finalists for each of the eight categories are soon to be announced.

Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, will deliver the keynote address. Attorney-General, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC will be attending.

Event details

Date: Friday 8 December
Time: 12 to 3 pm
Location: The Westin Sydney

Each ticket includes a 2-course lunch and beverages.

Buy your ticket today: hrawards.humanrights.gov.au/tickets

For any questions, please contact (02) 9284

14 December Shepparton  One Day NATSIHWA Workshop VIC Forum

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers Association (NATSIHWA) 

Join the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers Association (NATSIHWA) for a one day CPD networking workshop focussed on current workforce development opportunities.

Upskill and strengthen your skill level in a specialised area and find out what is happening through program development, education and funding opportunities.

Hear from organisations such as: PHN Primary Heath Network, CranaPlus, Autism QLD, Rheumatic Heart, PEPA Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach, Diabetes Australia, IBA Indigenous Business Australia, HESTA Superannuation, 1800 RESPECT, Hearing Australia and more to be annuonced in the coming months (tailored for your specific region).

Register HERE

11-12 April 2018 6th Rural and Remote Health Scientific Symposium  Canberra call for extracts

About the Symposium

Drawing upon a tradition which commenced with the first rural and remote health scientific conference ‘Infront Outback’ held in Toowoomba in 1992, the 6th Rural and Remote Health Scientific Symposium will be held in Canberra, 11-12 April 2018.

The Symposium will celebrate 20 years since the establishment of the first university department of rural health in 1997 and will highlight the research and knowledge that followed this innovation.

Outback Infront will celebrate the leadership that has emerged from the rural and remote health research community, while at the same time, support early career academics and the next generation of rural health researchers.

The Symposium will focus on rural and remote health research that informs strategic health policy and health service challenges in rural and remote Australia.

The Symposium will provide an opportunity to share and develop research that seeks to understand and deliver innovative change through building evidence that has the potential to transform health outcomes and service delivery.

Who should attend

The Symposium program will be designed to engage academics, policy makers, expert researchers in rural and remote health and clinician-researchers, as well as emerging and early career researchers.

It will also be relevant to policy makers, university departments of rural health, rural clinical schools, research collaborations and bodies, rural workforce organisations and health services delivery networks and providers.

Program

As well as key presentations from respected researchers in rural and remote health the Symposium will also feature Rogano presentations (scholarly debate on a current research project that answer “how to” questions and encourage scholarly thinking and debate) and a return of the popular Lightning Talk presentations to support early career academics and the next generation of rural health researchers.

Abstracts are now being sought for general presentations, Lightning talks and Rogano presentations

Aboriginal Health #COAG #ClosetheGap :’Historic’: Sweeping overhaul of #Indigenous #ClosingtheGap strategy welcomed

  ” Congress is the key facilitator for generational change. Now is the time for all levels of government to invest, to meet the needs of our people to develop the capacity to participate economically, socially and culturally.

All indications are that this could well mark the start of new era of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.” 

Congress Co-Chair Rod Little

” Ministerial representatives from federal, state and territory governments recommitted to uniting efforts for Indigenous affairs across Australia, with a focus on the Closing the Gap Refresh and continuing to improve engagement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and governments.

Council members agreed the importance of moving to a strength-based approach to Closing the Gap that celebrates Indigenous achievement, as well as addressing persistent disadvantage.”

COAG Council on Indigenous Affairs see full communique Part 2 Below

Photo Above : PM at Closing the Gap Annual report 2017

Background  Feb 2017 Closing the gap: Australia is failing on Indigenous disadvantage goals

Closing the Gap set for overhaul after failing to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians

After almost a decade of failure to significantly improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians, the Federal Government is working on a major overhaul of the Closing the Gap strategy.

ABC reports

Key points:

  • Government will invest $300b into Closing the Gap strategy over next 10 years
  • Indigenous leaders say government must seek advice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • Final Closing the Gap strategy won’t be implemented until middle of 2018

It has been almost 10 years since commonwealth and state Governments committed to targets to close the gap in Indigenous health, education and employment, but there has been limited progress in key areas.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull signalled a new approach was needed when he tabled the ninth annual Closing the Gap report to Parliament earlier this year, that showed some targets were stagnating and others were going backwards.

Documents obtained by the ABC show the Federal Government is now seeking feedback on a drastically different approach, that will broaden the agenda to include more cultural and community targets.

The new framework, which would guide $300 billion of investment over 10 years, would also consider if objectives like home ownership, community safety and overcoming trauma should become priorities.

It is expected the final strategy will not be implemented until the middle of 2018, almost 18 months after Mr Turnbull indicated change was needed.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion me with his state and territory counterparts to discuss proposed changes, with months of consultation with the Indigenous community expected to follow

Fairfax Media reports

Fairfax Media understands some ministers present pushed back against the timeframe proposed by the federal government, which would see a new strategy finalised by June next year.

“You can’t put forward a new framework without including and consulting Aboriginal people. And with the current time frame the federal government is putting forward, it doesn’t look like there’s going to be enough time,” Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Natalie Hutchins told Fairfax Media.

“If we were going to just ram it through or rush it through, I don’t think we’d get the results. It’s better that we get it right.”

Ahead of the meeting, Senator Scullion said there was “an opportunity to redouble our efforts in the areas where we need to do better and develop a truly national, collaborative approach to improving the lives of First Australians”.

Any changes to Closing the Gap will affect the approximately $30 billion that is spent on Indigenous people annually by federal and state governments, according to the Productivity Commission.

Congress Press Release Historic Meeting Points to Positive Working Relations

Relationships between National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and State, Territory and Federal Governments took a positive turn today. For the first time in 8 years Indigenous Affairs was the focus of a COAG Ministerial Council meeting in Canberra.

This meeting was initiated by Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion and welcomed by National Congress and all who attended.

Congress Co-chairs Jackie Huggins and Rod Little heard directly from all State and Territory Ministers and Ministerial representatives in relation to their priorities for Indigenous affairs and where National Congress can play a vital role in delivering improvements for Indigenous people in their respective jurisdictions.

Reflecting on the significance and substance of this historic meeting, Co-Chair Jackie Huggins stated, “Congress hopes that this is the beginning of a concerted and cooperative effort towards alleviating the drastic social conditions that face Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

Stepping out of the meeting after a 45 minute presentation to all attendees, Co-Chair Rod Little stressed that, “Congress is the key facilitator for generational change. Now is the time for all levels of government to invest, to meet the needs of our people to develop the capacity to participate economically, socially and culturally. All indications are that this could well mark the start of new era of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.”

National Congress is ready and willing to deepen the relationships with all levels of government. By working in close partnership with all States and Territories, National Congress aims to realise their respective Indigenous Affairs goals under a single agreement framework.

23 October 2017, Canberra

Part 2 COAG Communiqué

Today’s first meeting of the new COAG Ministerial Council on Indigenous Affairs brought together ministers from all Australian governments in Canberra to re-energise national efforts on Indigenous policy. The Council was welcomed to Ngunnawal and Ngambri country by Tina Brown of the Ngunnawal peoples.

Ministerial representatives from federal, state and territory governments recommitted to uniting efforts for Indigenous affairs across Australia, with a focus on the Closing the Gap Refresh and continuing to improve engagement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and governments.

Co-Chairs of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples

The Council welcomed the Co-Chairs of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, Ms Jackie Huggins and Mr Rod Little, who spoke about the need for Commonwealth, State and Territory governments to work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and how governments can better engage with Indigenous advisory and representative bodies.

Council Priorities

Council members discussed priorities for Indigenous affairs, noting the importance of the process to refresh Closing the gap. Members discussed the importance of listening to, and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and noted there are multiple models for achieving this around the Federation, including through work underway in some jurisdictions toward local decision making and treaties.

Closing the Gap Refresh

Council members agreed the importance of moving to a strength-based approach to Closing the Gap that celebrates Indigenous achievement, as well as addressing persistent disadvantage. The Council recommitted to working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the issues that affect them, creating economic and social opportunities, noting that community support and a shared sense of ownership are essential for delivering meaningful, practical change.

All jurisdictions highlighted their commitment to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to refresh the agenda for the next ten years of Indigenous Affairs in Australia.

Council Attendees:

  • Senator the Hon Nigel Scullion, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs (Commonwealth) (Chair)
  • The Honourable Sarah Mitchell, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (New South Wales)
  • The Honourable Natalie Hutchins, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Victoria)
  • The Honourable Mark Furner, Minister of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Local Government (Queensland)
  • Mr Reece Whitby, Parliamentary Secretary (Western Australia)
  • The Honourable Kyam Maher, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (South Australia)
  • Ms Sarah Courtney, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier (Tasmania)
  • Ms Rachel Stephen-Smith, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (Australian Capital Territory)
  • The Honourable Ken Vowles, Minister for Primary Industry and Resources (Northern Territory)

Honoured Guests

  • Ms Jackie Huggins, Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
  • Mr Rod Little, Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples