- Closing the gap in one generation: Celebrating 20 years of the Cape York Leaders Program
- A call for action to address long COVID in Aboriginal communities
- Own it, and we will end it: Our women are leading the way to eliminate cervical cancer
- Indigenous trailblazer awarded national mental health prize
- Major funding boost to create 900 Indigenous ranger jobs for First Nations people
- Sector Jobs
The NACCHO Sector News is a platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.
We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.
Closing the gap in one generation: Celebrating 20 years of the Cape York Leaders Program
Cape York Partnership today celebrates the historic milestone of 20 years of the Cape York Leaders Program, highlighting the extraordinary achievements of Indigenous families and students which show closing the gap is not only possible – it’s already happening.
Driven by the wisdom and counsel of the pioneering reform leaders of Cape York, Noel Pearson founded Cape York Partnership to tackle the scourge of passive welfare and rebuild capability through responsibility and opportunity. The Cape York Leaders Program, launched in 2005, has become a beacon of success for youngsters from very remote communities, where education, housing, and health services have long failed them.
A new report by Indigenous-owned and operated consultancy Gargun details the Cape York Leaders Program’s success, including:
- A Year 12 completion rate of 95% – more than double the national average for remote Indigenous students and on par with Australia’s largest and best-performing scholarship programs.
- A student retention rate from Year 7 through to Year 12 graduation (securing a QCE) of 85%.
- Economic Impact: For CYLP Year 12 graduates, 70% go on to secure full-time employment (with others pursuing tertiary studies). Graduates earn on average $50,000 per year more than welfare recipients.
- Since its inception, CYLP has supported more than 600 secondary and tertiary students, producing over 250 Year 12 graduates and tertiary scholars.
A call for action to address long COVID in Aboriginal communities
The impact of long COVID upon Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory is poorly understood, and more needs to be done to improve diagnosis, treatment and support, according to Dr Andrew Nguyen, public health registrar and infectious diseases physician at Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT).
“Long COVID will not disappear simply because we have stopped talking about COVID,” he writes below.
“It demands attention and equity-focused action. The longer we wait, the greater the risk that this invisible pandemic becomes another entrenched health inequity.”
Andrew Nguyen writes:
COVID-19 may have faded from the headlines, but for many Australians it has not ended – it has simply changed form.
Long COVID, a complex post-viral condition affecting multiple body systems, continues to disrupt the daily lives of Australians, with estimates of more than 870,000 people affected. That is 5.7 percent of everyone who has had COVID.
Symptoms can persist for months or years and can include fatigue, breathlessness, chest pain, neurocognitive impairment, brain fog, sleep disturbance and chronic pain.
For some, these symptoms are disabling and impact work, mobility, family life and participation in community.
Despite this scale, long COVID remains under-recognised, under-diagnosed and under-resourced. And nowhere is that more evident – or more concerning – than in the Northern Territory.
Raising concerns about long COVID in remote NT. Tjoritja/West MacDonnell Ranges and Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Photo by Alison Barrett
Own it, and we will end it: Our women are leading the way to eliminate cervical cancer
Cervical cancer elimination is not a distant goal; it is happening now, in our clinics, our communities, and through the quiet leadership of our women.
In Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across the country, women are coming in, asking questions, making choices, and taking control of their own health. That is how change happens. Not through campaigns and slogans, but through genuine conversations, respect, and a system that listens first.
Australia has a national plan, and the World Health Organisation has set a global pathway: vaccinate, screen, treat. The structure is clear, but structure alone doesn’t move people. What makes the difference is trust. It’s a woman walking into a service where she is known, respected, and supported. It’s being given a choice that fits her comfort, her culture, and her life. When care feels right, women take part, and that is exactly what we are seeing across our sector.
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation chief executive Pat Turner AO. Image: NACCHO.
Indigenous trailblazer awarded national mental health prize
Professor Pat Dudgeon AM, Australia’s first Aboriginal psychologist, has been awarded a prestigious national mental health prize in recognition of her outstanding leadership and lifelong contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health at both national and community levels.
Professor Dudgeon said she was honoured to win the 2025 Australian Mental Health Prize.
“It is wonderful recognition of the work that my colleagues and I have developed over two decades, to shape the understanding of Indigenous mental health and wellbeing,” she said.
As Director of the Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention at The University of Western Australia, Professor Dudgeon has been instrumental in embedding cultural, strengths-based and lived experience perspectives into policy and services.
Major funding boost to create 900 Indigenous ranger jobs for First Nations people
More than 900 new Indigenous ranger jobs will be created across the country, as the federal government works to double the number of Indigenous rangers by the end of the decade.
Seventeen new projects will be funded in the Northern Territory out of a total 82 across the nation, as part of a $190 million investment over three years.
All new projects will have dedicated positions for women, which will see about half of the new ranger positions held by First Nations women.
Round two of the Indigenous Rangers Program (IRP) Expansion builds on last year’s round, which created more than 1000 ranger jobs across the country and welcomed 80 new
More than 900 new Indigenous ranger jobs will be created across the country, as the federal government works to double the number of Indigenous rangers by the end of the decade. Pic: Supplied.
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