19 April 2024

Enduring inequities in breast cancer care
Learning from 50 years of alcohol programs
Injuries: leading cause of disability and death for kids
Wide ranging benefits for mob of clean energy
Integrated health helping 2 year-old Carter hear
Investment in culturally relevant vocational training
Sector Jobs
Events and training

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 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.

Enduring inequities in breast cancer care

Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) today joined an international call to raise the standard of breast cancer care and close gaps that exist between and within countries – including in Australia. Earlier this week he new Lancet Commission on Breast Cancer released findings and recommendations on improving breast cancer care globally. Globally, breast cancer is the most common cancer and by 2040, the incidence of new breast cancers is predicted to be more than 3 million per year.

BCNA’s Director of Policy, Advocacy & Support Services Vicki Durston welcomed this landmark report. “While advances have been made in breast cancer, there remain significant inequities including access to care and treatment among disadvantaged groups, financial toxicity, and a lack of comprehensive cancer data to inform global policy development,” Ms Durston said.

“Although the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is high in Australia, there are still significant equity of access issues, particularly for those with metastatic breast cancer, and people from priority populations including First Nations, LGBTIQ+, CALD and rural and remotes communities.”

You can read the BCNA’s article BCNA joins international call to challenge enduring inequities in breast cancer care here and access the Lancet Commission report in full here.

Learning from 50 years of alcohol programs

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-led initiatives to reduce alcohol harms are profiled in a new book that privileges, prioritises and amplifies First Nations voices. Nicole Hewlett, a Palawa woman and co-author with Peter d’Abbs of Learning from 50 Years of Aboriginal Alcohol Program, available here, says their book showcases “the solution-focused, strengths-based and resilient spirit of our people, despite the challenging realities we live in”.

The story of this book began with Peter d’Abbs, a non-Indigenous researcher. Over the past 50 years, d’Abbs witnessed the cycles, patterns and changes of government. He has firsthand accounts of how and why alcohol policy and programs were decided upon. Most importantly, he understood that the knowledge of those with lived experiences of the impact of such policies and programs.

The evidence that has informed government policy decisions such as the 2007 Intervention in the NT had unilaterally imposed a blanket ban on alcohol on all Aboriginal land in the NT has almost always not included the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who become pawns in a game to win the white middle-class vote. Despite this, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have continued to stand up and get on with supporting our communities.

To view the Croakey Health Media article “This book provides a gift of knowing, of truth and of hope” in full click here.

co-authors Nicole Hewlett & Peter d'Abbs holding book

Co-authors Nicole Hewlett and Peter d’Abbs at a recent roundtable meeting in Parliament House. Photoe: Mel Hill Photography & FARE. Image source: Croakey Health Media.

Injuries: leading cause of disability and death for kids

Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can be unintentional (falls, road crashes, drowning, burns) or intentional (self harm, violence, assault). The type, place and cause of injury differs by age, developmental stage and sex. Injury also differs by socioeconomic status and place of residence. Injuries are predictable, preventable events, and understanding where and how they occur is essential to inform prevention efforts.

A new report, available here, from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, released yesterday, tells us injury patterns differ between boys and girls and the causes of injury in children change as they progress through different stages of development. The Australian government has drafted a new National Injury Prevention Strategy, available here, which is expected to be released later in 2024. This will provide clear guidance for all levels of government and others on prevention strategies and investment needed.

In the meantime, better injury surveillance data is sorely needed to better identify the cause of injuries (such as family violence, alcohol and other drug misuse, intentional self-harm or consumer product-related injuries), and to identify where injuries took place (home, school, shopping centre, and so on). There is also insufficient attention paid to priority populations, including people of low socioeconomic status, those in rural and remote areas and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To view The Conversation article Falls, fractures and self-harm: 4 charts on how kids’ injury risk changes over time and differs for boys and girls in full click here.

young Aboriginal child on climbing rope structure in a playground

Image source: The Telethon Kids Institute website.

Wide ranging health benefits for mob of clean energy

Onsite renewables, such as solar farms, will help improve health outcomes for Indigenous communities by increasing energy security and lowering costs, according to submissions to a Federal Government consultation. Submissions informing development of a First Nations Clean Energy Strategy say replacing polluting, expensive diesel generators would allow for the continued operation of essential health equipment. A more reliable energy supply would also help improve online access to health resources.

The importance of improved housing for Indigenous communities in a warming climate is also highlighted in submissions to a consultation by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). While Australia’s transition to clean energy could bring important health benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, submissions stress that achieving these outcomes will require greater autonomy and decision-making in designing solutions, particularly when it comes to housing policy.

In its submission, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) noted that the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities was undermined by many economic and social determinants of health and wellbeing. It said the climate crisis would result in “more respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, changes in the prevalence and geographic distribution of food and water-borne diseases, implications for food and water security, changes in the prevalence of infectious diseases, and potential impacts on the mental health of First Nations people”.

To view the Croakey Health News article National consultation highlights wide-ranging health benefits for First Nations communities from clean energy in full click here.

The image below is from an article How climate change is turning remote Indigenous houses into dangerous hot boxes, available here, published in The Conversation on 17 June 2022.

exterior view of poorly insulated house Yuendumu, NT

A poorly insulated home in Yuendumu, NT. Photo: Dr Simon Quilty. Image source: The Conversation.

Integrated health helping 2 year-old Carter hear

For the first two years of his life, everything was a little quiet for Carter Ah Chee-Maytum. Mum Yolandi Ah Chee said she quickly realised her baby was suffering from hearing loss — and behavioural issues like scratching, fights with his sister, yelling and the inability to understand people were rife. “He was a very angry little boy, because he just couldn’t hear anything for the first two years of his life,” she said. Faced with an 18-month waitlist and thousands of dollars in medical bills at a private doctor, Ms Ah Chee said it was a struggle to access medical intervention.

For the first time, Telethon will now fund a services coordinator and full-time speech pathology service for the super clinic. Ear, nose and throat surgeon Francis Lannigan said chronic ear disease was considered by UN agency the World Health Organisation as a marker of public health — and Australia was leading the world in its disease rates. “When you reach above the level of about 4% it’s considered to be a public health crisis,” he said. “In remote communities, up to 70% of Aboriginal children have chronic ear disease.”

Dr Lannigan said more needed to be done to address the healthcare disparities — including addressing the disease rates in Government commitments like Closing the Gap. “I’d like to see a cohort of First Nations children arrive at kindergarten with normal speech and language,” he said. “I cannot understand why it isn’t a bigger focus of the Closing the Gap program.”

To view The West Australian article Telethon: Cockburn Integrated Health helping kids like 2yo Carter to hear his mum in full click here.

Yolandi Ah Chee with 2 year-old son Carter

Yolandi Ah Chee said she notice early on that Carter was impacted by hearing loss. Photo: Kelsey Reid, The West Australian.

Investment in culturally relevant vocational training

The Victorian government has announced more culturally relevant training for First Nations people through continued investment in the vocational educational and training sector. More than $6m in funding was announced at the Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative farm in Mooroopna for nine projects to help expand skills and training pathways for Indigenous people in the state.

Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney also visited Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association to launch Koorie Education in Learn Locals: Best Practice and Protocols. This is a practical tool helping Learn Locals – over 200 of which operate across the state, offering courses in maths, literacy and workplace skills to help find work or pursue study – better meet the needs of Koorie learners and communities. The new protocols for Learn Locals offer guidance on building relationships with local Koorie communities as well as making sure the learning communities are culturally safe.

The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI) president Geraldine Atkinson said: “We are very pleased to see the Koorie Protocols and Principles launched today and shortly distributed to every Learn Local in Victoria. It’s an important step in ensuring Aboriginal learners are welcomed and encouraged to succeed in community adult education.”

You can access more information on Learn Locals here and view the National Indigenous Times article More investment for culturally relevant vocational training in Victoria in full click here.

VAEAI President Geraldine Atkinson. Photo: James Ros, AAP. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025.

Registrations are open now for Perth: 16-17 April 2024.

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:

Delegation of powers
Finance for Boards
Governance documents
Managing conflicts of interest
Managing risk
Principles of good governance
Structure and role of boards and sub-committees

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

22 March 2024

SHPA meets up with NACCHO on Close the Gap Day
Delivering dialysis in remote communities webinar
World Indigenous Cancer Conference
Qld students complete anti-tobacco program
Sector Jobs
Key Dates – 22 March: Lynch Syndrome Awareness Day; World Water Day; 24 March: World Tuberculosis Day
Events and training

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

SHPA meets up with NACCHO on Close the Gap Day

NACCHO and The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) have collaborated for years to achieve medicines access equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across all healthcare settings, especially in hospitals. In recent years, NACCHO and SHPA have made the case for public hospital pharmacies to be included in the Closing the Gap PBS Co-payment program, so that they can supply important medicines to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when discharged from hospitals while removing cost barriers. In 2023, the Australian Senate agreed to this, and a recent Department of Health and Aged Care report also supported this. NACCHO and SHPA will continue to collaborate to see this policy change be adopted and implemented.

On National Close the Gap Day, SHPA met up with NACCHO to discuss other programs and policies that impact medicines access and use for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. SHPA was also proud to provide a copy of its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) to NACCHO, launched last year, which proudly describes SHPA’s commitment to engage and collaborate with NACCHO to strengthen our shared policy positions.

You can find more detail about the CTG PBS Co-payment program on the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website here.

Mike Stephens with Jerry Yik holding SHPA RAP

Mike Stephens, NACCHO Director, Medicines Policy and Programs with Jerry Yik holding SHPA’s RAP.

Delivering dialysis in remote communities webinar

From 4–5pm (Canberra time) Tuesday 26 March, NACCHO is hosting a webinar with staff from Purple House and Kimberley Renal Services to describe some key things to consider when establishing a dialysis unit for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and give an opportunity to ask questions.

This is to support communities submitting an Expression of Interest for nurse-led dialysis units in remote communities as part of the Better Renal Services commitment. This commitment is for up to 30 four-chair dialysis units for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with end-stage kidney disease.

You can register for the webinar here.

World Indigenous Cancer Conference

The third World Indigenous Cancer Conference took place in Naarm (Melbourne) this week, 17–20 March. It was a packed house, with around 540 very enthusiastic attendees from Australia, Canada, France, NZ, Sweden, the UK, and the US, who have chosen to work to achieve equity in cancer outcomes for their Peoples.

Conference attendee Waulu McCartney, a proud Wamba Wamba Wurundjeri woman from Victoria, said “I like working with my people – in health promotion, health awareness and their keeping information up to date so they can make informed decisions for their own care. It means a lot when you’re helping your own people.” McCartney shared her personal connection with cancer, motivating the work that she does as a project officer in chronic health with VACCHO, “I’ve had multiple family members that have had cancer in the past. My grandmother had lung cancer, my dad has had multiple skin cancers chopped out, my mum has had skin cancers chopped out, multiple family members that have passed away from cancer, had cancer or they are fighting cancer at the moment. It is big in community. People don’t talk about it but, once you ask the question, you realise how prevalent it is in community.”

Another conference attendee, Kiandra Brown, a Gunditjmara woman, is also a project officer in chronic health with VACCHO. Brown, who works on the Beautiful Shawl Project, a community-led initiative in breast screening for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women said, “I’ve grown up in the community, working with community and a lot of my family work in the health sector, and I have family affected by health issues so that motivates me to do this work. Working on the beautiful shawl and seeing the work that we do and the results of it, it’s that saying ‘Aboriginal health in Aboriginal hands’ that just keeps me going.”

To view the Croakey Health Media article What is at the heart of our work to improve cancer outcomes? First Nations Peoples share stories and motivations in full click here.

VACCHO staff at the conference. Image: Danielle Manton. Image source: Croakey Health Media.

Qld students complete anti-tobacco program

A total of 18 participants from Gympie State High School attended and successfully completed The Deadly Choices 6-week senior anti-tobacco program. North Coast Aboriginal Corporation for Community Health says it aims to “educate more young people in the coming school terms about the importance of tobacco awareness and the dangers of vaping, “We hope this program will further support out ongoing No Durri for This Murri campaign, which was been highly successful along the coast and is widely recognised across the state.”

The Deadly Choices Tobacco Education Program explores the historical journey of tobacco use, its acceptance, and its impacts on community. Promoting key behavioural change through education around smoking, is a way of empowering youth towards informed decision making and avoiding the harmful impacts of smoking and vaping.

It’s hoped graduates of the program will advocate against smoking among their peers and likewise be equipped to support peers, family and community members to start their quit journey. Deadly Choices envisions this program will lead to happier, healthier Mob, as well as creating smoke-free environments.

Learn more about the Deadly Choices Tobacco Education Program here.

Gympie State High School participants of The Deadly Choices 6-week senior ant-tobacco program.

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Lynch Syndrome Awareness Day

Lynch Syndrome Awareness Day (LSAD) is held on 22 March every year. It is a day to honour all those affected, at risk, or who have a mutation that causes Lynch syndrome. Lynch syndrome (previously known as HNPCC – Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colon Cancer) is an inherited genetic mutation which gives people an increased risk of developing certain types of cancers throughout their lifetime.

Every person inherits genes from both their parents and Lynch syndrome is caused by a fault in a gene that normally functions to protect a person from getting cancer (known as the ‘mismatch repair’ genes). The ‘faulty’ gene increases a carrier’s risk of developing brain, colon, kidney, liver, skin, stomach, and uterine cancers. Where it runs in a family, Lynch syndrome can present itself as many different cancers across multiple family members.

People with Lynch syndrome, for example, have a 70-90% risk of developing bowel cancer. Around 30% of bowel cancer patients have a family history or genetic inheritance, both of which significantly increase a person’s risk of developing bowel cancer. If a person is diagnosed with Lynch syndrome their parents, children, and siblings have a 50% chance of having bowel cancer. Other blood relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews) are also at increased risk. Identifying people that are carriers of Lynch syndrome allows for early and increased surveillance, the option of preventative surgery and the ability to determine increased cancer risk in the extended family.

You can find more information about Lynch syndrome here, and read a related AMA InSight+ article Lynch syndrome: the cancer risk nobody’s heard of here.

World Water Day

World Water Day is an annual United Nations observance day held on 22 March every year to highlight the importance of fresh water and promote the responsible use of water and access to safe water for everyone.

Water can create peace or spark conflict. When water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal, or no access, tensions can rise between communities and countries. More than 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders. Yet, only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water. As climate change impacts increase, and populations grow, there is an urgent need, within and between countries, to unite around protecting and conserving our most precious resource. Public health and prosperity, food and energy systems, economic productivity and environmental integrity all rely on a well-functioning and equitably managed water cycle.

The theme of World Water Day 2024 is ‘Water for Peace’. When we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect – fostering harmony, generating prosperity, and building resilience to shared challenges. We must act upon the realisation that water is not only a resource to be used and competed over – it is a human right, intrinsic to every aspect of life. This World Water Day, we all need to unite around water and use water for peace, laying the foundations of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow.

You can find more information about World Water Day here.

You can also read the following related articles:

Heatwave and drought a dangerous mix for dialysis patients in remote communities – The Guardian here.
Bottled water trucked to remote Ali Curung Aboriginal community as drinking water crisis continues – ABC News here.
Delivering safe water to Aboriginal communities – Murdoch University here.
Survey Reveals How Unsafe Tap Water Affects an Aboriginal Community in Australia – Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research here.

World Tuberculosis Day

World Tuberculosis Day is commemorated on 22 March every year to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease

The theme of World TB Day 2024 – ‘Yes! We can end TB!’ – conveys a message of hope that getting back-on-track to turn the tide against the TB epidemic is possible through high level leadership, increased investments, and faster uptake of new World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations. Following the commitments made by Heads of State at the United Nations High Level meeting in 2023 to accelerate progress to end TB, this year’s focus shifts to turning these commitments into tangible actions.

To help countries scale-up access to TB preventive treatment, WHO will release an investment case on scaling up the roll out of TB preventive treatment.

You can find more information about World Tuberculosis Day on the WHO website here.

You can also read a related article Tuberculosis outbreak leads to 13 confirmed infections in remote South Australian communities here.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025.

Registrations are open now for Sydney and Perth:

Sydney 19–20 March 2024
Perth 16–17 April 2024

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:

Delegation of powers
Finance for Boards
Governance documents
Managing conflicts of interest
Managing risk
Principles of good governance
Structure and role of boards and sub-committees

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

20 March 2024

New laws will prevent pharmacy ownership
Warning of ‘severe, early’ flu season
CAAC critical of sudden bottleshop cop removal
$3.5m for O’Donoghue Foundation
PSA national conference grant opportunities
Sector Jobs
Key Dates – World Oral Health Day – 20 March 2024
Events and training

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

New laws will prevent pharmacy ownership

AMA Queensland is dismayed the Queensland Parliament has passed unnecessary, anti-competitive laws that lock Aboriginal health services out of owning pharmacies.“It is profoundly disappointing that both sides of politics have chosen to ignore medical groups, First Nations organisations and the Productivity Commission to pass the Pharmacy Business Ownership Bill unchanged,” AMA Queensland President Dr Maria Boulton said.

Dr Boulton continued, “The Government, the Opposition and the Greens must explain why they are prioritising the profits of pharmacy owners over the health of our First Nations people. The pharmacy sector already has unnecessary restrictions on who can own a pharmacy. It is the only healthcare sector with these restrictions. A pharmacist can own a general practice, but a GP cannot own a pharmacy.

“An ACCHO can own and run all parts of a collaborative health service except the pharmacy. First Nations Queenslanders should be able to fill prescriptions and receive medication advice in a culturally safe way. Pharmacies owned by the community-controlled sector will be driven by a team-based approach, not by profit. However, these new laws block anyone other than a pharmacist or a close family member from owning a pharmacy. This is completely anti-competitive and not in the interests of community health.:

To view the AMA Queensland media release Govt must explain why it has prioritised pharmacy owners over Aboriginal health services in full click here.

chemist's hand with tablet bottles & blister packs

Image source: AMA.

Warning of ‘severe, early’ flu season

Health experts are warning Australians to get their flu shots as early as possible this year, ahead of what is looking like will be a severe and unusually early influenza season. There have already been 24,019 laboratory-confirmed cases of the flu across Australia so far this year, according to official Department of Health and Aged Care figures. That’s up 29% compared to the same time last year. These figures are considered a significant underestimate, as many cases go unreported.

Immunisation Coalition chief executive Dr Andrew Minton said the latest figures were “concerning”. “Population immunity is still recovering from the pandemic but influenza infection remains high and a serious disease,” he said. “Children and high-risk populations, particularly the elderly, are most at risk.” With the start of cooler weather sending people indoors, Australia is likely to see flu cases spike in the coming weeks. Traditionally, influenza spreads most rapidly in Australia during winter and early spring, with July and August typically seeing the highest number of cases. But since 2022 the flu season has started earlier, spreading rapidly from April onwards and peaking earlier, in June.

Influenza cases also remained extremely high throughout summer – often more than tripling pre-pandemic levels – thanks largely to holidaymakers bringing influenza home from the northern hemisphere. Very young children, the elderly and pregnant women are among those at the highest risk of ending up in hospital or dying from influenza. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people with underlying health conditions are also at increased risk. The flu vaccine is available for free to all of these groups.

To view the 9News.com.au article Warning of ‘severe, early’ flu season, with case numbers up almost 30 per cent in full click here.

person being administered a vaccine into their arm

Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko. Image source: ABC News.

CAAC critical of sudden bottleshop cop removal

The largest Aboriginal health organisation in Central Australia has criticised the sudden removal of bottleshop cops, saying the government has “opened the floodgates” to alcohol harms. It comes as yesterday Police Minister Brent Potter announced 20 additional officers would be sent to Alice Springs. 32 Police Auxiliary Licensing Inspectors (PALIs) were removed from bottle shops in Alice Springs and Katherine last week to begin a four month training course fast tracking them to become constables. At the start of last week there were no PALIs in Katherine bottleshops and five of Alice Springs’ nine outlets were left to fend for themselves, despite earlier promises from Mr Potter there would be full coverage.

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC) said the removal of PALIs – who have the power to stop takeaway alcohol sales and enforce the Banned Drinker Register – was already being felt in Alice Springs. “The town is already seeing increasing alcohol related chaos,” CEO Donna Ah Chee said. “Just like any employee, (PALIs) should have the right to training and career progression. What I don’t understand is why the government would withdraw them all at the same time, on extremely short notice. That is a recipe for disaster.”

Data shows alcohol sales were down 20% in the last quarter of 2023, compared with the same period in 2022, and assaults involving alcohol had dropped 42%.

The above has been extracted from an article Potter defends handling of PALI training as criticism mounts published by the Townsville Bulletin yesterday, 19 March 2024.

CAAC CEO Donna Ah Chee & policeman outside bottleshop

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress CEO Donna Ah Chee criticised the sudden removal of PALIs. Photo: Emma Murray. Image source: Townsville Bulletin.

$3.5m for O’Donoghue Foundation

The Albanese government has donated $3.5m to the foundation that honours the late Indigenous leader Lowitja O’Donoghue. While the Lowitja Institute was established more than 20 years ago to drive Indigenous health research, the Lowitja O’Donoghue Foundation was set up shortly before her death to help young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had chosen a career in nursing or the public sector.

O’Donoghue was the first Indigenous nurse to train at Royal Adelaide Hospital. Later, she rose through the ranks of the commonwealth public sector. She was inaugural chairwoman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission when the organisation was lauded as productive. O’Donoghue died last month, aged 91. She is considered one of Australia’s greatest leaders.

This funding, across the next three years, will support the foundation to continue her legacy and increase the number of scholarships offered for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to follow in O’Donoghue’s footsteps in nursing and the public sector. “Lowitja O’Donoghue was one of the most remarkable leaders this country has ever known,” Anthony Albanese said. “I am proud that we will deliver $3.5m to support the Lowitja O’Donoghue Foundation to honour her remarkable legacy and support the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and public sector leaders.”

The above has been extracted from the article $3.5m for O’Donoghue foundation The Australian article published in The Australian earlier today.

Lowitja O'Donoghue smiling with Aboriginal dot painting in background

Lowitja O’Donoghue. Image source: The Australian.

PSA national conference grant opportunities

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is again be offering the PSA Faye McMillan Conference Grant this year, with the aim of supporting the attendance of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pharmacist(s) at their PSA National Conference (PSA24). ‘PSA24’ will be held from Friday 2 August to Sunday 4 August 2024 at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.

Aligning with National Close the Gap Day, the PSA will open the Expression of Interest (EOI) for the grant opportunity tomorrow, Thursday 21 March 2024, with an accompanying PSA media release and social media posts. The closing date for the grant EOI will be Thursday 16 May 2024.

You can find more information about the PSA National Conference 2024 here.

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

World Oral Health Day – 20 March 2024

World Oral Health Day is celebrated on 20 March every year, with the world being asked to unite to help reduce the burden of oral diseases, which affect individuals, health systems and economies everywhere.

What is World Oral Health Day purpose?

World Oral Health Day aims to empower people with the knowledge, tools and confidence to secure good oral health.

Why is World Oral Health Day important?

Oral diseases are a major health concern for many countries and negatively impact people throughout their lives. Oral diseases lead to pain and discomfort, social isolation and loss of self-confidence, and they are often linked to other serious health issues. And yet, there is no reason to suffer: most oral health conditions are largely preventable and can be treated in their early stages.

Who is World Oral Health Day targeted to?

•   individuals to take personal action
•   schools and youth groups to deliver learning activities about oral health
•   oral health professionals and the wider healthcare community to educate the populations they serve
•   governments and policymakers to champion better oral health for all.

You can find more information on World Oral Health Day here.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 and 2025.

Registrations are open now for Sydney and Perth:

Sydney 19–20 March 2024
Perth 16–17 April 2024

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:

Delegation of powers
Finance for Boards
Governance documents
Managing conflicts of interest
Managing risk
Principles of good governance
Structure and role of boards and sub-committees

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact NACCHO using this email link.

5 March 2024

KAMS, local leaders urge investment in detox facilities
AH&MRC Indigenous Health Summit 2024
SNAICC calls for new early years service model to help Close the Gap
Decolonising healthcare
Remote community housing design led by Elders
Sector Jobs
Events and training

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

KAMS, local leaders urge investment in detox facilities

Community leaders in WA’s Kimberley region are urging state authorities to increase drug rehabilitation and detox services as locals fear a rise in methamphetamine and other drug use among young people in the area. Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS) chief executive Vicki O’Donnell renewed the organisation’s call for the WA government to invest in detox facilities if any further restrictions on liquor are enacted.

“There is no way forward to be able to stem the flow if you don’t have services available to be able to get those kids off drugs,” she told ABC.

Ms O’Donnell said the region needs a regional strategy on the minimisation of alcohol and drug related harm.

“We’re saying that whilst you are concentrating on alcohol, you also have a drug problem, which needs to be addressed now, where do you go for your support for a drug problem?” she said.

“There’s no infrastructure in the Kimberley.”

She hoped more investment would make it possible to build a small detox centre alongside the existing Milliya Rumurra Rehabilitation Centre, outside of Broome.

“Having one detox centre, certainly for the Kimberley is better than having none. They can’t take any more on, so they have a limited scope. They’re underfunded. What we’re asking for is to invest in those areas,” she told the ABC.

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

Image source: National Indigenous Times.

AH&MRC Indigenous Health Summit 2024

The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW (AH&MRC) Indigenous Health Summit 2024 is on this week, Monday March 4 to Wednesday March 6. During the summit, Directors, CEOs, Managers, Program Coordinators, and community leaders in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare are undertaking two days of sessions, as well as a post-summit workshop. The key focus of the summit is to collaborate in closing the gap on Indigenous health.

In the Yalbilinya Miya (learn together): First Nations Led Breastfeeding Support Program session, Rachael Fikkers said, “A lot of our women knew the health benefits of breast milk in breastfeeding for both mum and baby and had the intention to breastfeed, but the lack of information and support available once bub was born was challenging. Women were feeling like failures, thinking ‘What’s wrong with me?

“The impacts of the stolen generation and the continuing high rates of children being removed reflects the impacts that had on a women’s ability to breastfeed, as there was very limited family support around them with the knowledge”.

Learn more here.

SNAICC calls for new early years service model to help Close the Gap

The national peak body for First Nations children and families has called for the creation of a new early years service model reflecting the “unique” needs for Indigenous children. SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle will the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into early childhood education and care (ECEC) on Tuesday that the organisation supports most of the recommendations in their draft report, released late last year, with particular emphasis on the need for sustainable funding for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCO) early years services.

“We reiterate our call for the scrapping of the Childcare Activity Test,” Ms Liddle said.

“As [a] step towards this, we are pleased to see the Productivity Commission’s draft recommendation for universal access to at least 30 hours of ECEC per week for our children.”

The peak body made the submission to the ECEC, supporting the vision of a “universal ECEC system” that would strengthen Indigenous children and families’ involvement and engagement with “culturally centred and high-quality education and care and integrated early years services”.

“ACCO early years services operate differently to mainstream and for-profit providers,” SNAICC said in their submission.

“This requires a separate, dedicated funding model for ACCO ECEC and integrated early years services.”

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

Image source: SNAICC.

Decolonising healthcare

As the gap in healthcare outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people persists, the concept of decolonisation in healthcare has emerged as a crucial step toward addressing these inequities. Research by the University of Melbourne explores the role of marketing in improving healthcare for First Nations Communities. The study looked at case studies of marketing-driven decolonisation initiatives including the success story of the Birthing on Country program in the NT which has empowered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to access culturally appropriate healthcare.

Giving birth in Western-style hospitals often feels culturally unsafe and severs the spiritual connection to their ancestral land. In the NT, the limited number of hospitals forces many pregnant women to travel long distances, further disrupting this connection. Birthing on Country (BoC) involves a holistic understanding of childbirth that encompasses not only the mother and baby but also the land, water, flora, fauna and intangible elements like ancestral narratives and Women’s Business. To improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, healthcare practices must consider the broader aspects of land, culture and spirituality.

A collaborative marketing campaign, initiated in 1999, played a pivotal role in building influence for the BoC movement. Recognising the importance of First Nations engagement, the campaign involved midwives, researchers and First Nations women in the Northern Territory. By using local languages and developing messaging that resonated with the community, the campaign created a recognisable and trusted identity for BoC. Consistent and culturally respectful messaging ensured the community’s voice was central in all public-facing materials, fostering trust in the movement.

For decolonisation of healthcare to succeed, future efforts must prioritise First Nations holistic approaches that emphasise community wellbeing over individual health. This approach aligns with First Nations cultural values and recognises the interconnectedness of health with the environment and community.

Read the full article here.

The Birthing on Country program empowers First Nations women to access culturally appropriate birthing services. Picture: iStock.

Remote community housing design led by Elders

In Tennant Creek, NT, there are the 50-year-old, uninsulated tin sheds still being lived in, with no concrete floors, power, or water. Families in Tennant are regularly forced to choose between purchasing pre-paid electricity credit or food. When the credit runs out, the power is disconnected, and data shows that disconnection rates skyrocket in the hot weather. Heat and hunger define life inside these structures.

The Wilya Janta (Standing Strong) housing collaboration is paving a new way in remote Indigenous housing that recognises and addresses the oppressive nature of housing delivery and the need to empower communities in concepts of design. The Warumungu founders, community Elders Norman Frank Jupurrurla and his sister Patricia Frank Nurururla, are working with a team of architects, engineers and builders on the design of two homes that fully embrace principles of culture and climate, high thermal performance and solar power, as well as being affordable to build at scale. They will be shaped by cultural principles such as strictly adhered-to avoidance relationships and spiritual cleansing, outdoor living and cooking preferences and other cultural practices and values.

Read the full article here.

Office Architects discuss design with Wilya Janta. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Free, specialised governance workshops for ACCHOs will be delivered in multiple locations across the country during 2024 to 2025.

Registrations are open now for Syndey and Perth:

Sydney March 19-20
Perth April 16-17

The program is delivered by legal experts and covers:

Principles of good governance
Managing conflicts of interest
Managing risk
Delegation of powers
Finance for Boards
Structure and role of boards and sub-committees
Governance documents

To register, go here.

For more information, please contact: governancesupport@naccho.org.au

29 February 2024

Truth or Gammon: Is it safe to drink when you’re pregnant?
‘You’ve got to look back before you can move forward’
ACCHO teams up with Police for fishing community engagement initiative
Cancer researcher takes home science award
Language and culture key to Indigenous education
Inequality widening in key social determinants of health in rural Australia
Sector Jobs

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Truth or Gammon: Is it safe to drink when you’re pregnant?

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress’ series ‘Truth or Gammon’ answers questions surrounding grog and pregnancy, and what’s safest for mums and bubs.

In episode 1, Camille and Tahnee debunk the following statement: It’s safe to drink grog when you are pregnant, if you only have a little bit, or if you drink heaps of water.

Answer: Gammon – no, it is not safe to drink grog at all. It’s not healthy, not safe for your baby, not safe for you, not healthy at all.

Even if you water it down, through any stages of your pregnancy it’s not good to drink.

There’s no safe amount of alcohol, or safe way to drink alcohol when you are pregnant, especially in the early weeks. Alcohol you drink at any stage of pregnancy passes directly to the baby and can damage their developing brain, body, and organs.

You should stop drinking alcohol if you are planning to try to have a baby, or as soon as you know try to have a baby, or as soon as you know you are pregnant.

If you are having trouble avoiding alcohol, there are plenty of places you can get help.

Visit the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress website here, or call 8959 4750.

For NACCHO resources, go here.

‘You’ve got to look back before you can move forward’

Truth-telling and sovereignty are vital to overcoming Indigenous health inequalities, according to a new RACGP submission. The RACGP has welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the Yoorrook Justice Commission – the first formal truth-telling process into historic and ongoing injustice experienced by Aboriginal people in Victoria since colonisation. In the joint submission between RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and RACGP Victoria, the college identifies the importance of acknowledging the root causes of health inequities for Aboriginal people, recognising the health benefits of ‘truth-telling, sovereignty and self-determination’.

RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Chair Dr Karen Nicholls told newsGP that truth-telling is important because people and communities can heal from trauma.

‘The first step is acknowledging the trauma and that those events leading to it occurred. You have got to look back before you can move forward,’ she said.

‘This is not about reliving, it’s about acknowledging that events occurred … [as] a foundation to be able to move forward.

‘Truth-telling is not about blame. It is about hearing a person’s story of their lived experience.’

The submission’s themes include:

past and present injustices within the health and healthcare sector
challenges and barriers to accessing healthcare
health equity – investment in early intervention and preventive healthcare
support for increased investment in Aboriginal community controlled health organisations (ACCHOs)
increasing the number of Aboriginal healthcare professionals
healthcare in custodial settings
cultural safety for Aboriginal people in mainstream health services
racism in healthcare settings
climate change and health.

Learn more here.

Image source: newsGP.

ACCHO teams up with Police for fishing community engagement initiative

A joint initiative of Cunnamulla Aboriginal Corporation for Health and Lifeline Darling Downs and Queensland Police Service aims to boost community engagement through casting a line to youth in the region, with a shared love of fishing. Police Liaison Officer Chelsea Beardmore and Constable Danel Burton are co-ordinating the program which offers local kids the opportunity to get to know police officers while doing something they love. Open to kids between eight and 17, the first session was attended by 26 young people, which Constable Burton said was a great outcome.

“If we can keep up this level of engagement, we can really break down barriers between young people and police and change these kids’ lives,” he said.

“Feedback from the community, including parents and student at St George State High School, has been overwhelmingly positive. The program has already demonstrated positive changes in youth behaviour, fostering respect and responsibility.”

Read the full article here.

St George police are aiming to foster positive connections with youth in the community with their new “Blue Lures” initiative. Image source: The Courier Mail.

Cancer researcher takes home science award

Dr Justine Clark, a cancer researcher at Telethon Kids Institute, is the co-recipient of the 2024 Australian Academy of Science Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist award. The award recognises her work in precision cancer medicine, treatment that uses an individual’s genetic profile to improve cancer diagnostics, long-term management of cancer, screening and more.

Dr Clark, a PhD researcher in Indigenous genomics at the Telethon Kids Institute, is making ground in progressing precision cancer treatment in Australia. Her work is specifically targeted at closing the gap between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians’ cancer survival rates through this treatment.

“Aboriginal people are about 14 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, compared with non-Aboriginal people, and also about 20 per cent less likely to survive for five years after diagnosis,” Dr Clark said.

“This research must be guided by community priorities and aspirations, as well as clinical data identifying cancers that have the greatest burden on Indigenous Australians.”

Dr Clark said she is “honoured” to receive the award and dedicates it to those who came before her and paved the way to get to where she is now.

“I always think of my ancestors – they were the first scientists in this country,” Dr Clark said, “and I think of the legacy of people that have come before me that have fought for a better future for our communities.”

Applications for the 2025 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist Award are now open and close on June 1.

Language and culture key to Indigenous education

Indigenous children could have much greater educational outcomes if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups are more closely involved. A report developed by more than 60 Indigenous educators and presented by Elders, senior leaders, and representatives at Parliament house on Wednesday, calls for an Indigenous-led system to improve educational, employment and health outcomes, ensuring students don’t fall behind. The report recommends an approach with a greater focus on Indigenous languages and cultural practices.

“Governments want First Nations people to fit into a colonised, western education system that deliberately removed First Nations language, connection to country land and culture,” the report said.

“Evidence shows that this system is not fit for purpose and is failing many First Nations children.”

Among the six recommendations outlined in the report was the establishment of an Indigenous governing body to oversee the education system, as well as to set up a national network of Indigenous language centres for every language group.

The latest Closing the Gap report showed Indigenous educational outcomes were not on trackto reach the targeted goals by 2031.

Jane Vadiveloo, chief executive of Children’s Ground, said a shake-up of education practices was needed.

“First Nations children educated in their first language and culture have improved learning outcomes, improved economic outcomes, improved health and wellbeing and increased engagement of family in their learning journey,” she said.

“A First Nations designed and led learning system leads to positive outcomes for the individual, their community and beyond.”

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

Local languages and cultural practices must be at the heart of Indigenous schooling, a report says. (Image: Dan Peled/AAP PHOTOS).

Inequality widening in key social determinants of health in rural Australia

Highlighting the importance of place-based approaches to analyse and address health inequalities in rural Australia, new research has found that key social determinants of health vary in distribution between and within remoteness categories. While an analysis by Dr Joanne Flavel, Dr Sophie GE Kedzior, Dr Vivian Isaac, Darryl Cameron, and Professor Fran Baum found that premature and avoidable mortality has decreased in all socioeconomic quintiles outside of metropolitan Australia, inequality has increased for premature and avoidable mortality.

Inequality has increased in other indicators including income support, rental stress, and labour force participation.

“Increasing inequality in health and social determinants of health in outer regional, rural and remote areas underscores the ways in which health inequalities strongly correlate with inequalities in social determinants of health”, Flavel and colleagues write in the Rural and Remote Health journal this week.

The research found that while health and social determinants of health by local government areas were worse on average in rural and remote areas compared to metropolitan areas, there was considerable variation in premature and avoidable mortality and in key social determinants of health when outer regional, remote, and very remote areas were compared.

Variation in health and social determinants of health within rural and remote areas in Australia suggests it may not always be appropriate to aggregate regions together in analysis by remoteness. Understanding the variation will point to how policies to improve rural and remote health can be more effective.

Read the full Croakey Health Media article here.

Image source: Alison Barrett on Narungga Country.

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

23 February 2024

Calls for $4b First Nations housing investment
Shingles is both common and painful
Boosting food security in remote communities
Trial aims to improve heart health and reduce strokes
ACCHO to convert nursing home to service hub
Sector Jobs
Key Dates – International Family Drug Support Day – 24 February 2024

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Calls for $4b First Nations housing investment

The Australian Institute of Architects has urged the federal government to accelerate the progress of First Nations housing development by investing more funds into social housing. In a pre-budget submission to the federal government regarding the 2024 Australian Government Budget, the Institute proposed an additional $4 billion should be allocated to the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) for a dedicated $4 billion fund aimed at First Nations codesigned social housing. The Institute further recommended that the First Nations-specific funding should be within a pool of additional $10 billion of social and affordable housing.

Institute national president, Stuart Tanner, said the Productivity Commission’s recent Review on Closing the Gap underscored the crucial policy changes required to meet housing delivery targets. He emphasised that housing priority should be given to First Nations Australians as this would assist with addressing the concerning statistic, revealed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, that one in five residences inhabited by Indigenous people do not meet an acceptable standard.

Mr Tanner said, “Australia needs better and more culturally appropriate housing for our First Nations people,” Tanner said. “A codesign process together with First Nations peoples can support communities to build and maintain housing and local economies through construction and skills development. A safe, secure and sustainable home has become out of reach for many households. We need to increase the supply of housing to change the dynamics and provide the human right of shelter to all Australians.”

To view the ArchitectureAU article Institute calls for $4 billion First Nations housing investment in full click here.

aerial view of rooftops of houses in urban area

Photo: Tom Rumble – Unsplash. Image source: ArchitectureAU.

Shingles is both common and painful

A new survey has exposed a lack of awareness of shingles amongst older Australians. The survey, by GlaxoSmithKline (G-S-K), has found many people think shingles is serious – but also that it won’t happen to them. And that’s far from the truth. “I just started getting blisters on my arm and the back of my neck. Started just itching – very itchy… A couple of days after the blisters, I went to the doctor and yeah, they diagnosed shingles.” That is Pamela, a woman who developed shingles in her late 50s. She’s shared her story with G-S-K, who have launched a website called knowshingles.com.au for Shingles Awareness Week, Monday 26 February to Sunday 3 March 2024. G-S-K says not enough people realise how vulnerable they are to the condition or know how serious it can be.

Professor Tony Cunningham, Director of the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Sydney says shingles is actually fairly common, because so many of us have had chicken pox as children or young adults. “It’s caused by the chickenpox virus and then, as people age, the virus re-emerges and causes an infection of the skin. The people who are at risk are those who are ageing, particularly those are over the age of 50. About one in three people in their lifetime will develop shingles at some stage.”

There’s a vaccine for shingles called Shingrix – which normally costs $560 per immunisation. In 2023, Health Minister Mark Butler announced the vaccine would become free for certain groups, like those aged over 65 or people who are immunocompromised. Dr Megan Campbell from NACCHO told SBS News First Nations people have also been included in the vaccination program, “We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are more likely to get shingles and more likely to get it at a younger age. The new vaccine is safer and more effective than the last one that we had. And importantly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can get a free two-dose course from the age of 50.”

To listen to the SBS News podcast Shingles is both common and painful and it could happen to you click here. You can also find a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health resources relating to shingles on the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website here.

poster - ATSI older woman with text 'Shield Yourself From Shingles'

Image source: Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Boosting food security in remote communities

The Albanese government has vowed to improve food security in remote Aboriginal communities with an investment of more than $1m on a range of projects:

remote NT community of Robinson River – $69,000 for crucial supply flights of food and essentials to help ensure access to food during the wet season, when the community is cut off for several months at a time
Urapunga Store, 600 km SE of Darwin – $570,000 to convert an existing structure into an insulated and enclosed fully fledged store
Minjilang Community, on Croker Island, 250 kms north east of Darwin – a $100,000 for a purpose built freezer and food storage facility needed due to regular extreme weather events that disrupt and often delay their weekly barge resupply
Atitjere Homelands Store Aboriginal Corporation, Central Australia – $97,000 towards a new forklift and 24 hour fuel payment system
Mt Liebig community, 300 kms west of Alice Springs – $128,000 for new takeaway meal facilities ensuring better access to nutritious and healthy food
Darling River Supermarket in Menindee in far west of NSW – $99,000 to fund urgently needed upgrades to the supermarket

The federal government said yesterday, Thursday 21 February 2024, that it is working in “genuine partnership” with ACCHOs, and state and territory governments, to improve food security in remote First Nations communities. The government noted it has committed $11.8m to develop and implement a National Strategy for Food Security in Remote First Nations Communities. Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said “we have heard from many people living in remote communities that one of the biggest issues is access to affordable, fresh and healthy food”.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Federal government commits to boosting food security in remote Aboriginal communities in full click here.

Craig Woods shopping in the Ininti store, Mutijulu - holding an apple & bag of grapes

Craig Woods shopping in the Ininti store, Mutijulu. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Trial aims to improve heart health and reduce strokes

When Aunty Mary Waites, a Ngemba woman from Brewarrina in western NSW, joined a research trial aimed at helping to reduce the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait people, she saved her husband’s life. When Aunty Mary had her blood pressure checked by the local Aboriginal Medical Service, as part of the study, it prompted her husband Lindsay to do the same.

Mr Waites had an abnormal reading and went to Dubbo hospital for more tests, which found two and a half blocked arteries. He had surgery at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where doctors found another one and a half-blocked arteries. “Lindsay had no symptoms or pain, the only reason we found out about this was because he had a simple 30-second check done,” Aunty Mary said. “I would encourage all our people to get tested – it’s just a few seconds that could save your life.”

Aboriginal health experts at the Heart Research Institute are sounding the alarm on atrial fibrillation (AF), a leading cause of stroke, amid the pilot study which encourages people to take a greater role in their healthcare. Bundjalung Elder Boe Rambaldini, Associate Professor with the Djurali Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research, said Aboriginal people are more likely to suffer cardiac problems like heart disease and stroke, due to the prevalence of AF or an irregular heartbeat, with too many people falling through the cracks in the mainstream health system.

“Aboriginal people experience higher levels of AF at an earlier age than the general population, and research shows we are also experiencing catastrophic strokes at a much younger age,” he said. “We want to close the gap when it comes to healthcare, and we can do this by helping Aboriginal people be more actively involved in their own health. Checking for AF is one simple way.”

To view The West Australian article In a heartbeat: smart watches helping to close the gap in full click here.

Aunty Mary Waites with black t-shirt featuring Aboriginal art, walking along riverbank

Aunty Mary Waites from Brewarrina. Photo: Naya Jeffries. Image source: The Western Herald.

ACCHO to convert nursing home to service hub

Yerin Aboriginal Health Services is a not-for-profit ACCHO and the only Aboriginal Medical Service on the Central Coast, Darkinjung Country, NSW. The ACCHO services over 4,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on Darkinjung Country, from their facility at Mardi and clinics at Wyong and Umina Beach.

Yerin Aboriginal Health Services has plans to instill new life into the former Japara Aged Care Facility at Mardi and establish a community centre with a range of wellbeing programs for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. After Japara closed in August 2020, Yerin bought the property on the banks of Wyong River and set about converting it into a community facility to be run by Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Services.

The range of community services run by Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Services are currently spread over six separate tenancies in Wyong and the aim is to re-purpose the nursing home will streamline those services by bringing them together into one building. It will become a community hub and connection point with support from other services such as Lifeline, Wesley Mission, NDIS providers, visiting health providers and a wide range of other services for education, training, cultural activities, forums and outreach programs.

To view Coast Community News article New life for former nursing home in full click here. You can also find more information about Yerin Aboriginal Health Services on their website here.

Yerin Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Services logo and Japara nursing home. Image source: Coast Community News.

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

International Family Drug Support Day – 24 February 2024

International Family Drug Support Day first started in 2016 and is held annually on or around 24 February to draw attention to the importance of families affected by alcohol and/or drugs, including the benefits of supporting families. When families are given education, awareness and tips on coping and keeping safe, the outcome for everyone is improved. From small beginnings it has grown to international events in most Australian major cities and several overseas. The overall theme for the FDS events is Support the Family-Improve the Outcome and the theme for 2024 is Supported Families – Stronger Communities.

Events feature key speakers addressing key objectives:

Reducing shame, stigma and discrimination in families.
Promoting support services for families and friends affected by drug use.
Promoting harm reduction strategies to keep people safe, including heroin prescription, pill testing and decriminalisation of the use of drugs.

The day aims to highlight:

The importance of volunteers in providing family support across Australia.
Reducing fatal and non-fatal overdoses and other critical incidences as a result of drug use.
Promoting greater support and resources for treatment services.
How giving people support and education can help families develop skills and strategies to deal with issues arising from drug use.”Any family anywhere, regardless of background, economic and other circumstances can be affected by drugs. We hope this annual event will reach members of the community and change some of the negative attitudes that exist.” Tony Trimingham, Founder and CEO of Family Drug Support.

You can more information about International Family Drug Support Day 2024 on the Family Drug Support Australia website here.

tile with man hugging Anna; mum hugging Cain, Dad hugging Crystal & text 'Supported Families - Stronger Communities - internationalfdsday.fds.org.au; National Support Line: 1300 368 186; Family Drug Support Day 24 Feb - Let's Talk

Image source: Family Drug Support Australia website.

19 February 2024

A new tack needed on CTG
NSW signs state-based CTG partnership agreement
ANU smoking study debunks stereotypes
PCOS vs endometriosis: what’s the difference?
Sector Jobs
Key Date – FebFast – February 2024

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

A new tack needed on CTG

The Productivity Commission’s new report into Closing the Gap (CTG), A review of the National Agreement on CTG, released on 7 February 2024, examines the action by governments in the first three years since they signed the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and confirms the approach currently used by governments isn’t working. The report’s recommendations have been followed by calls from representative bodies to shake up to the system, and remove what they say is ‘the government-knows-best’ approach.

NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations co-chair and NSW Aboriginal Land Council councillor Anne Dennis says listening to community would be a start, “Instead of continuing to fund non-government organisations and government service providers who often follow the same old approach, governments must listen to the valuable resource of ACCOs who are making great progress on the ground in NSW. In order to enable progress, the change envisioned in the National Agreement, we must transform government systems and processes.”

CEO of Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service (CAHS) Phil Naden, says it’s imperative for government to consult with the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector. “CAHS as well as the other 49 ACCOs in NSW have extensive experience in Aboriginal health and we all work at the coalface of treating and engaging with our people on a daily basis, and working with government and community in Closing the Gap,” he said. “The key recommendation is supported by CAHS and we look forward to Government leading this recommendation for communities across the West and Far West regions of NSW.”

To view the Western Plains App article A new tack needed on Closing the Gap in full click here.

CEO of Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service, Phil Naden says Aboriginal community controlled organisations are key to truly closing the gap. Image source: Western Plains App.

NSW signs state-based CTG partnership agreement

NSW has become the latest jurisdiction to sign a state-based Closing the Gap (CTG) partnership agreement to help improve Aboriginal health, education and social outcomes. The agreement has been signed by the NSW Premier Chris Minns, the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (NSW CAPO) and Local Government NSW.

The partnership represents the next step following the CTG national agreement signed in 2020. That deal was signed by then-PM Scott Morrison, then-premier Gladys Berejiklian, state and territory first ministers, the Australian Local Government Association and the Coalition of Peaks, representing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled service sector.

The 2020 national agreement shared responsibility and decision-making with representatives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, following years of traditional Government-led approaches not achieving the right results. The NSW Partnership Agreement addresses the first reform priority in the CTG national agreement – the establishment of formal partnerships and shared decision-making. The Productivity Commission’s CTG review, released earlier this month, observes that progress on this commitment has largely been weak and has reflected a business-as-usual approach.

To view the Australian Financial News article New Partnership agreement to close the gap in NSW in full click here. You can also watch a short video below by the Coalition of Peaks explaining the Priority Reforms in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap below.

ANU smoking study debunks stereotypes

If you were asked to picture a typical smoker, you might not image someone employed, educated or who has good mental health. Research — considered world-first — from the Australian National University (ANU) has debunked common misconceptions about smokers. While smoking rates were higher among people who were less educated and were unemployed, the research found most daily smokers held jobs, were educated and in good mental health.

Researchers used Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data and a nationally representative sample of 16,000 people to study the country’s smoking population. They found of the 2.5m people who smoke daily in Australia, 60% were male, 65% live in major cities and 92% did not identify as Indigenous. Furthermore, 69%t of smokers had completed year 12, while 69% of those of working age were in paid employment. And 73% had good mental health. The research also found that 54% of smokers lived in the bottom two socio-economic quintiles.

Epidemiologist Professor Emily Banks, who was the senior author on the study, said the lack of understanding meant the majority of smokers didn’t see themselves reflected in current anti-smoking campaigns, “We know from other studies that certain groups in the population are over-represented among smokers. We know that people who smoke are more likely to be unemployed than people who don’t smoke, they’re more likely to be homeless and they’re more likely to be less educated. We also know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to smoke than non-Aboriginal people.”

However, Professor Banks said it was important to distinguish between people being over-represented in the smoking population and what that general population looked like. “The majority of smokers are really very like the general population of Australia,” she said.

To view the ABC News article Australian National University smoking study debunks stereotypes, finds most daily smokers are employed, educated in full click here.

Professor Emily Banks says the majority of smokers in Australia are “like the general population”. Photo: ANU. Image source: ABC News

PCOS vs endometriosis: what’s the difference?

With women becoming more open about their health struggles across social media, you’ve most likely heard one or both of the terms polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis (endo) – or even know someone who struggles with one of these conditions. But while PCOS and endo are the two reproductive conditions that get the most attention (even though incredibly tough to diagnose), it can be easy to confuse the two if you don’t know enough about them.

While both PCOS and endo have some characteristics and symptoms in common, they’re not the same. PCOS is a hormonal disorder, affecting 8–13% of reproductive age women, with around 21% of Indigenous women affected, according to The Medical Journal of Australia. Endometriosis is slightly more common, impacting 1 in 7 (14%) of women, girls and those assigned female at birth (AFAB) by the age of 44 to 49, according to Endometriosis Australia.

Both conditions are notoriously tough to diagnose, given that their symptoms could be caused by a range of different issues. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for a doctor to make the right diagnosis — it just can take a little more time and detective work than with some other conditions.

The Women’s Health article PCOS vs Endometriosis: What’s The Difference? available here, goes on to provide information about:

what PCOS is and its most common symptoms
what endometriosis is and its most common symptoms
what the key differences between the two conditions are
how a person knows if they have PCOS or endo
whether a person can have both PCOS and endo

Image source: iStock Polycystic Ovary Syndrome image.

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Key Date – febfast – February 2024

Youth Support + Advocacy Service (YSAS) was launched 26 years ago, to support young people struggling with alcohol and drugs – and help them get their lives back on track. Since then, YSAS has grown to become one of the largest youth-specific community service organisations in Australia. Every year, YSAS is there for more than 8,000 young people, helping them overcome addiction, find safe housing, get back into education or employment, and improve their mental health.

Every year YSAS run a febfast campaign to help raise funds for YSAS’ practical support and evidence-based clinical services. febfast participants give up a vice of their choice for the whole month of February, feel the health benefits and raise funds for YSAS’ drug and alcohol programs. The money raised helps fund treatment services, outreach and rehabilitation programs so more young people can overcome addiction, as well as supported housing, education and training. By providing that support to young people, YSAS helps treat serious issues before they escalate – and become lifelong problems.

You can find more information about FebFast on the FebFast website here and learn more about YSAS outreach in the video below.

13 February 2024

16th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations
Federal government launches program to create 3,000 jobs in remote communities
National Condom Day Webinar: Contact tracing for sexual health teams in ACCHOs
Giving kids a deadly start in literacy and numeracy
Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services for regions in SA, QLD, and WA
Australia’s first Indigenous medical imaging service aims to close the health gap
Sector Jobs

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

16th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations

On this day, February 13, 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Today, on the sixteenth anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke at the National Apology Day Breakfast:

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting.

I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

I also pass on my respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that are with us here this morning.

And I particularly want to acknowledge every member of the Stolen Generations who are here with us today.

It is such an honour for me to be here with you.

Just as it was an extraordinary honour for me to be able to play a part in that extraordinary day sixteen years ago.

The apology was the very first order of business of the newly elected Rudd Labor Government.

It was the fulfilment of a priority.

It was the overdue acknowledgement of a great hurt.

It was the act of a nation that will no longer turn its back.

And it was our ears and hearts finally open for all who had for so long been telling us a difficult truth.

Survivors speaking for themselves, speaking for those who couldn’t.

Our nation was lifted by the courage of everyone who spoke up.

Everyone who told their stories and took on the burden, and so often the trauma, of revisiting their childhood.

And courage is what we saw in every member of the Stolen Generations who came here that day and faced the very institution that had failed you and failed you profoundly.

Alongside your courage, you showed us grace, almost beyond imagining.

Perhaps most importantly, you showed us that when we have an honest reckoning of the past, we give ourselves a better future.

And a big part of that is the healing that began sixteen years ago with just one word – Sorry.

Easy now to remember that the uttering of that word by an Australian Prime Minister was not inevitable, and was controversial at the time.

It was the right thing to do.

We always talk about healing in the present tense because it is ongoing.

It is in every sense a work in progress.

A task that takes in not just our history, but also our future.

We try to reconcile the past, not as an exercise in blame, but as a necessary step to move forward.

You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been, to put it really simply.

I can tell you, there are many moments that I’m proud of as a Parliamentarian.

That extraordinary day sixteen years ago, remains my proudest.

That was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Of course, the new chapter has not been straightforward, a fact that has been emphasised by the latest Closing the Gap Report.

Closing the Gap and the Government’s implementation plan have rightly been returned to February.

Closing the Gap is part of a new chapter that the Apology made possible. They belong together.

And when we confront the many challenges in closing the gap we should always look to the courage of the survivors who have made it all possible.

You have our respect and you have our gratitude.

We will keep tackling these challenges.

The courage shown by my Minister for Indigenous Australians in leading the campaign along with Patrick Dodson, who we do miss, indeed very sincerely, his wisdom in this building.

The courage in taking forward a referendum to recognise First Nations people in our constitution in the form in which they themselves requested, through the gracious Uluru Statement from the Heart, is one that was a necessary step going forward as well.

We were disappointed by the result.

We respect the outcome.

But it does not diminish one bit our determination to listen to First Nations people about how to close the gap.

It was never the end.

It was the means to the end.

The end is reconciliation.

The end is closing the gap in life expectancy, in education outcomes, health outcomes, housing outcomes.

This gap in all of these areas diminishes us as a nation.

And the Productivity Commission, no less, has confirmed that the key to advancing is indeed listening to people who are directly affected as we move forward.

So we will keep tackling these challenges.

We will continue to work each and every day with our commitment to First Nations people and to reconciliation, undiminished.

Empowered by the courage of those First Nations people who I was proud to stand with and humbled by their grace and dignity during and after that referendum campaign.

I do thank every single survivor who showed us a new path ahead.

We will keep walking along this path and we’ll do so together.

Because I firmly believe that the Australian people want reconciliation.

But they want us to move forward as a nation.

And they recognise that the gaps which are there in so many aspects.

And we know, we’ll hear later today, only four of the nineteen. That’s not a pass mark for us as a nation.

And all of us, regardless of where we stand on the political spectrum, need to recognise that we need to do better.

We must do better because First Nations people deserve this.

But the Australian nation, founded as we are on the concept of a fair go, and respecting each other regardless of our origins, deserve this as well.

Thank you.

Federal government launches program to create 3,000 jobs in remote communities

The federal government has announced a new Remote Jobs program that aims to create 3,000 jobs in remote Australia over the next three years. The government described the $707 million investment as “the first step” in delivering their “commitment to replace the failed Community Development Program (CDP) with real jobs, proper wages, and decent conditions.”

Beginning in the second half of 2024, the new program is designed to help build the remote workforce and reduce the reliance on the fly-in-fly-out workforce. The government has vowed to implement it “in partnership with First Nations people” to “build skills and experience and deliver services that communities want.”

“For too long, people in remote communities have missed out on economic opportunities and have been stuck in cycles of poverty,” said Linda Burney, Indigenous Australians Minister.

“People in remote communities should have access to the benefits and dignity of work – for themselves, their families, and the next generation. This is about putting communities in the driver’s seat to create local jobs and businesses.

“Rates of unemployment in remote communities are unacceptable and this is the first step in turning that around.”

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

Linda Burney and Senator Malarndirri McCarthy. Image: AAP.

National Condom Day Webinar: Contact tracing for sexual health teams in ACCHOs

Join the NACCHO Community of Practice Team on National Condom Day, Wednesday 14 February, to discuss the art of contact tracing. The presentation will cover definitions, resources, and guidelines. As well as ‘Contact Tracing in my Community’ presentations with guest speakers from various ACCHOs, including Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation and Kimberly Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS).

To register, go here.

If you are unable to make it, please still register to receive a copy of the recording.

Giving kids a deadly start in literacy and numeracy

The Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) Indigenous Game Changers research program is working with the Wonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation to deliver evidence-based programs to support the literacy, numeracy, and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children across Australia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families are invited to sign up for two free online programs running in 2024:

Deadly Home Reading

A free home-based reading program that supports early literacy development for children in Years K-2.

Deadly Futures

A free online numeracy and literacy tutoring program for children in Years 3-4.

For more information go here.

Image source: Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation.

Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services for regions in SA, QLD, and WA

The Department of Health and Aged Care Forecast Opportunity and DRAFT Grant Opportunity Guidelines (GOGs) for the funding of Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Treatment Services in the regions of Ceduna (SA), Bundaberg-Hervey Bay (QLD), East Kimberley and the Goldfields (WA) are now published on GrantConnect.

This is a grant opportunity to develop community-led design and delivery of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services across the four regions. Funding of up to $49 million (GST exclusive) will be distributed to implement this project over an initial period of two years, with the option to extend for a further two years at the discretion of Commonwealth.

For more information go here.

Australia’s first Indigenous medical imaging service aims to close the health gap

Spartan First and TeleMed Health Services have announced the establishment of Spartan First Imaging (SFI), Australia’s first Indigenous medical imaging service (radiology and nuclear medicine).

In a statement, Spartan First Imaging said that while transformative advancements in medical imaging technology are revolutionising healthcare globally, access to these technologies is not universal.

“Nowhere is this more apparent than in rural and remote regions of Australia, where healthcare inequality results in widening of the gap. SFI’s vision is to confront this gap head-on through innovative and technological healthcare strategies,” the new service said.

The facility will be situated in Kalgoorlie-Boulder supporting the existing nuclear medicine service founded by TeleMed Health. This will be followed by the introduction of a comprehensive suite of diagnostic modalities.

Read the full National Indigenous Times article here.

TeleMed director Peter Tually. Image: Laurie Benson (Albany Advertiser)

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

13 December 2023

Cultural elements lead to better outcomes
Almost 60% of kids in detention are Indigenous
Boosting ‘digital connectivity’ in regional Australia
Most neglected of the neglected diseases
Tobacco Assault a ‘Deadly Choice’
Midwest Mullewa mob-led healing forum
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is from an article Are sports programs closing the gap in Indigenous communities? The evidence is limited published in The Conversation on 18 July 2019.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Cultural elements lead to better outcomes

For First Nations people, social and emotional wellbeing can depend on connection to land, culture, spirituality and community. The most recent data show 24% of First Nations adults have been diagnosed with mental health or behavioural conditions. This is likely due to lasting and intergenerational effects of historical injustices, racial discrimination and cultural displacement.

Research has found First Nations physical activity programs can improve social and emotional wellbeing. These programs enhance confidence and self-esteem, improve community cohesiveness and cultural identity, and deepen connection to Country. Physical activity can improve mental health and wellbeing. It can also prevent and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Cultural physical activity (hunting, gathering, customary activities and connecting with Country) has been a part of First Nations people’s lifestyles for tens of thousands of years. These practices still hold cultural relevance today.

Going on Country has benefits for physical, social, emotional and cultural wellbeing for First Nations people. These include a healthier diet, more frequent exercise, sharing of culture, more family time, and spiritual connection. A review of physical activity programs for First Nations people identified 110 different programs running between 2012 and 2015, most still running in 2023. The review found First Nations physical activity programs improved confidence and self-esteem, improved community and cultural connections, and deepened connection to Country. Programs that do not centre First Nations community involvement and connection are unlikely to be well received or effective.

To view The Conversation article When physical activity programs include cultural elements, they are even better for First Nations people in full click here.

Almost 60% of kids in detention are Indigenous

Indigenous children are 29 times more likely than non-Indigenous kids to be locked up in juvenile detention centres across the nation. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a new report with data showing that, in the four years from June 2019 to June 2023, more than half (59%) of young people aged 10 to 17 in detention were Indigenous.

Maggie Munn is national director of Change the Record, a First Nations-led justice coalition dedicated to reducing the number of Indigenous people behind bars. “First Nations children are incarcerated en masse across Australia due to racial profiling, over-policing and a complete and utter failure on behalf of governments to address the systemic disadvantage, discrimination and racism our people face. It’s undisputed that First Nations people, people who experience housing insecurity or instability, people with disabilities or mental illness, people who live in poverty, people who experience family or domestic violence – all are exposed to the legal system at higher rates than those who live without those issues,” Maggie Munn said. “As a result we are seeing trends and tendencies where poverty, racial, economic and health issues are criminalised.”

“Nothing changes if nothing changes and so, while governments increase their budgets and resources for police and prisons, and decrease their budgets for critical services in family violence prevention, Aboriginal legal services, housing and health, it’s no surprise that more children are funnelled through the legal system” Ms Munn said.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Indigenous children over-represented in juvenile detention in full click here.

ATSI teens playing basketball Don Dale juvenile detention Centre Darwin

Don Dale juvenile detention Centre, Darwin. Photo: Helen Davidson. Image source: The Guardian.

Boosting ‘digital connectivity’ in regional Australia

The Australian Academic and Research Network, AARnet, has received $6.55m from the Commonwealth investment through Round 3 of the Australian Government’s Regional Connectivity Program (RCP). The government investment will fund four projects that AARNet says will enable it to deliver fibre upgrades and significantly improve connectivity for education and research for several communities in regional WA and the NT.

AARNet Director Customer Relations, Angus Griffin, says AARNet is proud to be collaborating with the government to improve the quality of connectivity in regional and remote communities. “Narrowing the digital connectivity divide across Australia is vital for providing equal opportunities to First Nations people and indeed all Australians. AARNet is focused on finding ways to leverage and extend AARNet’s infrastructure to help with this challenge” he said.

Under the funding program, AARNET will provide optical fibre to Batchelor, NT, connecting key sites providing research and education-related services in the town to the high-speed AARNet network. The sites include the council building, museum, school, community health centre and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Australia’s only First Nations dual-sector tertiary institution.

To view the iWire article AARNet gets $6.55 million to boost ‘digital connectivity’ in regional Australia in full click here.

vector map of Australia with communication connections in blue light lines & dots

Image source: UNSW Sydney website.

Most neglected of the neglected diseases

A new research project is aiming to eliminate a potentially-fatal disease caused by a parasitic roundworm that burrows through the skin into the lungs and gut. Strongyloidiasis is a tropical disease, endemic in remote Indigenous communities across northern Australia, caused by the parasitic worm strongyloides stercoralis, which thrives in environments with poor sanitation.

Professor Darren Gray is leading the project and a director of QIMR Berghofer’s Population Health Program, which has received a $5m grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council. “Strongyloidiasis is the most neglected of the neglected diseases,” he said. “Despite being preventable and treatable, there is currently no global or national control strategy to manage its identification, prevention and management.

“With an estimated prevalence of up to 60%, Aboriginal communities in northern Australia appear to have one of the highest rates of strongyloidiasis in the world.” Symptoms are highly variable but the infection can lead to life-threatening diseases including sepsis and pneumonia. Infestations are linked to faecal contamination and dogs may also play a role in the parasite’s life-cycle. Molecular parasitologist Catherine Gordon said addressing poor sanitation infrastructure, access to clean water, and limited access to health care and health education are crucial to controlling the parasite. “If you don’t look for this disease, you won’t find it,” Dr Gordon said. “To date, there has been a lack of screening, testing, and education.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article Scientists to worm out disease from burrowing parasite in full click here.

two men standing in red dust surrounded by camp dogs

Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Tobacco Assault a ‘Deadly Choice’

Deadly Choices, Australia’s foremost preventative health and education program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, will conduct an all-out assault against tobacco consumption among Western Queensland communities, as it expands its activity footprint by partnering with the local Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Company.

Tobacco cessation activities will be undertaken throughout the border towns of Stanthorpe and Goondiwindi, the far reaches of the Darling Downs and right across the entire SW Queensland footprint, thanks to valued funding and support of the Federal Government’s Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) Program. Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities will be the focus of a three-pronged Deadly Choices’ tobacco takedown, designed to help close the gap in health and life expectancy outcomes among Indigenous Australians.

“Goolburri is excited to partner with Deadly Choices in this great initiative, Tackling Indigenous Smoking, as we all know the high rates and impacts smoking not only has on our people but particularly throughout our region,” confirmed Goolburri Health CEO Lizzie Adams. “We have recruited two (2) young men as part of this new initiative who we believe are deadly role models and universally known across many families and communities we service. They have already commenced engaging with schools who are keen to get the tobacco program up and running to provide students with all information around the effects of smoking and vaping. Through additional engagement activities we’ll also be providing the same for our pregnant mums and all other community members keen to quit the smokes and vapes or learn more about their effects.

To view the IUIH media alert Tobacco Assault a ‘Deadly Choice’ for Western Queensland in full click here.

external view of Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Coy building

Image source: Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Company website.

Midwest Mullewa mob-lead healing forum

Earlier this month the Mullewa Healing Forum was held for the Mullewa community in Midwest WA. Over a 2-year period Aboriginal staff from the WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) of the University of WA (UWA) worked with Mullewa community leaders to co-design the forum. The Aboriginal led and designed program “Mullewa Healing Forum 2023: Healing Together” was the first of its kind to be run in Mullewa and saw nearly 190 participants attend over the two days. Mullewa woman Debra Maher said “It was good bringing people together of all age groups.”

Participants came together from Mullewa, Geraldton, and Perth to share healing conversations focusing on care and healing for self, family, and the community. They participated in yarning circles, healing doll making, bush medicines, weaving, art, and other cultural forms of healing on country. Proud Yamaji woman and WACRH Research Fellow Dr Charmaine Green said that it was great to see the community to come together, make connections, and utilise Yamaji cultural aspects of healing. WACRH Director Professor Sandra Thompson says, “It is overdue that well-meaning non-Aboriginal people step back and allow and support Aboriginal people to lead initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people.

“We have so much to learn from their approach and creativity. I am thrilled to see this forum, the result of much community input and hard work. It demonstrates what can be accomplished with local Aboriginal leadership and I acknowledge their thoughtful invitation encouraging participation and collaboration towards healing in the Mullewa community,” says Professor Thompson.

You can view the University of WA’s Media Statement First Nations-led healing forum for Midwest Mullewa community in full here.

Derise Jones from Julgara Maga Aboriginal Mental Health Training Geraldton presenting at the Mullewa Healing Forum. Image source: University of WA.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

11 December 2023

Victorian ACCHOs to receive funding support
ACCHO to pilot breastfeeding support program
Gindaja showcases model of care to the world
Experts push for fluoride mandate
Race data needed to improve public health
Smoking law changes to reduce prevalence
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is from the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC) webpage Locally-drive Aboriginal Children’s dental health project a win for all. BDAC is one of seven Victorian ACCHOs selected to share in $35m+ of additional funding.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Victorian ACCHOs to receive funding support

Indigenous Victorians will have access to 100,000 extra additional community healthcare appointments as part of a new investment supporting the state’s ACCHOs. It comes as the Victorian government announced seven ACCHOs across metro and regional Victoria will receive their share of more than $35m in funding to help Aboriginal communities better access culturally safe and holistic primary care closer to home.

The government says the investment will allow ACCHOs to expand their services and opening hours, as well boosting their preventive and early intervention services and treatment. The expansion will help deliver more care services – tailored for the cultural needs of First Nations people – and is designed to both increase the health outcomes for Indigenous Victorians whilst also reducing the number of presentations to emergency departments and for preventable hospital admissions. This greater access to primary care will facilitate better treatment of chronic diseases, including early identification.

VACCHO CEO, Jim O’Shea, said the announcement was about recognising the work put in by the various ACCHOs throughout Victoria. The seven funded ACCHOs include: Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative; First People’s Health and Wellbeing; Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BDAC); Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-operative; Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative; Victorian Aboriginal Health Service; and Lake Tyers Health and Children’s Services.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations receive funding support in full click here. BDAC featured in the video below in one of the seven ACCHOs to be funded.

ACCHO to trial breastfeeding support program

Wiradjuri elder Aunty Donna Kirby is a “breastfeeding champion”. Having breastfed more than 20 children, including six of her own, her sister’s and those of struggling mums in her community, her knowledge is sought out by mothers looking to nurse their newborns. In Wagga Wagga, where Aunty Donna resides, more than 70% of First Nations women are opting for formula over breastfeeding.

A survey conducted at the Riverina Medical and Dental Aboriginal Corporation (RMDAC) where Aunty Donna is now working to help uncover why so many women are turning away from the breast. The 2018–19 national Aboriginal health survey found that fewer than 70% of Indigenous mothers start down the breastfeeding path, compared with 96% of non-Indigenous mothers. At three months of age, just 19% of Indigenous infants were still breastfed; for non-Indigenous babies, the rate was about 50%.

The RMDAC survey being used to develop a 12-month pilot program aimed at increasing breastfeeding rates. “In Australia, there are other breastfeeding support programs but we know from our numbers that Aboriginal women are not accessing those services,” says board director Simone Sheriff. “Some mothers are experiencing neglect or racism [in the hospitals], so these programs must be designed by our women, for our women.” The pilot program is expected to begin in early 2024 and will focus on culturally sensitive practices and hiring additional First Nations midwives and lactation consultants to work at the centre.

To view the ABC News article Indigenous mothers feel unsupported while breastfeeding, leaving many to give their babies formula in full click here.

7 female staff of Riverina Medical & Dental Aboriginal Corporation standing outside ACCHO

The local Aboriginal health centre’s pilot program is expected to begin in 2024. Photo: Monty Jacka, ABC Riverina. Image source: ABC News.

Gindaja showcases model of care to the world

Gindaja Treatment and Healing Centre in Yarrabah, North Queensland, has taken to the global stage to showcase its Indigenous-led model of care. The organisation was invited to discuss the Gindaja Model of Care at the Healing our Spirit Worldwide (HOSW) Conference: the Ninth Gathering in Vancouver, Canada in September this year. Gindaja Treatment and Healing CEO Ailsa Lively said the conference had been an amazing opportunity to highlight her team’s commitment to delivering quality health care. “We embarked on a journey to develop our model of care to drive the focus of service provision across a full continuum of care and within a strong Indigenous led framework,” she said.

“The Model of Care had to unite the organisation and provide our stakeholders, including non-Indigenous stakeholders, with our own self-determined framework and evidence base. “It also had to inspire new and innovative Indigenous approaches and responses that could be developed and trialled.” The Gindaja Model of Care is framed by the organisation’s mission statement: To provide culturally appropriate, specialised alcohol and other drugs care and support services in the areas of education, treatment, recovery and healing to people with alcohol and substance dependencies in Yarrabah and beyond.

The Model of Care focuses on the following areas: health promotion and education, learning and wellbeing, residential recovery, Step Up Recovery (relating to the Step Up supported accommodation program) and its after care and its continuing care. Gindaja is dedicated to an approach that is: grounded in social and emotional wellbeing; evidence informed; holistic and empowering; flexible and responsive; person, family and community centred; culturally secure and respectful; confidential and inclusive; and non-judgemental and compassionate.

You find more information on the Gindaja model of care here and view the QAIHC Sector Leader article Gindaja showcases model of care at World Conference in full click here.

L-R: CEO Ailsa Lively, AHW Kerry-Anne Yeatman, Board Chairperson Lynese Hari, Learning and Wellbeing Coordinator Hezron Murgha, Finance Officer Ashleigh Schreiber, Board Director Jasmine Canendo & Residential Coordinator Tamara Yeatman

Pictured at the conference L-R: L-R: CEO Ailsa Lively, AHW Kerry-Anne Yeatman, Board Chairperson Lynese Hari, Learning and Wellbeing Coordinator Hezron Murgha, Finance Officer Ashleigh Schreiber, Board Director Jasmine Canendo & Residential Coordinator Tamara Yeatman. Image source: QAIHC Sector Leader.

Experts push for fluoride mandate

The Queensland state government must end the “lunacy” and mandate fluoride in Queensland’s water supply, a leading advocate of better dental health says, amid fears that a generation of regional and Indigenous residents will suffer. Dentist Michael Foley, who was instrumental in then premier Anna Bligh’s 2007 decision to mandate fluoride in the state’s water supply, called for more Queenslanders to be given access to fluoride. The decision was reversed in 2012 by then LNP premier Campbell Newman.

About 72% of residents – mostly in South East Queensland – now have access to water fluoridation, which the National Health and Medical Research Council notes reduces tooth decay by 27-44%. Dr Foley is calling for the government to reintroduce fluoride, with some exceptions. “Fluoridation is not appropriate or needed if decay levels are low – sadly, not an issue in Queensland – but also in communities that rely on bore water and don’t treat the water, communities where the water already contains beneficial levels of fluoride, or places like Nanango where the water tastes bad and very few people drink the town water,” he said.

Dr Foley said Indigenous communities were being significantly disadvantaged. “Not a single one of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has water fluoridation, despite them having rampant tooth decay,” he said. “It’s more difficult to promote fluoridation in remote communities, but most Aboriginal communities in the NT have water fluoridation so there’s no reason why communities in Queensland shouldn’t also.”

The above was extracted from and article Expert push for fluoride mandate to fight tooth decay in full click published in The Chronicle on Sunday 10 December 2023.

dentist Dr Michael Foley in his dental surgery

Dr Michael Foley was instrumental in a 2007 state government decision to mandate fluoride in the state’s water supply. Image source: The Chronicle.

Race data needed to improve public health

Disparities in health outcomes manifest in various forms, with racism one consistent determinant. Lack of racial data is a barrier to overcoming structural racism. A high level of racism is associated with poor health care and outcomes in a wide range of contexts, including participation in intervention innovations and primary health care, medical incidents, access to treatment and utilisation of health care, hospitalisation and rehabilitation, and maintenance. Racial minorities in Australia and other high income countries are less likely to receive clinically indicated, protocol-driven care than their white counterparts. Existing evidence suggests that the lack of adequate data on race and ethnicity obscures evidence or racism and holds back antiracism efforts in health policies, interventions and guidelines.

Although Australia does not collect data on race and ethnicity, data on cardiovascular health hospitalisation and outcome indicate that, compared with non-Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Australians have a coronary heart disease mortality that is two times higher and are 60% less likely to undergo angioplasty. The lower receipt rate of angioplasty is closely and significantly associated with symptoms deemed as non-cardiac (16%), prioritising non-invasive tests (8%), discharge against medical advice (11%), and unspecified/unclear reasons (36%). In countries where data on race exist, racial disparities have also been reported in all-cause mortality and recently in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes.

Reducing racial and ethnic disparities in Australia is a challenge due to the paucity of data on race and ethnicity. When compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Australia is currently falling behind in tracking and addressing racial and ethnic inequities in health and social determinant factors.

To view the Medical Journal of Australia InSight article Is Australia falling behind in tracking racial disparities in health? in full click here.

Photo: Blue Diamond Gallery. Image source: SBS Hindi.

Smoking law changes to reduce prevalence

In Western NSW, twice the number of adults smoke compared to those in Sydney. To slow the flow, new tobacco legislation will consolidate new laws with existing ones, aimed at preventing the next generation of smokers and associated health risks. The new legislation also tackles the growing wave of nicotine addiction through vaping, where young people (16-24 years) hold the market, despite once offering hope that Australia was ageing out of smoking.

Being rolled out next year, the purchase of a new pack of smokes will see updated health warnings on the packaging, and health promotion inserts when opening the pack. New and existing products designed to make tobacco more palatable, such as menthol or crush balls will be banned, and tobacco companies will be required to report the ingredients used in their products.

“This new legislation, coupled with vaping regulations which take effect from 1 January 2024, will save tens of thousands of lives, and reassert the country as a world-leader in tobacco control,” CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia Adj Prof Slevin said. It follows a suite of new laws that were introduced late last month, further cracking down on the sale of nicotine vapes that aren’t medically prescribed. While the ban has proven lacklustre in enforcement, with no shortage of vapes out and about, the new laws completely ban vapes (including nicotine-free) from containing enticing flavours or packaging.

To view the Western Plains App article Smoking law changes to reduce prevalence by 2025 in full click here.

ATSI man's hands breaking a cigarette in half

Image source: Australian Journal of General Practice, Vol. 49.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News

The national authority in Aboriginal primary health care – Our Health in Our Hands

Category Alcohol and other drugs

22 March 2024

SHPA meets up with NACCHO on Close the Gap Day

Delivering dialysis in remote communities webinar

World Indigenous Cancer Conference

Qld students complete anti-tobacco program

Lynch Syndrome Awareness Day

World Water Day

World Tuberculosis Day

20 March 2024

New laws will prevent pharmacy ownership

Warning of ‘severe, early’ flu season

CAAC critical of sudden bottleshop cop removal

$3.5m for O’Donoghue Foundation

PSA national conference grant opportunities

World Oral Health Day – 20 March 2024

13 February 2024

16th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations

Federal government launches program to create 3,000 jobs in remote communities

National Condom Day Webinar: Contact tracing for sexual health teams in ACCHOs

Giving kids a deadly start in literacy and numeracy

Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services for regions in SA, QLD, and WA

Australia’s first Indigenous medical imaging service aims to close the health gap

Sector Jobs

Enduring inequities in breast cancer care

Learning from 50 years of alcohol programs

Injuries: leading cause of disability and death for kids

Wide ranging health benefits for mob of clean energy

Integrated health helping 2 year-old Carter hear

Investment in culturally relevant vocational training

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SHPA meets up with NACCHO on Close the Gap Day

Delivering dialysis in remote communities webinar

World Indigenous Cancer Conference

Qld students complete anti-tobacco program

Lynch Syndrome Awareness Day

World Water Day

World Tuberculosis Day

Share this:

New laws will prevent pharmacy ownership

Warning of ‘severe, early’ flu season

CAAC critical of sudden bottleshop cop removal

$3.5m for O’Donoghue Foundation

PSA national conference grant opportunities

World Oral Health Day – 20 March 2024

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KAMS, local leaders urge investment in detox facilities

AH&MRC Indigenous Health Summit 2024

SNAICC calls for new early years service model to help Close the Gap

Decolonising healthcare

Remote community housing design led by Elders

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Truth or Gammon: Is it safe to drink when you’re pregnant?

‘You’ve got to look back before you can move forward’

ACCHO teams up with Police for fishing community engagement initiative

Cancer researcher takes home science award

Language and culture key to Indigenous education

Inequality widening in key social determinants of health in rural Australia

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Calls for $4b First Nations housing investment

Shingles is both common and painful

Boosting food security in remote communities

Trial aims to improve heart health and reduce strokes

ACCHO to convert nursing home to service hub

International Family Drug Support Day – 24 February 2024

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A new tack needed on CTG

NSW signs state-based CTG partnership agreement

ANU smoking study debunks stereotypes

PCOS vs endometriosis: what’s the difference?

Key Date – febfast – February 2024

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16th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations

Federal government launches program to create 3,000 jobs in remote communities

National Condom Day Webinar: Contact tracing for sexual health teams in ACCHOs

Giving kids a deadly start in literacy and numeracy

Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services for regions in SA, QLD, and WA

Australia’s first Indigenous medical imaging service aims to close the health gap

Sector Jobs

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Cultural elements lead to better outcomes

Almost 60% of kids in detention are Indigenous

Boosting ‘digital connectivity’ in regional Australia

Most neglected of the neglected diseases

Tobacco Assault a ‘Deadly Choice’

Midwest Mullewa mob-lead healing forum

Sector Jobs

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Victorian ACCHOs to receive funding support

ACCHO to trial breastfeeding support program

Gindaja showcases model of care to the world

Experts push for fluoride mandate

Race data needed to improve public health

Smoking law changes to reduce prevalence

Sector Jobs

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