22 May 2024

Over-policing during pandemic amplified disadvantage
ACCHO purchases primary health centre
Call for greater LGBTIQ+ inclusivity in palliative care
First Nations Aged Care Commissioner reports in
Aged Care Star Ratings – have your say
Sector Jobs
Key Date: Exercise Right Week 20-26 May 2024

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.

Over-policing during pandemic amplified disadvantage

A new report has claimed disadvantaged and First Nations children in NSW were targeted by police during the COVID-19 pandemic, with fines up to $5,000 being issued, pushing families into financial hardship. Commissioned by the Redfern Legal Centre (RLC), the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited (ALS), Children and Covid-19 Fines in NSW paints a troubling picture of the over-policing of disadvantaged communities during the pandemic which was “unsuitable for achieving positive public health outcomes for children”.

The report observes fines were disproportionately issued to marginalised groups throughout the state, including to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with cognitive disabilities, and children experiencing socio-economic challenges such as homelessness, or unsafe home environments. Between March 2020, and September 2022, 3,628 children in NSW received a penalty notice for a breach of a public health order. More than half of those were fixed at $1,000 and some were as high as $5,000.

Chair of the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) NSW/ACT, Karly Warner, said Aboriginal communities set the “gold standard” for caring for each other during the pandemic. “Yet our children paid a higher price because of the Government’s punitive approach to enforcing public health orders,” Ms Warner said. “Fines are an extension of the way Aboriginal children are criminalised and punished in NSW. It’s time to reform the archaic and unjust fines system.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article “Simply amplifies disadvantage”: First Nations and disadvantaged children targeted by NSW police during COVID lockdowns, report reveals in full click here.

Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Karly Warner portrait shot against ATSI crocodile painting

Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Karly Warner says the fines are an extension of the way Aboriginal children are criminalised. Photo: NATSILS. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

ACCHO purchases primary health centre

Gunditjmara Aboriginal Cooperative has announced its purchase of Lyndoch Living’s primary health centre. The building, which cost Lyndoch Living about $25m to build, went on the market in October 2023 – less than a year after it opened. Gunditjmara had planned major renovations of its Kepler Street site but costs of the works soared to $9.5m in February 2024. Costs had blown out by more than $4m.

Gunditjmara CEO Danny Chatfield said a decision was made to make the move to the Hopkins River location. “The decision to purchase the Lyndoch primary health centre came just at the right moment, presenting an ideal alternative when opportunity knocked,” Mr Chatfield said in a statement.

“The facility, situated beside the significant Hopkins River – a site of profound cultural importance to the Maar society- came as a perfect fit. This idyllic and tranquil setting naturally aligns with Gunditjmara’s holistic approach to health and social care, which encompasses a full spectrum of services from birth to elderhood. Undoubtedly, it will enhance both the physical and cultural well-being of our community members, visitors, and staff,” Mr Chatfield said.

The above has been extracted from an article ‘Just at the right moment’: Gunditjmara buys Lyndoch primary health centre published in The Standard last night (21 May 2024).

Gunditjamara Aboriginal Corporative has bought Lyndoch Living’s primary health centre. Image source: The Standard.

Call for greater LGBTIQ+ inclusivity in palliative care

“Discrimination drives many LGBTIQ+ people to avoid healthcare or avoid disclosing their diverse bodies, sexual orientations or genders. This directly impacts on their end-of-life planning,” said Dr Ruth McNair, GP, and honorary Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. “Barriers to end-of-life care for LGBTIQ+ people can be overcome. Further education within the healthcare sector would greatly improve awareness of issues unique to LGBTIQ+ patients.” These comments for greater inclusivity come ahead of National Palliative Care Week, happening from Sunday, 19 May to Saturday, 25 May 2024. “When healthcare providers encourage LGBTIQ+ people to establish an advanced care directive, it can have a ripple effect throughout LGBTIQ+ communities where other people also better prepare for end-of-life scenarios,” Dr McNair said.

Dr McNair has been deeply involved in the LGBTIQ+ health space for a long time, collaborating closely with LHA and actively participating in its LGBTIQ+ Palliative Care Project. This year, LHA launched the LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning to promote inclusivity in palliative care. This program offers professional development for the palliative care workforce focused on providing safe, inclusive palliative care that respects and supports LGBTIQ+ people, ensuring they can access care, free from discrimination. The four-module eLearning program is accessible at no cost to those working in palliative care or with an interest in the field.

“Fears of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and elder abuse can be highly distressing to older people who have faced these challenges in the past. As such, there is an urgent need for the aged care and primary care sectors to address the unique challenges faced by LGBTIQ+ people when accessing palliative care services,” Dr McNair said.

To view the Healthcare Channel article Call for greater LGBTIQ+ inclusivity in palliative care in full click here.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia logo & Dr Ruth McNair. Image sources: LGBTIQ+ Health Australia website & The University of Melbourne website.

First Nations Aged Care Commissioner reports in

The Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner Ms Andrea Kelly, who commenced in the role on 8 January 2024, is currently conductingnation-wide consultations, to hear directly from First Nations older people, families, carers, communities and providers about their experiences accessing and engaging in the aged care system. Commissioner Kelly has been visiting communities across Australia, ensuring there is a mix of very remote, remote, regional and urban locations. She has also been speaking with a mix of service types who provide aged care to older First Nations people.

During these consultations, Commissioner Kelly has invited feedback on two questions::

What changes are required to enable culturally safe, trauma-aware and healing-informed access to the aged care system for older First Nations people, carers, families and communities?
· Should there be a permanent, statutory First Nations Aged Care Commissioner? If so, what should their functions and authority be?

Commissioner Kelly is not surprised that the community-controlled sector and organisations with long standing relationships in these communities have the solutions to deliver aged care to older First Nations people.

Some of the key themes Commissioner Kelly has heard so far from older First Nations people and the sector include:

wait times from assessment through to service provision are taking too long
allowing flexibility in funding models mean that care is localised and reflective of the needs of the individual
employing staff to work in the sector is difficult due to the lack of safe and affordable accommodation for workforce, particularly in remote and very remote communities
the importance of culture and remaining connected to Country and community is significant to the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of older First Nations people

You can access the Interim First Nations Aged Care Commissioner – Communique – May 2024 in full on the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website here.

Image source: Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Aged Care Star Ratings – have your say

The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care has engaged Allen + Clarke Consulting to undertake an evaluation of Star Ratings for residential aged care. As part of the evaluation, Allen + Clarke Consulting is undertaking consultation with consumers and a range of stakeholders across the aged care sector, including representatives from aged care organisations, advocacy groups, service providers, and staff working in residential aged care.

As part of their consultation process, Allen + Clarke Consulting invite you to an interview. Your participation in an interview will help Allen + Clarke Consulting to understand whether Star Ratings are contributing to improved quality of care in residential aged care homes, and how well Star Ratings are working to improve transparency and decision-making about aged care for older people and their families and carers. If you’d prefer, you can delegate this invitation to another colleague in your organisation. You are also welcome to bring one or two additional team members to participate in the interview.

The interview will be held online and will be up to 45 minutes in length.

Key areas that may be discussed include:

How well do Star Ratings address the specific challenges and requirements of First Nations people?
What is the level of awareness about Star Ratings among First Nations people making decisions about aged care for themselves or someone else?
Should Star Ratings be expanded to National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) services?
What are the potential benefits and enablers for publishing Star NATSIFAC service types?
What challenges and considerations would need to be considered when implementing Star Ratings for MPS and NATSIFAC service types?

Interviews will run until Friday 31 May. If you would like to participate in an interview, please book a time here. If none of the dates offered are suitable, you can contact the evaluation team via email here and hey will find another time that is convenient for you. Prior to the interview, please review and sign the online consent form, available here. The online consent form also contains additional information on this work, including information about privacy and how your information will be handled.

Allen + Clarke Consulting will also be administering an online survey for sector stakeholders. If you are unable to participate in an interview, they would welcome your feedback through the survey. Please email the Allen + Clarke Consulting team, here, to request a link to the survey, if you have any questions or wish to know more. Alternatively, you can contact the Department of Health and Aged Care Star Ratings evaluation manager, Leanne Altinger via email here.

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.

Exercise Right Week – 20–26 May 2024

Exercise Right is a public awareness campaign which was developed by Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) in 2014. Its purpose is to inspire and inform all Australians to move more and to demonstrate the importance of seeking the right exercise expert for their requirements. ESSA have an Exercise Right blog which aims to educate Australians about the importance of exercise for general health, as well as for the prevention and management of a range of chronic conditions and injuries. Content on the ESSA blog is all evidence based and written by ESSA members.

Exercise Right Week runs from the 20–26 of May 2024. The campaign is all about promoting the health benefits of physical activity and showing Australians how they can “Exercise Right” for their needs. This year, the theme for Exercise Right Week is “Just Move”. Exercise Right Week is promoted in the Department of Health’s national events calendar, and continues to gain recognition in the allied health community.

You can find more information on the Exercise Right Week website here.

Image source: Orange Aboriginal Medical Service LinkedIn page.

13 May 2024

Indigenous women most affected by family violence
Australian Mental Health Prize nominations open
Record high imprisonment due to policy failure
Bush camp on front line of efforts to reduce youth crime
CDU wins funding for NT’s first locally-run medical school
Sector Jobs
Key Dates – International Nurses Day 12 May; Kidney Health Week 11–17 May

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

Indigenous women most affected by family violence

This article contains information on deaths in custody and the violence experienced by First Nations people in encounters with the Australian carceral system. It also contains references to and the names of people who are now deceased.

As the country reels from women being killed due to violence, government has responded by calling urgent meetings and roundtables to address this national crisis. This must properly include Indigenous women, who experience shocking levels of family and domestic violence, and sexual assault. It must be recognised women are not a homogenous, collective group. The issues experienced by non-Indigenous women are not always the same as those experienced by Indigenous women. As such, it is imperative the voices of Indigenous survivors, researchers and advocates in addressing violence are fully heard and respected in the current debate.

According to recent research led by Kyllie Cripps, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised for injury associated with violence than non-Indigenous women. They are eight times more likely to be a victim of homicide. This figure is higher in some areas, such as WA, which recorded Aboriginal mothers as 17.5 times more likely to be a victim of homicide. Recently, the Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Commission convened an emergency roundtable. However, there are still concerns the outcomes of the roundtable do not respond to the serious and ongoing structural and systemic barriers Indigenous women face.

There are also concerns a significant investment recently announced in WA will not support Indigenous women. They’re based largely on an expansion of existing services, police, child protection and corrections, and non-Indigenous service responses. These decisions were made contrary to the states own Aboriginal family violence policy and in the absence of research or evidence base. Indigenous women have long argued for systemic reforms that address the underlying drivers of violence, support victim-survivors, ensure justice and demand accountability for offenders. This means not every support service can be for all women. They need to be tailored to meet the specific needs of Indigenous women.

To view The Conversation article Indigenous women are most affected by domestic violence but have struggled to be heard. It’s time we listened in full click here.

protest placard or Aboriginal flag with words 'Enough Is Enough'

Image source: The Conversation.

Australian Mental Health Prize nominations open

As nominations open for the 2024 Australian Mental Health Prize, Professor Maree Toombs, a proud Euahlayi and Kooma woman, is urging the community to recognise the unsung heroes championing mental health support, especially within Indigenous communities. Professor Maree Toombs, last year’s winner of the Professional category, has been at the forefront of developing culturally appropriate strategies to address the disproportionate mental health challenges faced by First Nations people.

In a conversation with NITV Radio Professor Toombs explained how her work has been driven by listening to the needs of her communities. “Through yarning with mob, I learned that mental health, suicide, and chronic diseases were the crucial areas requiring research and action,” Professor Maree Toombs said. “This insight led to the creation of the ground-breaking I-ASIST program, the first Indigenous-led and designed suicide intervention training in Australia.” I-ASIST empowers communities with life-saving skills tailored to their unique experiences incorporating traditional lands and cultural connections. “Suicide intervention training gives people the tools to support their families, friends, or community members who may be struggling with thoughts of ending their own life,”

As nominations open for the 2024 Mental Health Prize, Professor Toombs encourages everyone, especially within First Nations communities, to put forward the names of those who have dedicated themselves to improving mental health outcomes. “Together, we can break down stigmas, raise awareness, and create a future where mental well-being is prioritized for all.”

To listen to, or read the transcript of, the NITV Radio podcast episode Indigenous mental health champion Professor Maree Toombs calls for nominations in full click here.

Professor Maree Toombs on tile for NITV Radio podcast with title 'Indigenous mental health champion Professor Maree Toombs calls for nominations'

Professor Maree Toombs, a proud Euahlayi and Kooma woman, has revolutionised mental health and suicide prevention within Indigenous communities and exemplifies the transformative power of culturally attuned practices. Image source: SBS NITV Radio.

Record high imprisonment due to policy failure

This article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

First Nations people in Australia are the most imprisoned people in the world. This unenviable record is consolidating rather than receding. In 2023, First Nations people accounted for 33% of the prison population – an all-time high. This mass incarceration is highly disproportionate: Indigenous people make up only 3% of the country’s population, yet they are 17 times more likely than non-First Nations people to be imprisoned. We refer to this as “hyperincarceration”.

This situation is the culmination of centuries of racism, punitive policy and persistent failures to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But understanding the drivers of such high levels of incarceration is key to dismantling them. The “law and order” mantra that has swept Australia since the 1990s has steadily driven up imprisonment rates. This is sometimes referred to as First Nations people being set up to fail. In reality, it’s policy that’s failing. Challenges that ought to be dealt with through public health measures (the effects of trauma, mental illness and addiction) are instead criminalised. Coupled with systemic racism in criminal law processes, the state has created a perfect storm for increased First Nations imprisonment.

In 2017, the Australian Law Reform Commission forensically analysed racism at every stage of criminalisation. The data shows police are more likely to arrest and charge First Nations people, bail is more likely to be denied to First Nations people, all-white juries are more likely to convict First Nations people, and sentencing courts are more likely to imprison First Nations people.

To view The Conversation article First Nations imprisonment is already at a record high. Unless government policy changes, it will only get worse in full click here.

Protesters marked the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 2021. Photo: Richard Wainwright, AAP. Image source: The Conversation.

Bush camp on front line of efforts to reduce youth crime

New data shows youth crime rates are increasing for the first time in more than a decade, while recidivism rates have been steadily increasing year to year. The Yiriman diversionary program for kids in the Kimberley, run by the Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre, aims is to get at-risk Indigenous kids away from the temptations of town, and immerse them in culture and good health and personal pride. But the Yiriman project is yet to secure funding to be sustainable and expand. The program is surviving on a modest WA government grant, and some money scrounged from Commonwealth mental health funding.

The camp targets those who have been arrested on minor charges, or those considered at risk of getting in trouble in the future. The reasons the kids are on the streets and involved in crime in northern towns are simultaneously complex and simple. But underpinning their behaviour is a context of what some community leaders fear is intensifying household dysfunction among a small portion of the population, fuelled by overcrowding, alcohol abuse and intergenerational trauma.

In one recent example, a Broome magistrate acquitted a 15-year-old girl of stealing charges after the court heard she was homeless and hungry when she stole a bottle of water. “It’s not the children who are the problem … these children are just responding to their environment,” Magistrate Deen Potter commented during the court hearing.

To view the ABC News article Emotions run high at bush camp on front line of efforts to reduce youth crime in northern Australia in full click here.

Aboriginal kids at the Yiriman camp using plastic bucket as makeshift basketball ring

A plastic bucket is repurposed as a makeshift basketball ring by kids at the Yiriman camp. Photo: Erin Parke, ABC News.

CDU to establish NT’s first locally-run medical school

The NT’s first locally-run medical school is set to open in the next few years, after receiving almost $25m in federal funding to get it off the ground. The $24.5m in funding will grant 40 Commonwealth-supported student places to the program, a collaboration between the NT’s only university, Charles Darwin University (CDU) and Menzies School of Health Research. The only medical training in the territory at the moment is a rural health-focused program run by SA’s Flinders University, in partnership with CDU.

Thevini Abeywardana is likely to be one of the first students to be enrolled in the new course. The current CDU biomedical science student has wanted to become a doctor since childhood, but until now hasn’t been able to study medicine without leaving the NT. She missed out on a spot in the Flinders-run NT program, and was offered a spot at a Tasmanian university but ultimately turned it down to stay close to family.

Dr Stephens said the school was confident of securing annual funding for 40 students a year, with a vision of growing to 120 students within the next five years — a figure she cited as necessary to fill the current gaps in the NT’s under-stress health system. “We are desperate for medical workforce [staff] across the board. It’s in the hospitals, it’s in the Aboriginal-controlled community sector, and it’s in general practice,” she said. “There is a medical workforce deficit across the country, and it is amplified and much worse in the NT.”

To view the ABC News article Charles Darwin University wins funding to establish the NT’s first locally-run medical school in full click here.

architect image of new building to house CDU medical school

The new building that will house Charles Darwin University’s medical school. Photo: Charles Darwin University. Image source: ABC News.

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

International Nurses Day – Sunday 12 May 2024

International Nurses Day (IND) in held each year in May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

Despite being the backbone of health-care provision, nurses often face financial constraints and their role is frequently undervalued. This year’s IND theme Our Nurses. Out Future. The economic power of care. aims to reshape perceptions of nursing, demonstrating how strategic investment in nursing can bring considerable economic and societal benefits.

The day highlights the vital role of nurses play and showcases the efforts to create evidence-based knowledge on nursing and to influence national policies that will lead to the provision of high-quality, accessible, equitable, efficient and sensitive health services.

The Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) is the peak advocacy body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives in Australia. CATSINaM’s purpose is to lead the nursing and midwifery workforce to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. You can find more information about CATSINaM on their website here.

You can also find more information abound International Nurses Day on the International Council of Nurses website here.

tile text 'International Nurses Day 12 May 2024' graphic images of gloves, mask, needle, stethoscope etc

Image source: Shutterstock.

Kidney Health Week – 11–17 May 2024

Kidney Health Week, also known as Kidney Action Week, aims to raise awareness about kidney disease in Australia.

Kidney disease has a big impact on Australians; 1.7 million Australians are affected by kidney disease and it is the 10th most common cause of death in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, over 50 people die from kidney related disease every day.

One in five First Nations Australians have signs of kidney disease. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience disproportionate levels of kidney disease, regardless of whether they live in urban, regional or rural areas. Compared with the general population, they are twice as likely to develop kidney disease and four times as likely to die from kidney disease. In remote and very remote areas of Australia, the incidence of kidney failure among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is especially high, with rates up to 20 times higher than those of comparable non-Indigenous peoples.

Kidney Health Australia (KHA) says raising awareness about kidney health is not enough. We need ACTION! KHA are calling all Australians to take kidney disease seriously by understanding their risk of getting this incurable disease. Waiting for symptoms to appear is too late – you can lose 90% of kidney function without experiencing any symptoms. Taking action is simple. It only takes 2 minutes. KHA are calling all Australians to do the 2 minute online kidney risk test here.

You can find more about kidney health on the Kidney Health Australia website here.

3 May 2023

Senator McCarthy: ACCHOs crucial to CTG
Partnerships and data key to health in pandemics
Mid West eye care clinic helping mob
Symposium on effects of natural disasters
Colonisation: forgotten culprit in gendered violence
‘Every Yarn Counts’ Hep C campaign launch
Sector Jobs
Key Dates – Patient Experience Week – 29 April–5 May 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.

Senator McCarthy: ACCHOs crucial to CTG

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, the Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, has hailed ACCHOs as essential partners in Closing the Gap (CTG). Speaking to the WA Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector in Fremantle earlier this week (Wednesday 1 May 2024), the Yanyuwa senator said the government was committed to the sector, announcing three new four-chair renal dialysis units for two sites for the Pilbara Aboriginal Health Alliance in Tom Price and the Ngangganawili Aboriginal Health Service in Wiluna.

“We have to be able to roll out the care for our people on country, so they are not caught in places where they don’t feel they belong. Many people prefer to be back home on country, so we have to see what we can do, to roll out those chairs in those places,” she said. “Cases of treated kidney failure are 6.9 times higher for First Nations people compared to non-Indigenous Australians.” Senator McCarthy said funding was also going to Purple House for a dialysis clinic in Balgo, whilst the government was also “looking at further sites later in the year.”

Senator McCarthy said her government was improving health infrastructure including $4.7m to Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service for a health clinic in Midland; over $900,000 to the Ngaanyatjarra Health Service for a solar power system; and another solar system, worth $322,000, to the Yura Yungi Medical Service in Halls Creek. She said a total of 120 ACCHOs were being provided with rolling funding arrangements to help deliver health care under the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme (IAHP).

The senator also highlighted the First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Program, run by NACCHO, which has seen 250 enrolments, and 40 completing it, since it was rolled out 18 months ago. These include trainees who have completed their qualifications at the Marr Mooditj Training Aboriginal Corporation and the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services.

You can read the National Indigenous Times article Malarndirri McCarthy says Aboriginal-controlled health organisations crucial to Closing the Gap here and Senator McCarthy’s speech at the conference yesterday in full here.

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy speaking in the Senate

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy. Photo: Lukas Coach, AAP. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Partnerships and data key to health in pandemics

Effective partnerships between government and ACCOs during COVID-19 not only offer lessons for future pandemic control for Indigenous communities but also for how the National Agreement on Closing the Gap could operate. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led and governed responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were critical in minimising the impact of the pandemic on First Nations people and communities, according to submissions to the Federal Government’s COVID-19 Response Inquiry.

“The community-controlled health sector, in partnership with governments, led a highly effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic”, NACCHO said in their submission, available here. The establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander COVID-19 Advisory Group (Advisory Group) in March 2020 – co-chaired by NACCHO and the Australian Government’s Indigenous Health Branch – enabled culturally safe and targeted measures that “set an excellent standard in terms of equity of access,” NACCHO wrote.

Under the guidance of the Advisory Group, the COVID-19 Point of Care Testing Program became the “world’s largest decentralised SARS-CoV-2 molecular POC testing network.” It enabled rapid responses to positive test results, including safe isolation, and overcame some of the challenges accessing pathology labs in regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An evaluation of the Program, available here, of the Program found that it “averted” between 23,000 and 122,000 COVID infections that “would be likely to have arisen in the 40 days after the first infection was identified”.

To view the Croakey Health Media article Effective partnerships and data are key to Indigenous health in pandemics in full click here.

COVID-19. Photo: Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash. Image source: Croakey Health Media.

Mid West eye care clinic helping mob

A fully equipped eye health clinic has been created in the Mid West thanks to a partnership between local stakeholders. The WA Centre for Rural Health and the University of WA (UWA) is working with the Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (GRAMS) to develop programs to help vulnerable populations who may otherwise not have access to eye care services.

The clinic can offer rural patients low-cost glasses, as well as early diagnosis, referral, and treatment for a range of conditions which can affect sight. UWA optometry lecturer Sophia Gerritsma is working with GRAMS eye health co-ordinator Eric Dalgety to deliver the project. According to UWA, “comprehensive, culturally safe eye care” is paramount when patients attend the facility.

UWA school of optometry students in their final year are helping develop the programs, as well as assisting with mobile school and aged-care eye exams, and making eye-related disease appointments more streamlined before the patient sees a specialist. The pilot program for the school eye care program will run at four schools in the Mid West: Bluff Point Primary School, Goodstart Early Learning Wonthella, Mullewa District High School, and Mount Magnet District High School. The school programs will begin on Monday, 6 May 2024.

To view The West Australian article Eye care clinic for the Mid West aimed at helping vulnerable population in full click here.

GRAMS eye health co-ordinator Eric Dalgety performing an eye exam. Image source: The West Australian.

Symposium on effects of natural disasters

Earlier this week the Yarra Ranges Council (YRC) hosted a national symposium Our Country – Our Way to discuss the Indigenous knowledge systems building resilience. YRC Cultural Recovery Coordinator Nelson Aldridge, a Taungurung man, said the symposium was an Indigenous-based event on the effects of natural disasters. “We have this symposium to bring in Indigenous knowledge systems in regards to how to possibly make Country more sustainable and be proactive instead of reactive,” he said.

“Resilience has been in Aboriginal culture for thousands of years, and we’re going through that at the moment getting an understanding of Country and how we can work with Country that has a sustainable way going forward. “YRC is very passionate about these topics of events that are trying to lead the way with the Indigenous development team ensuring that we’re always looking at how to look after the Country. It was a fantastic day and we’re looking forward to the next steps.”

Aileen Blackburn and Buzzy Hewat from Moogji Aboriginal Council based in Orbost were the first guest speakers who spoke about the Black Summer bushfires. “They spoke about how it was. It was just a disaster in terms of how agencies communicated with the community afterwards,” Mr Aldridge said. “We then heard from Dr Carlie Atkinson about trauma-informed practices and the Lismore flood. At the lunch, we had Dr Andrew Peters who talked about resilience and reciprocity. And then we had Oonah which is an Aboriginal health organisation in Healesville talking about the services they offer to the community and the role they played in the recovery process of the storm.”

To view the Star Mail article Indigenous-based symposium in full click here.

Dr Carlie Atkinson giving presentation at symposium; text on screen 'In the Eye of the Storm: Community Led Indigenous Informed Healing Responses to Nature Disasters - Developing a culturally safe trauma informed response to the Northern Rivers Floods'

Dr Carlie Atkinson. Photo: Dongyun Kwon. Image source: Star Mail.

Colonisation: forgotten culprit in gendered violence

Last week, the mounting death toll of Australian women allegedly murdered by men sparked tens of thousands of people to gather and protest male violence against women. This epidemic is a critical conversation that must be had, but we need to make sure that Aboriginal women are not left behind.

Phoebe McIlwraith says that existing as an Aboriginal person, and as a woman, she was taught again and again that the way I acted and the way I looked was my responsibility to repel unwanted attention and violence — from the state, from cops, from racists and from men. Ms McIlwraith said she didn’t blame her parents for trying to give her the tools to avoid violence in her life, even if the onus should be on men to not hurt women and on systems to enforce that expectation, because their fear of their Aboriginal daughter being harmed was not unfounded.

Recent homicide statistics reveal an overrepresentation of First Nations people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people account for 20% of all homicide victims and First Nations women are seven times more likely to be killed than non-First Nations women. First Nations women are also three times more likely to experience violence in general and 32 times more likely to be hospitalised from family violence. The perpetrators of this violence are largely men, from different cultural backgrounds.

The big takeaway: violence against women is not an issue particular to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but it is particularly impacting our communities. Like the broad issue of male violence, the causes and the solutions are not cut and dry, but addressing the violence against First Nations women requires specific considerations. Violence against First Nations women cannot be addressed without first understanding colonisation. This isn’t just a historical issue but a framework of analysis, since colonisation is not a singular event but an ongoing process. There is an unbroken line from invasion, displacement, massacres, Frontier Wars, generations of discriminatory policy in all areas of life, rampant racism and the destruction of Country, to the trauma in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

To view the Refinery29 article Colonisation Is The Forgotten Culprit In Gendered Violence in full click here.

Phoebe McIlwraith wearing black t-shirt with Aboriginal flag standing in bush setting

Phoebe McIlwraith. Image source: Refinery 29 Australia.

‘Every Yarn Counts’ Hep C campaign launch

From 2022, EC Australia at the Burnet Institute has been collaborating closely with a network of national partners from the ACCH sector to design, implement and evaluate a National Hepatitis C Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hepatitis C Health Promotion Campaign, ‘Every Yarn Counts’ Live Free From Hep C‘. Nine ACCHOs are implementing the campaign over the next three months, with campaign activities aiming to normalise discussions about hepatitis C in the community — eliminating barriers, stigma and misconceptions associated with the disease to encourage people to get tested and treated. The campaign has been co-designed by a national reference group comprising representatives from 13 ACCHOs, various state peak bodies and the EC Australia team to ensure that it’s inclusive, has shared ownership and empowers communities in a culturally responsive way.

“We want to normalise conversations and discussions in the community about hepatitis C — that it’s curable, and that treatment is now easier and much more accessible,” said Troy Combo, Program Manager at the Burnet Institute. “This campaign is incredibly important. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience a disproportionate burden of hepatitis C. According to a 2021 report, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for 16% of all notifications, despite comprising 3% of the population. This is why we need co-designed, locally delivered solutions to ensure Aboriginal people feel comfortable to have a yarn about hepatitis C and get tested” said Mr Combo.

‘Every Yarn Counts’ aims to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accessing ACCHOs into hepatitis C testing and treatment. As part of this, the implementing sites will be provided with flexible funding which can be used for campaign activities, and a suite of merchandise, promotional material and social media toolkits.

You are invited to join a webinar hosted by the EC Australia Burnet team to hear further details about how the campaign is rolling out and types of activities, learnings and outcomes that sites are implementing and experiencing. The webinar will be held on Wednesday 12 June at 1:30pm. You can register for the webinar here.

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

Patient Experience Week – 29 April–3 May 2024

Patient Experience Week, generally health in the last week in April, is an initiative of the Beryl Institute (the Institute), an international collective of people passionate about improving patient experience, to celebrate healthcare staff impacting patient experience everyday. The Beryl Institute defines ‘patient experience’ as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organisation’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.

Inspired by members of the Institute community, Patient Experience Week provides a focused time for organisations to celebrate accomplishments, re-energise efforts and honour the people who impact patient experience everyday. From nurses and physicians, to support staff and executive professionals, to patients, families and communities served, the Institute aims to bring together healthcare organisations across the globe to observe Patient Experience Week.

You can find more information about Patient Experience Week here.

To celebrate Patient Experience Week 2021 Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA) Director Sue Schoonbeek spoke to Wayne, Consumer Advisor, about how he shares his experience as a patient to give something back:

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

Registrations are open now for Cairns: 14–15 May 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.

1 May 2024

Indigenous mums taking measures into own hands
Data underscores rural health investment urgency
Murder of Indigenous women a national crisis
PM says $20m investment ‘making a difference’
Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale online module
Sector Jobs
Key Date – World Maternal Mental Health Day – 1 May 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.

Indigenous mums taking measures into own hands

Aboriginal mothers and their babies have higher death rates and poorer health outcomes than non-Indigenous Australians. New community-led services are trying to change that. Edie recently gave birth to her fourth child. After the birth she took her placenta with her from hospital and buried it close to where she was born. It is something Edie has done with each of her three children. The placenta, she says, is a baby’s first home, so it is buried “on Country” to identify that place as the baby’s home. It gives the newborns their first connection to the generations of ancestors that came before then and the land they inhabit.

The 35-year-old from Brisbane, Qld, is one of a growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are turning to a movement known as “Birthing on Country” as an alternative to standard maternal services offered by the Australian healthcare system. It is a concept that aims to better meet the needs of Indigenous Australian mothers and their babies. “Birthing on Country connects what we know as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the modern world to what our ancestors did,” says Yvette Roe, a professor of Indigenous health at Charles Darwin University.

Roe, a proud Njikena Jawuru woman herself, is one of the co-directors of the Molly Wardaguga Research Centre at Charles Darwin University’s Qld campus, alongside Sue Kildea, a professor of midwifery. They are at the forefront of research, implementation and collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous health and maternal services. The organisation, established in 2019, was born out of a growing recognition that standard maternal care in Australia was failing to meet the needs of Indigenous women. “The principle of Birthing on Country is that it is baby and woman-centred, rather than seeing birthing through a biomedical model where it is often just a transaction between a mother and a clinician,” says Roe.

To view the BBC article Indigenous mothers are being ‘failed’ in Australia – so they are taking measures into their own hands in full click here.

drawing of ATSI baby held by roots of tree with a border of wattle

Credit Emmanuel Lafont/BBC. Image source: BBC website.

Data underscores rural health investment urgency

A new update released yesterday (30 April 2024) from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows that people living in very remote areas were hospitalised at almost twice the rate compared to major cities. Data also shows that access to General Practitioner visits was lowest in remote and very remote communities. “Such appalling disparities should be rectified with targeted investment and innovative approaches. Your postcode should not determine your access to health care,” said National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) Chairperson, Nicole O’Reilly.

According to the AIHW analysis of data from the 2022 Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey, health risks due to alcohol and smoking as well as arthritis, mental health issues and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are some of the significant health concerns that take a toll on rural communities. “We need high quality, culturally safe primary healthcare in rural areas, especially for prevention and management of health and behavioural risk factors and chronic conditions. This would significantly reduce the reliance on the acute hospital sector and rectify enduring disparities in health outcomes,” said Ms O’Reilly.

“The annual health underspend in rural Australian areas is a whopping $6.55 billion which equates to about $850 less spent on health per person per year. It shows that our rural communities are treated as second-class citizens when it comes to health care. The government, therefore, needs to invest in place-based models of care which meet local needs and recognise that funding models that work in the city do not work where markets are thin or failing. The Alliance has proposed a model of care and funding – Primary care Rural Integrated Multidisciplinary Health Services (PRIM-HS) which would be a solution for many rural communities.,” said Ms O’Reilly.

To view the National Rural Health Alliance media release AIHW data reinforces the need for targeted investment in rural health in full click here.

Image source: RACGP newsGP article ‘The tyranny of distance’: rural health inequities persist published on 15 December 2023.

Murder of Indigenous women a national crisis

PM Anthony Albanese is discussing the topic of gendered violence, which he describes as a national crisis, with state and territory leaders today. The latest Homicide in Australia report shows a rise in the number of women murdered by current or former partners. The number of women killed by intimate partners rose by 28% in the 2022/23 financial year with 89% of all intimate partner homicide victims being women, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology report.

Mr Albanese said previous statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) also painted an alarming picture of the murder rate for Indigenous women. “This is a national crisis, and for Indigenous women, they’re 7.6 times more likely to die from homicide, to be killed, than non-Indigenous women,” he told ABC Radio yesterday. “(Preventing violence against women) requires a whole of government and whole of society, including the media and others, to be engaged.”

Updated figures from the Homicides in Australia report showed the homicide rate for Indigenous women was 3.07 per 100,000 people, compared to 0.45 for non-Indigenous women. The PM said national cabinet discussions will focus on solutions to prevent violence against women. The meeting will examine measures to strengthen prevention and focus on online harms, including countering violent and misogynistic content. Further opportunities for states and the Commonwealth to share information about high-risk perpetrators and serial offenders will also be examined.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Murder of Indigenous women a national crisis: PM in full click here.

Indigenous women are far more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women. Photo: Steven Markham/AAP. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

PM says $20m investment ‘making a difference’

PM Anthony Albanese says the purpose of his trip to Alice Springs this week has been to “listen to local people” and determine whether the federal government’s $250m support package for Central Australia has seen positive outcomes. The four-year support package, announced by the Commonwealth after the PM’s last visit to the town in January 2023, includes $40m for on-country learning and $23.5m to improve First Nations health outcomes.

Mr Albanese claimed an increase in school engagement across the Central Australia was due to the recent federal funding boost. “Improved school retention is a pretty good start,” he said. “Enrolments in remote government schools are increasing and the number of children who haven’t been attending schools for 20 consecutive days has gone down and there’s also very early signs that attendance is up right across Central Australia. “The investment is making a difference.”

Michelle Ayres, the Australian Education Union’s NT branch president, said it was too early to tell if the funding boost had meaningfully contributed to improving school attendance. However Ms Ayres said she had received positive feedback from principals in Central Australia whose teachers have benefited from the additional funding. Mr Albanese said Centralian Senior College had used the new funding to support some of its “most disengaged” students, with a marked attendance increase for those taking part in the program. “Attendance is up 37%, a remarkable figure in a short period of time,” he said. Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said “education is the absolute key to turning around the lives and the life outcomes for all students in this region”. But the PM conceded long-term change would take time. “You don’t solve intergenerational disadvantage overnight,” he said.

To view the ABC News article Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Alice Springs, says $20m investment is ‘making a difference’ in full click here.

PM Albanese taking selfie with students of Centralian Senior College

Mr Albanese says attendance rates in Centralian Senior College have improved because of the funding. Lee Robinson. ABC News.

Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale online module

NACCHO has a new online elearning module Perinatal Mental Health Screening and Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women using the Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale for members and non-members.

This module provides a detailed description of how to perform a routine psychosocial assessment with Aboriginal clients using the Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale. It also explains pathways for follow-up and referral, and the importance of psychosocial care.

Those who complete the module should be able to:

Understand the unique context of Aboriginal perinatal mental health.
Understand approaches to screening that are acceptable for Aboriginal women.
Use the KMMS to perform a routine psychosocial assessment for Aboriginal women during pregnancy and in the first year post birth.
Understand pathways for follow-up and referral for women at risk of perinatal mental health conditions.
Describe psychosocial supports that may be useful for clients with risk factors and/or mild symptoms of a perinatal mental health condition.

You can access details about the module on the NACCHO website here and enrol here.

Rural Clinical School of WA Research Fellow Erica Spry with the KMMS online training program on her laptop

Rural Clinical School of WA Research Fellow Erica Spry with the KMMS online training program for healthcare professionals. Image source: NRHA Partyline online magazine.

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

World Maternal Mental Health Day

World Maternal Mental Health Day draws attention to essential mental health concerns for mothers and families. Life changes around pregnancy make women more vulnerable to mental illness. The negative cycle of poverty and mental illness impact on a woman’s ability to function and thrive. This may also directly affect her foetus or child, with long-lasting physical, cognitive and emotional outcomes.

Mental health care provides the necessary support to empower women to identify resources and personal capabilities. This can enhance their resilience to difficult life circumstances and support them to nurture their children optimally. Caring for mothers is a positive intervention for long-term social development.

You can find more information on the World Maternal Mental Health Day – 1 May 2024 website here.

World Maternal Mental Health Day 2024 tile - map of world with yellow dots for global partners

Image source: World Maternal Mental Health Day Facebook page.

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 April 2024

Overcrowding under scrutiny amid flu outbreak
Maari Ma opens ‘holistic’ health centre
Awesome STI resources for mob
Too Deadly for Diabetes program to go national
Program helps young men get life back on track
Commonwealth supports justice reinvestment initiatives
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.

Overcrowding under scrutiny amid flu outbreak

A flu outbreak in the Far North Qld Indigenous community of Yarrabah has put the issue of housing in the spotlight. Grandmother Cheryl Flanders is still recovering from a debilitating case of the flu. The Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Bundjalung woman says she lived with the virus for three weeks. “I couldn’t move. Every bone, every joint in my body was aching. I really suffered.” She suspects she contracted the virus from one of her three grandchildren, who are all living in the same home.

At the town’s ACCHO, Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service (GYHS), staff have seen a significant spike in people presenting with flu-like symptoms. GYHS CEO Suzanne Andrews said, “Every year, this time of year around flu time, we do have a high uptake of mob getting the flu. We’re asking people now that we have vaccines, come and get vaccinated so you can fight flu like symptoms. It’s a big social issue particularly in Yarrabah where there is overcrowding that does make you more susceptible to getting the flu.”

It’s put a renewed focus on housing. While Yarrabah’s population according to the census is just over 2,500, health authorities estimate that figure is closer to 4,500. Community leaders like Father Leslie Baird say it’s not uncommon for multiple families to live in one dwelling. “If any outbreaks happen in the community, then the whole community is at a higher risk than what Cairns or Gordon Vale or any other place would be, because of the housing problems we have here. We have a need for at least 300 new homes, there’s only 400 homes for a community of 4,000 people.”

Father Baird says overcrowding has been an issue in Yarrabah for years. “If the housing problem is not fully addressed, then we will always be at higher risk than any other place in Australia. The government needs to begin to listen because we have the Yarrabah leaders forum which is our voice for the community which speaks to state and federal government.”

To listen to the SBS News First Nations First podcast episode Overcrowded housing under scrutiny amid influenza outbreak or read the transcript in full click here.

SBS News First Nations First podcast banner, text 'Overcrowded housing under scrutiny amid influenza outbreak'

Image source: SBS News.

Maari Ma opens ‘holistic’ health centre

The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) has praised the opening of another purpose-built wellness and health facility to service a small Indigenous community of Wilcannia. Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation chair Des Jones officially opened Wilcannia’s new Health and Wellbeing Centre on the banks of the Barka (Darling) River on Thursday, a project that took 11 months to complete and has been operational for three months.

Mr Jones said “To have a community-controlled, functional, purpose-built health service here is something that Maari Ma has been striving to achieve for a long time.” Mr Jones stressed a good health service for First Nations people was more than just good bricks and mortar. “It’s a holistic concept that includes the delivery of a culturally-appropriate health service, providing respect for people and respect for cultural and spiritual wellbeing,” he said. That holistic concept is being delivered here, thanks to the architects and the builder, the services that Maari Ma is providing and the staff who are here for our community.”

The wellness centre will provide GP services, chronic disease management, child and family health – including antenatal and immunisation – as well as several mental health and social services, a healing program, dietician and take visiting medical specialists such as paediatricians, endocrinologists, cardiologists, nephrologists, optometrists, ophthalmologist, psychiatrists and obstetricians. Maari Ma’s child dental service would continue at the old hospital.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Maari Ma opens ‘holistic’ health centre in Wilcannia in full click here.

ILSC board director Roy Ah-See and corporate executive director David Silcock at the opening of the new health centre. Photo: ILSC. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Awesome STI resources for mob

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care has released a range of awesome resources on sexually transmissible infections (STIs):

STIs with Aaron and Tawhio – True or Gammon – 5 minute video

Aaron Fa’aoso sits down with deadly Aboriginal health practitioner, Tawhio from Tennant Creek, NT. In ‘True or Gammon’ style, they answer all your burning questions about STIs, available here.

STIs with Janty and Jecinta – True or Gammon – 6 minute video

Deadly comedian Janty Blair yarns with Aboriginal health practitioner, Jecinta from Darwin, NT. In ‘True or Gammon’ style, they shed light on some myths about STIs, available here.

Got burning questions about STIs with Janty – True or Gammon – Poster 1

True or Gammon poster encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to talk with a health worker about getting tested, available here.

Safe sex a prickly subject? – True or Gammon – Social animation

A 15-second video animation to share on your social channels to encourage yarning with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, available here.

Got the kind of crabs that aren’t good for eating? – True or Gammon – Social animation

A 15-second video animation to share on your social channels to encourage yarning with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, available here.

Got a slippery question about what’s on your budoo? – True or Gammon – Social animation

A 15-second video animation to share on your social channels to encourage yarning with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, available here.

Got burning questions about STIs? – Green – True or Gammon – Poster 4

True or Gammon poster encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to talk with a health worker about getting tested, available here.

A rash down below got you in a flap? – True or Gammon – Social animation

A 15-second video animation to share on your social channels to encourage yarning with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, available here.

Too Deadly for Diabetes program to go national

A home-grown program for helping patients with Type 2 diabetes will soon inform nationwide policy after years of success in small-town communities. The health and lifestyle program Too Deadly for Diabetes (TDFD) was developed by Gomeroi man Ray Kelly with the hopes of reversing diabetes in local Indigenous communities. “Our participants are seeing improvements in their blood sugar and blood pressure within days,” Mr Kelly said. “It also has a great flow on effect for the community, with the participants’ family and friends being inspired along with the health care professionals providing the program.”

Operated primarily through local Aboriginal Medical Services, TDFD has been making waves since its inception in back in 2017. Having a culturally-informed approach to tackling the disease is essential, as Indigenous Australians suffer higher rates of diabetes as well as a higher rate of hospitalisation and death from diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians.

The 10-week program focuses on sustainable weight loss, healthy eating, and physical activity; key components in managing and preventing Type 2 diabetes. “Across NSW we’ve worked with 16 communities so far and they’ve lost more than 5800 kilos in total,” Mr Kelly said, After catching the attention of the NSW government, Mr Kelly’s program received a significant funding boost in August 2023, enabling its expansion into more communities across the state, including Tamworth and Werris Creek.

The above is an extract from the article Home-grown health program goes national to tackle diabetes crisis published in The Northern Daily Leader earlier today (22 April 2024).

You can find more information about the TDFD program on the TDFD website here.

NSW Regional Health Minister & Too Deadly for Diabetes program director Ray Kelly outside TAMS

NSW Regional Health Minister Ryan Park and Too Deadly for Diabetes program director Ray Kelly outside the Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service. Picture supplied by the office of Hon Ryan Park MP. Image source: The Northern Daily Leader.

Program helps young men get life back on track

When Jahdai Vigona and Danté Rodrigues were heading down the wrong path after high school, they had two options: keep going or make a change. They chose the latter, and ever since they have been working tirelessly to improve the mental and physical health of Indigenous men in their community.

The two cousins, who are are both proud Tiwi Islands men, say that with the help of mentors, family members and positive role models, they were able to turn things around for themselves, and hope to do the same for others. “Jahdai and I grew up around a lot of things like domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse and crime and for a while we were even going off on our own wrong path,” Danté says. “I’m only 22 and I’ve lost more friends and family than I can count,” Jahdai adds. “I’ve attended more funerals than weddings in my lifetime. That’s just the harsh reality for someone like me coming from the NT.”

Jahdai and Danté decided to take matters into their own hands — or boxing gloves. “How can you expect someone to be a good person, if you don’t teach them how to be,” Danté says. “We are lucky that we had a lot of positive role models to help us, but for a lot of people in the NT, Indigenous or not, they just don’t have that support.” With their One Percent program, they try to help young Indigenous men in the NT become better versions of themselves day by day, 1% at a time.

To view the ABC News article How two cousins from the NT formed the One Percent Program to help young men get their lives back on track in full click here.

Founders of the One Percent Program Jahdai and Danté sitting on concrete steps outside a building

Jahdai and Danté have used their own personal experiences and backgrounds to develop the program. Photo: Leah White, ABC News.

Commonwealth supports justice reinvestment initiatives

Ten justice reinvestment programs have secured support through the federal government’s First Nations justice package. Announced last Friday (19 April 2024) the community-led initiatives follow nine initial grants delivered under the package in February. They form part of the federal government’s $109m First Nations justice package, with $79m allocated to support up to 30 community-led justice reinvestment initiatives in First Nations communities across Australia. The investment marks the largest commitment to justice reinvestment ever delivered by the Commonwealth.

Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said the initiative will deliver place-based projects to improve lives, support safer communities and help to close the gap.”Justice Reinvestment is all about putting First Nations communities front and centre when it comes to preventing contact with the criminal justice system,” Ms Burney said. “Communities can work together with local police, organisations, education and health services and local government to drive local solutions.”

Justice reinvestment is a long-term, community-led approach to preventing crime, improving community safety and reducing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and children in custody. Following assessment by an independent panel, ten community-led justice reinvestment initiatives have been selected across the NT, Qld, SA, WA and NSW. Applications for funding under the federal government’s justice reinvestment programs remain open year-round, with communities encouraged to apply via the GRANTS.GOV website here when they are ready to do so.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Community-led justice reinvestment initiatives secure commonwealth support in full click here.

Linda Burney said projects announced under the federal government’s justice reinvestment initiative will deliver place-based projects to improve lives, support safer communities and help to close the gap. Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP. 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 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.

19 March 2024

Locking up children is not the answer
Good News Story – TAMS submits $18m medical centre plans
Pregnancy Connect to improve health care access
Chronic wounds: Australia’s hidden epidemic
Tumut’s newest health hero, AWH Tana Scott
Sector Jobs
Key Dates – Neurodiversity Celebration Week 18–24 March; World Social Work Day – 19 March
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.

Locking up children is not the answer

President of the NSW Bar Association, Dr Ruth Higgins SC says the NSW government’s proposed Bail and Crimes Amendment Bill 2024 (NSW), which will apply specifically and only to children, would, if enacted, represent a troubling turn in the criminal law of the state, making it potentially more difficult for a child aged between 14 and 18 to be released from custody than it would be for an adult charged with the same offence. Juvenile incarceration disproportionately affects Indigenous children. In 2022, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that Indigenous young people aged 10 to 17 were 18 times more likely than non-Indigenous young people to be in detention.

Children who commit offences bear responsibility for their actions. However, their level of dependency and immaturity should guide the state’s response. Wherever possible, it is desirable to allow the education and development of a child to proceed without interruption. These ideas are orthodox, and are enshrined in principles governing criminal proceedings involving children. None of this is to deny that criminal offences committed by children can be extremely serious, however, the children who commit these offences almost universally lack functional support and a stable home life. Some grow up in a family environment where crime, violence, and substance abuse are endemic due to complex intergenerational disadvantage.

Juvenile offending is a complex social phenomenon, not amenable to quick fixes. It is well-documented that juvenile offending is produced by a range of socioeconomic factors including poor education, lack of opportunities, intergenerational poverty, and persistent social deprivation. The remoteness of regional areas can exacerbate this. The government’s proposed laws are likely to aggravate these root causes and make our communities, especially our regional communities, less safe.

That may seem counterintuitive. But research indicates that incarceration at an early age is more likely to lead to a higher incidence of criminal behaviour later in life. In 2022, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found that 64.4%t of young people released from detention in 2017 were convicted of another offence within 12 months. Yet, only 44.3% of young people who were convicted and received a noncustodial sentence were re-convicted over the same period.

To view The Age article Locking up children is not the answer, Premier Minns in full click here.

male youth with basketball under arm & hand gripping prison bars

Banksia Hill is one of the most notorious juvenile detention centres in Australia. Image: Fairfax Media. Image source: WAtoday.

TAMS submits $18m medical centre plans

New plans reveal the future construction of an $18m medical centre in South Tamworth. Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Service (TAMS) has lodged a statement of environmental effects (SEE), with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. The SEE report details the development of a 1.60-hectare lot into one of the regional City’s largest medical centres. If approved, the centre would be made up of three main buildings: a medical service, a wellbeing centre, and allied health services.

TAMS would operate the medical services building, which would consist of 39 consulting rooms, a small pharmacy, treatment, pathology, physiotherapy, and more, as well as the wellbeing building, which would be used for the general physical and mental health of community members. This includes spaces dedicated for fitness classes, group therapy for all ages, wakes, meetings, and more. In the allied health services building, one section would be operated by TAMS as a dental surgery, and the remaining two sections would be available to lease for other healthcare services. The centre would also offer different community areas, such as a reflection space, an outdoor gathering/performance area, and a yarning circle.

The aim of the new centre would be to provide culturally appropriate preventative primary healthcare services for Tamworth’s Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. If approved, the site would house 10 qualified doctors, four registered nurses, and six health professionals. The facility would also staff a range of other services, including drug and alcohol support, social and emotional wellbeing, NDIS, aged care, homelessness, and suicide prevention.

To view The Northern Daily Leader article TAMS submits new plans in full click here.

image of TAMS' proposed $18m new medical centre

Tamworth Aboriginal Medical Services submits plans for $18m medical centre. Image source: The Northern Daily Leader.

Pregnancy Connect to improve health care access

Women and their babies in rural and regional NSW will soon have better and earlier access to pregnancy care as part of a new multimillion-dollar government scheme. The Pregnancy Connect initiative will ensure women have early access to specialist maternity care closer to home, particularly for women in rural and regional areas. Services will focus on virtual care, the safe transfer of women who need higher levels of care, and antenatal care available earlier and more regularly for women with high risks to their health and wellbeing during pregnancy.

The program, supported by an ongoing annual investment of $6.19m, will connect health services in rural and regional areas that are often centralised in metropolitan areas. Pregnancy Connect Care Coordinator Jodie Adams said the program isn’t just about maternity services, with mental health, drug and alcohol, social work, and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander resources also being prioritised. “It’s about tailoring the services to the woman: that right care, right place, right time,” she said.

Early intervention care is another key focus of the initiative, with Ms Adams saying: “preventive care is always the best”. “We want (women) to have the best outcomes, and we know we can deliver that for them if we give them care in their communities with people they trust, that is in a continuity of care settings so they’re not retelling their story all the time,” she said. The program will also aim to bring help to women rather than relying on transfers to metropolitan hospitals, which can cause women to feel “disconnected and become very stressed”. “Often we’re doing that (transfers) because we’re at the pointy end of the crisis and we’re needing to intervene … things have not gone well for whatever reason, so we want to avoid that from happening in the first place,” Ms Adams said.

To view the Perth Now article NSW Health Minister to announce a new Pregnancy Connect initiative aimed at making health care better and more accessible for pregnant women in full click here.

pregnant Aboriginal woman having ultrasound

Photo: Shutterstock. Image source: The Conversation.

Chronic wounds: Australia’s hidden epidemic

The hidden epidemic of chronic wounds in Australia will be tackled through new initiatives funded with more than $3m from the Albanese Government. It is estimated that approximately 450,000 Australians currently live with a chronic wound. Wounds Australia and the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) will each receive grants for innovative new projects to improve understanding of wound care among health professionals and the broader community.

Wounds Australia will receive $2m to deliver a national education and awareness campaign on chronic wound prevention and treatment. The campaign will aim to improve public awareness and patient knowledge of how to care for wounds to give them the best chance to heal. ACN will receive $1.073m for scholarships to encourage and assist nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers to undertake formal training, to improve wound management in primary care settings.

The grant will provide at least 120 scholarships each year for advanced training short courses for nurses, 5 scholarships for graduate certificates in wound care and one scholarship for a Masters of Wound Care course. The grants are part of the Government’s $47.8m Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme. While the scheme is targeted to people with diabetes aged 65 years and over, or 50 years and over for First Nations people, the grants will help people of all ages at risk of chronic wounds.

To the Minster for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP’s media release $3m for better wound care in full click here.

You can also read the related ABC News story Chronic wounds affect 420,000 Australians each day, cost $3b a year to treat in full here.

The image below is from a 5 July 2021 Batchelor Institute article Plastic surgeons teach Batchelor Institute Aboriginal health students wound care, available here.

surgeon teaching Aboriginal health students how to suture

Surgeon teaching health students how to suture. Image source: Batchelor Institute.

Tumut’s newest health hero, AWH Tana Scott

A Tumut man has joined one of the region’s most in-demand workforces, helping shape health outcomes for his local Aboriginal community. A proud Wiradjuri/Ngunnawal man, Tana Scott was unsure of his future career path before a snap decision in Year 12 at Tumut High changed the course of his professional life. The 19-year-old enrolled in a school-based traineeship as an allied health assistant – a fast-growing profession in the booming healthcare sector. The role offers support to the nearly 200,000 allied health professionals nationwide, in areas including physiotherapy, optometry, speech pathology, occupational therapy and more.

Tana is a fully qualified allied health assistant and working as an Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW), specialising in physiotherapy at Tumut Hospital after completing two TAFE NSW courses. He acts in a support role for the on-duty physiotherapist, coordinating patient care by organising appointments, coordinating health and welfare programs and completing administrative tasks. The allied health assistant has urged other young people to consider a career in the in-demand field as it offers a rare mix of job security and satisfaction. “It’s so rewarding to be able to help my mob and be a positive figure in their lives,” Tana said. “Watching them recover and knowing you played a part in helping them overcome their health challenges is an amazing feeling.”

Tana is passionate about being a role model for young Aboriginal males and would love the opportunity to chat with them about his experiences. When Tana was enrolled in the school-based traineeship he split his time between working at Tumut Hospital, studying at school and completing a Certificate III and Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance at TAFE NSW. He said the practical, hands-on nature of his TAFE NSW course meant he could immediately have an impact on the job. “My TAFE NSW teachers were so experienced and supportive, and we did so many simulations and so much practical learning during the course,” Tana said.

To view the Region Riverina article Tumut’s newest health hero: Tana Scott making waves in Aboriginal Health in full click here.

TAFE NSW Tumut graduate and Tumut Hospital AHW Tana Scott with brother and Tumut Hospital Aboriginal Mental Health trainee Taine Scott. Photo: TAFE NSW. Image source: Region Riverina.

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

Neurodiversity Celebration Week – 18–24 March 2024

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. It aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, and organisations with the opportunity to recognise the many talents and advantages of being neurodivergent, while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.

Siena Castellon founded Neurodiversity Celebration Week in 2018 because she wanted to change the way learning differences are perceived. Siena, who is autistic and has ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, said her experience as a teenager was that people often focus on the challenges of neurological diversity. Sienna wanted to change the narrative and create a balanced view which focuses equally on talents and strengths.

The purpose of Neurodiversity Celebration Week is to help the world to understand, value and celebrate the talents of neurodiverse minds, and the mission is to change the narrative, by working together with schools, universities, and organisations to:

increase acceptance and understanding
provide education
celebrate neurodiversity

You can find more information on the Neurodiversity Celebration Week website here.

World Social Work Day – 19 March 2024

This year World Social Work Day takes place on 19 March. This year’s theme is ‘Buen Vivir: Shared Future for Transformative Change’, which is rooted in the Global Agenda and emphasises the need for social workers to adopt innovative, community-led approaches that are grounded in Indigenous wisdom and harmonious coexistence with nature. You can find out more about the background of the theme here.

The theme serves as a timely reminder of the transformative role social workers play in driving positive change and fostering communities that thrive on mutual respect and sustainability.

Joachim Mumba, International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) President, commented: “Buen Vivir resonates deeply with the core values of social work. As we celebrate World Social Work Day, let’s embrace this principle and champion a future where communities and nature coexist in harmony a future where social workers will, together with local people co-design and co-build peaceful communities critical to our shared sustainable futures.”

To learn more about World Social Work Day, including the history of the day, click here.

green tile image of cut out hands, flowers growing through' text 'Buen Vivir shared future for transformative change - World Social Work Day 19th March 2024 - www.ifsw.org'

Image source: International Federation of Social Workers 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 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.

7 March 2024

First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Program launched
Blue Lures’ aim: positive community-police relations
Productivity Commission finds CTG targets worsening
Overcoming barriers for future generations
Victoria’s prison system failing health needs of mob
Sector Jobs
Key Dates – The March Charge – 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.

First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Program launched

More than 190 First Nations healthcare trainees have embarked on a transformative journey as the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) launch the First Nations Health Worker Traineeship (FNHWT) program.

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health was in attendance for the launch, held today at the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia on Kaurna Country (Adelaide). The FNHWT program aims to certify up to 500 First Nations individuals as either Aboriginal Health Workers or Aboriginal Health Practitioners by 2027.

First Nations health professionals play a crucial role in delivering culturally safe care that is responsive to community needs. The FNHWT program is a pivotal step in addressing the gap in our health system by significantly increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the health workforce.

The training, delivered by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Registered Training Organisations (ACCHRTOs), involves on-the-job experience, ideally on Country, addressing critical workforce shortages in ACCHOs.

In alignment with the government’s commitment to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap Priority Reforms the program has been developed and designed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and is being delivered in genuine partnership with government. As part of the $54.3m program, NACCHO has also developed a holistic traineeship framework for ACCHOs to partner with ACCHRTOs, ensuring trainees receive culturally safe academic support.

First Nations people interested in joining the program can find out more on the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care FNHWTP webpage here.

In addition to the FNHWT program, NACCHO has initiated a demonstration project which will increase the training and assessing workforce within ACCHRTOs. The project was designed to address the increasing demand for broader qualifications, across social and emotional wellbeing, counselling, mental health, and community services, which are currently limited due to shortages of qualified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Vocational Education and Training (VET) trainers and assessors.

Together, the FNHWT program and the Trainer and Assessor demonstration project provide a more holistic approach to closing the healthcare gap and cultivating a robust, culturally competent First Nations healthcare workforce.

You can read the NACCHO media release Strengthening the Healthcare Workforce: First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Program Launched in full on the NACCHO website here.

Blue Lures’ aim: positive community-police relations

St George kids have cast their rod into a new fishing program ‘Blue Lures’, a youth program aimed at fostering positive community-police relationships over a shared love of catching fish. The fishing-based initiative aims to provide a fun, safe environment for youth aged 8–17 and was started by local Police Liaison Officer (PLO) Chelsea Beardmore and Constable Daniel Burton from St George Police Station.

Constable Burton observed an abundance of local kids who shared a love for fishing and jumped at the opportunity to build a relationship with them through a fishing program. He worked closely with PLO Beardmore, who was born and raised in St George, to leverage local knowledge and relationships to establish the initiative.

The first session saw 26 young people participating, catching fish, enjoying the barbecue, and receiving prizes including a brand-new rod and reel. Constable Burton was pleasantly surprised with how many kids engaged with the program in the first session. “It was surprising how much the kids knew about fishing locally and required minimal assistance” he said. Engaging the local youth through a fishing program was a no-brainer, as fishing is deeply embedded into the culture of St George. If we can keep up this level of engagement, we can break down barriers between young people and police and change these kids’ lives.

Blue Lures is a joint initiative between Queensland Police Service, Cunnamulla Aboriginal Corporation for Health, and Lifeline Darling Downs.

To view the Goodiwindi Argus article Kids cast a line with the men in blue to share interest in full click here.

Constable Daniel Burton & Police Liaison Officer Chelsea Beardmore with Blue Lures' participants

Constable Daniel Burton and Police Liaison Officer Chelsea Beardmore with Blue Lures’ participants. Images source: My Police Queensland Police News webpage 27 February 2024.

Productivity Commission finds CTG targets worsening

Grim new data has revealed life outcomes for First Nations people have worsened and Australia is going backwards on key Closing the Gap (CTG) targets, with rates of Indigenous suicide, adult incarceration and children in out-of-home care getting worse. Of the 19 targets, five were on track – up from four – but three were trending backwards, and one had no improvement. Last night, the Productivity Commission released new data on eight of the 21 targets, with modest improvements in the life expectancy of First Nations people but grim results from other key data sets.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said there was “still a long way to go” five months on from the Voice to Parliament referendum, but welcomed news that the target of 91% of Indigenous babies being born with healthy birth weight was now on track, having reached 89.6% in 2021. Incarceration rates for First Nations people had risen, with the target of reducing it by at least 15% by 2031 seeming a long reach. Suicide rates had also risen with about 29.9 per 100,000 Indigenous people dying by suicide in 2022 across NSW, Qld, WA, SA and the NT, higher than the rate of the previous two years and above the 2018 baseline of 25.1. The target of reducing overrepresentation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care by 45% was also failing. In 2023, the rate was 57.2 per 1,000 children, an increase from the 2019 baseline of 54.2%. “Based on progress from the baseline, the target is worsening,” the Commission’s report stated.

The latest data comes just weeks after the Productivity Commission criticised governments for not doing enough to CTG, finding a “business as usual approach” to Indigenous affairs was failing First Nations people. Ms Burney said the latest round of data reinforced there was still a long way to go. “The Albanese government is committed to strengthening our relationship with the Coalition of the Peaks and working in partnership to design and implement programs that will make a difference to lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians,” she said.

To view the National Indigenous Times article New Productivity Commission report finds Closing the Gap targets ‘worsening’ in full click here.

Aboriginal flag with police, Australian flags & APH in the background

Life outcomes for First Nations people have worsened and Australia is going backwards on key CTG targets. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Overcoming barriers for future generations

Dr Simone Liddy knows first-hand the existing gender barriers many working women face. But rather than allow these experiences to wear her down, she is using them as motivation to advocate for better conditions – not only for herself, but other females in medicine, and the future workforce. “Many female doctors and health practitioners have needed to make professional and personal sacrifices for their families,” Dr Liddy said. “It is essential for the medical profession to support women in balancing the responsibilities we encounter on our professional and personal journeys.”

As part of International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations taking place across the country this week, Dr Liddy will share how becoming a first-time mum impacted her career as a GP, as well as the changes she believes are needed to better support women in medicine. A descendant from the Stolen Generation who grew up in the NT, Dr Liddy became the first Aboriginal pharmacist in the Territory, as well as recipient of the 2007 NAIDOC Youth of the Year Award and 2008 NT Young Australian of the Year.

But while she always had a passion for science, it was during a pharmacy work placement at an Aboriginal Medical Service that her career would take a different course. “I was inspired observing the holistic person-centred care provided by the GPs I shadowed at the clinic,” Dr Liddy said. “This led me to pursue a career in medicine and returning to Darwin to work as a GP in Aboriginal health.” Dr Liddy currently works part time at Danila Dilba Health Service, an ACCHO providing care to communities in and around Darwin, Larrakia Country. “What I love most … is the continuity of care we can have with our patients, getting to know them well, and building a trusting relationship with the patients over time,” she said. “However, there are also parts of the job she says could – and should – be improved.”

To view the RACGP newsGP article IWD: Overcoming barriers for future generations in full click here.

Dr Simone Liddy with her son Harrison & baby crocodile

Dr Liddy, with her son Harrison, says more support and flexibility is needed for women in the medical profession to balance family and career. Image source: RACGP newsGP.

Victoria’s prison system failing health needs of mob

A ten-minute visit from a psychologist after months of waiting; no access to antidepressants; and self-performed ‘surgery’ with tweezers. A new report tabled in the Victorian parliament yesterdat detailed these and other case studies from Aboriginal people currently serving time in the state’s prisons. A grim picture of institutional neglect in both public and private prisons is painted by the damning report, which found that “the system is currently failing to meet the needs of Aboriginal people and is not ensuring their best health outcomes.”

“While healthcare is an issue for all people in prison, the available evidence shows that Aboriginal people suffer worse and more complex health outcomes than non-Aboriginal people in prison and in the community,” reads the foreword by Ombudsman Deborah Glass. While it noted that there had been a change in healthcare providers servicing public facilities during the course of the investigation, the report said it was too early to tell if the new measures were having an impact. “However, these changes were made without meaningful input from the key Aboriginal community representatives who should have been involved,” reads the report.

The report recommended a holistic overhaul of the Victorian custodial health services, noting that Aboriginal concepts of health go beyond the physical and include ‘mental, social, emotional, cultural and spiritual wellbeing.’ It recommends working with ACCOs to design such a holistic program, embedding Aboriginal health expertise within Justice Health (responsible for delivering prisoner healthcare), and investing in an increase in Aboriginal healthcare workers in the state. The government had agreed in principle to all the recommendations, with the caveat that their implementation would be contingent upon funding.

To view the SBS NITV article Victoria’s prison system is ‘failing’ the health needs of Indigenous people in full click here.

Image source: The Conversation.

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

The March Charge

The March Charge is a challenge created by Cancer Council to raise funds for life-saving cancer research. Last year money from fundraising allowed for $51.7m invested in research; 664 researchers and 309 projects. Investment in research by organisations like Cancer Council has helped increase survival rates from 49% in the 1980s to 69% today.

The Cancer Council works across the entire cancer journey with its vision being to minimise the threat of cancer for all Australians, through successful prevention, best treatment, and support.

At least one in three cancer cases could be prevented through lifestyle changes. Across the country, Cancer Council provides information and support to help Australians reduce their risk of cancer by taking action that we know helps prevent cancers, including quitting smoking, being SunSmart, eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol intake, being physically active and getting checked by participating in cancer screening programs. Cancer Council’s campaigns, education programs and information resources have prevented countless cancer cases in Australia –

You can find out more about The March Charge fundraising campaign and the work of the Cancer Council here.

Image source: Cancer Council The March Charge webpage.

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.

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.

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.

6 December 2023

feature tile: comedian Steven Oliver tuxedo sprawled on chair, grand piano in backdrop, red confetti; text: 'Comedian Steven Oliver to host NACCHO’S HIV Awareness Week Trivia 2023 TOMORROW!!'

Steven Oliver: HIV Awareness Week Trivia host!
Navigating the path to health justice
Boosting sexual health engagement in rural areas
Rotavirus study to reduce child hospitalisations
What’s needed to fix NDIS for mob
Seatbelts saving lives in remote WA
Sector Jobs

The image in the feature tile is of comedian Steven Oliver – Bigger & Blacker: Steven Oliver, My Life in Cabaret, SBS OnDemand September 2021. Photo: Dylan Evan Photography.

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

Steven Oliver: HIV Awareness Week Trivia host!

NACCHO is beyond excited to announce the 2023 HIV Awareness Week Trivia host is the hilarious and wonderful STEVEN OLIVER! 🤩

Don’t miss out TOMORROW Thursday 7 December!!!! Join us for a hilarious time, and you might learn a thing or two… You can register here.

This outrageously fun event is open to individuals and teams, with generous PRIZES on offer for the winners.

Costumes and props are HIGHLY encouraged (just wait till you see what we are wearing). There will be prizes for best dressed and ‘innovative props.’ BE CREATIVE!

Get in early, as registrations are limited – ACCHOs will be given priority to join.

We can’t wait 🎉🍆

For all questions and queries please contact the Communicable Diseases team at NACCHO by email here.

You can find more information about HIV Awareness Week on the NACCHO website here.

Navigating the path the health justice

A year ago, at the Law Society’s Annual Members’ Dinner and Awards Night, Anthony Levin was elated to be the recipient of the John Hennessy Legal Scholarship. This award is made to a public sector solicitor interested in undertaking a research project on legal systems in another jurisdiction. “I’ve been working on prison health issues for about 10 years,” says Levin, who is Manager and Senior Solicitor in Legal Aid NSW’s Human Rights team.

He was researching on how the unmet health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people contribute to the cycle of incarceration, and how effective, culturally safe continuity of care could address health inequalities – for the benefit of both prisoners and the public.

Levin’s research led him to discover a new initiative in Prince George, British Columbia (BC), Canada. This is a patient navigator system for Indigenous prisoners, Levin explains, where each Indigenous patient navigator (IPN) “has the job of helping Indigenous people navigate the health system inside and also potentially on their return to the community outside, depending on the location of the navigator and the jail that they’re working in.

“So in some locations and prisons, the IPNs work almost exclusively with people inside, spending time with them to build rapport during cultural activities and culturally safe spaces that were purpose built in the prison. It struck me this could be useful for our justice system,” Levin adds. “I think there are certain universal principles that can be applied to addressing health inequalities.”

To read the Law Society Journal article Nudges, not earthquakes: Navigating the path to health justice in full click here.

Anthony Levin with Erin Patterson and Jennifer Isaac

Anthony Levin with two of the people he consulted in BC, Erin Patterson and Jennifer Isaac. Both work with Gladue reports – reports that give the court a complete picture of an Aboriginal person facing a bail or sentencing hearing. Image source: Law Society Journal.

Boosting sexual health engagement in rural areas

Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in rural and remote regions are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhoea and infectious syphilis than their non-Indigenous peers – but an innovative health information project is looking to change these statistics.

The Walkabout Barber Bus is a built for purpose barber shop on wheels. Recently, it travelled to Kempsey, a regional town on the traditional lands of the Dunghutti people, 423km north of Sydney, to provide free haircuts to young Aboriginal men in the area, and to open a judgement-free space for them to talk and learn about mental and sexual health.

Robert Monaghan, Manager of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research at the Kirby Institute, says awareness and engagement, particularly among young men, are crucial to drive down sexually transmissible infections (STIs). “We need to find new ways to engage young men, because what’s been done isn’t working,” says Mr Monaghan. “That’s where the Walkabout Barber comes in. We wanted to pilot an integration of sexual health information into the Walkabout Barber services. In this way, we can normalise conversations about sexual health.”

To read the University of NSW article ‘It’s about the conversation’: improving engagement in sexual health services in rural Aboriginal communities in full click here.

Rotavirus study aims to reduce child hospitalisation

Researchers in the NT are conducting a study to determine if an additional vaccination would better protect Indigenous infants from rotavirus. A highly infectious gastrointestinal disease which causes vomiting, diarrhoea and dehydration, rotavirus is the leading cause of paediatric diarrhoea deaths worldwide.

Since the global introduction of oral rotavirus vaccines in 2006, early childhood deaths due to the virus have dropped significantly having almost eliminated severe rotavirus disease for most Australian children. However according to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Foundation, hospitalisations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in rural and remote northern Australia remain more than 20 times higher than for non-Indigenous children in southern states and territories.

The research project into whether Indigenous children six to 12 months old should receive a third booster dose of rotavirus vaccine is being headed by paediatrician and Royal Australasian College of Physicians Fellowship award recipient, Dr Bianca Middleton, who says clinicians are urgently seeking new ways to better protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from diarrhoea illness. “Right now, the rotavirus vaccine is not fully protecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children against severe rotavirus disease, and we still see young children being admitted to hospital with rotavirus infection,” Dr Middleton said.

To view the National Indigenous Times article World first rotavirus study aims to reduce hospitalisation rates of Indigenous children in full click here.

ATSI child with Menzies School of Medical Research researcher

Indigenous infants in the NT have been participating in the study since 2018. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

What’s needed to fix NDIS for mob

The federal government is this week expected to release the long-awaited National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) review, laying out a suite of recommendations to improve the system and participant experience as the scheme buckles under surging costs.

Among those hoping for change are many in First Nations communities, where disability is more prevalent and complex, but the system is harder for some to access.

In an interview on ABC Rational National Breakfast yesterday, Scott Avery, Worimi man and Professor of Indigenous Health at the University of Technology Sydney spoke about what’s needed to fix the NDIS for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability.

You can listen to the ABC Rational National Breakfast interview What’s needed to fix the NDIS for First Nations people? in full here.

Policy and Research Director at First Peoples Disability Network, Scott Avery in ABC RN studio

Policy and Research Director at First Peoples Disability Network, Scott Avery. Image source: ABC Radio National.

Seatbelts saving lives in remote WA

This December saw the launch of an important campaign to encourage Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields to ‘buckle up’. The radio campaign, voiced in Kimberley Kriol, Martu, Ngaanyatjarra, Plain English and Yindjibarndi will run on popular local radio stations. The sad truth is that Aboriginal people are more likely to die or suffer serious injury because of vehicle crashes compared to other Australians.

NACCHO’s 2021 submission to the Australian Parliament’s Joint Select Committee on Road Safety, available here, found that First Nations people are 2.7 times more likely to die and 1.4 times more likely to suffer serious injury in vehicle crashes than other Australians.

Why this is the case is difficult to establish but we know seatbelts save lives. Between 2018 and 2022 in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields, 25% of motor vehicle occupants killed or seriously injured in a crash were not wearing a seatbelt. The script for the radio advertisements was written and voiced by Aboriginal staff at the Aboriginal owned business, Aboriginal Interpreting WA.

To view the WA Government news article Putting on seatbelts and saving lives in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields in full click here.

young ATSI child helping younger ATSI child put on seatbelt

Image source: WA Government website.

Sector Jobs

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

1 December 2023

World AIDS Day 2023: Inclusion. Respect. Equity.
Family Matters 2023 Report launched
National crackdown on vaping
Calls for national agreement to raise the age
RACGP criticises oversight of PHNs
Sector Jobs
Key Date – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week – 1–8 December 2023

The image in the feature tile is from National Today, a blog that gathers information on special holidays and moments from around the world.

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

World AIDS Day 2023: Inclusion. Respect. Equity

Australia has committed to the virtual elimination and transmission of HIV by 2030, with the declaration of ‘leaving no one behind’. Whilst there is a disproportionate burden of other blood borne viruses (BBVs) and sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in our communities, rates of HIV are comparable to that of non-Indigenous Australians.

There were 580 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with HIV, and only 17 new notifications reported in 2021. New diagnoses have declined over the past 10 years, however HIV testing also declined throughout and post the COVID-19 pandemic. This may impact the overall figures.

The Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector has been relentless in their efforts to test, treat and educate their community about HIV and other BBVs and STIs. Their hard work helps ensure all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with HIV have access to treatment to enable viral suppression, which means they have no risk of transmitting the infection to a sexual partner.

Australia is a world leader in the elimination of HIV, in part due to our successful approach to community partnerships and collaboration, which aligns well with the World AIDS Day 2023 theme, ‘Inclusion. Respect. Equity’.

Dr Jason Agostino, NACCHO’s senior medical advisor and member of the HIV Taskforce states “It has been great to see the recent declines in new HIV cases among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Virtual elimination of HIV is in reach for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. The HIV Taskforce Report outlines the key actions to get there along with continued shared decision making and investment in the Aboriginal Community Controlled Sector.”

Complex social factors including, intergenerational trauma, poverty, lack of access to health services, low health literacy, high incarceration rates, and ongoing stigma around HIV continue to affect the elimination of BBVs and STIs in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities.

Donnella Mills, NACCHO Chair, says, ‘to achieve the goal of eliminating HIV transmission in Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this year’s World Aids Day theme Inclusion. Respect. Equity. couldn’t be more critical. Stigma around people with HIV and HIV itself is really concerning. Ultimately, the impact of stigma increases rates of infection because people are too afraid to talk about HIV and afraid of getting tested.’

‘To truly make a difference, we’ve got to put an end to HIV stigma, increase our prevention programs and up our game in the HIV care processes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This means not only ensuring access to treatment but providing the support necessary for individuals to achieve viral suppression. It’s time for all levels of government to step up and work in a coordinated way with stakeholders across the sector.’

NACCHO works with partners to continue advocating for the elimination of HIV and the disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted diseases and blood-borne viruses among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To build awareness and engage our communities in conversations around HIV, NACCHO hosts the popular HIV Awareness Week Virtual Trivia. This year, it will be held on Thursday 7 December 2023. The event brings people working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community together, to reduce stigma and mobilise grassroots action.

You can register here for the HIV Awareness Week virtual trivia, which will be held on Thursday 7 December and is open to all ACCHO staff and organisations supporting ACCHOs.

World AIDS Day marks the beginning of HIV Awareness Week, which builds on the original Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week, that launched in 2014 by Prof. James Ward (University of Queensland’s Poche Centre for Indigenous Health) and SAHMRI.

You can view the NACCHO media release World AIDS Day 2023: Inclusion. Respect. Equity on the NACCHO website here.

Family Matters 2023 Report launched

A new national report has found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 10.5 times more likely to be in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children, with its authors warning more must be done to turn the tide on current trends. The Family Matters Report 2023 released earlier this week (Wednesday 29 November 2023) by the national peak body for First Nations children and families, SNAICC, highlighted the state of child protection across Australia and outlined a range of recommendations to improve the lives of Indigenous children.

According to the report, as of June 2022 there were 22,328 Indigenous children in out-of-home care – the highest number on record and an increase of 85 children from the previous year. SNAICC chairperson Muriel Bamblett said it was concerning to see little traction in improving outcomes across all states and territories. “To have so many children over-represented in the system, so many children are going to grow up away from their family, away from their community,” she said. “They will often not be with their siblings, not know their own country – these are things that are important to Aboriginal [people].”

Ms Bamblett, a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung woman, said state and federal governments were not acting fast enough to shift control to Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs). “It’s a very, very slow transfer of resources, transfer of power and authority, [yet] where we see resources and power back, we see better results,” she said. “Many governments are actually running child protection … out of their government departments, and [there is] very little investment in Aboriginal community control. That speaks against self-determination — Aboriginal people need to be making decisions about their children on their land, on their country, and in their best interests.”

You can access the SNAICC Family Matters Report 2023 here. You can read the ABC News article Report finds Indigenous children 10.5 times more likely be in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children in full here.

Image source: SNAICC website.

National crackdown on vaping

Health and medical groups have welcomed national vaping reforms due to roll out from 1 January next year, from when the importation of disposable single use vapes will be banned. In parallel with the ban – which is subject to approval of legislative and administrative arrangements – all medical practitioners and nurse practitioners will be able to prescribe the use of vapes, where clinically appropriate, from 1 January under a new Special Access Scheme pathway.

In a statement on Tuesday this week (28 November 2023) Minister Butler said from 1 March 2024, further changes are expected to include:

cessation of the personal importation of vapes
ban on the importation of non-therapeutic vapes
requirement for therapeutic vape importers and manufacturers to notify the Therapeutic Goods Administration of their product’s compliance with the relevant product standards
requirement for importers to obtain a licence and permit from the Australian Government’s Office of Drug Control before the products are imported.

During 2024, product standards for therapeutic vapes will also be strengthened, including to limit flavours, reduce permissible nicotine concentrations and require pharmaceutical packaging. A transition period will be allowed for businesses to comply with the new requirements. The Government will introduce legislation in 2024 to prevent domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and commercial possession of non-therapeutic and disposable single use vapes to ensure comprehensive controls on vapes across all levels of the supply chain.

Minister Butler said he expects these reforms will tackle the rising use of vapes by young Australians. The latest data, from the first quarter of 2023, shows that about one in seven 14- to 17-year-olds and one in five 18- to 24-year-olds are current vapers. There is strong and consistent evidence that young Australians who vape are around three times more likely to take up tobacco smoking compared to young Australians who have never vaped, Butler said.

To read the Croakey Health Media article Reforms to reduce easy access to vapes. Photo by Liv Dumville. Amid a national crackdown on vaping, what can be learnt from young people’s experiences? in full click here.

Image source: University of Bath website.

Calls for national agreement to raise age

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACGP) is calling on first law officers from all Australian governments to agree on raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age at the Standing Council of Attorneys-General meeting today (1 December 2023). The Commonwealth, State, and Territory Attorneys-General previously agreed to provide the Standing Council with a position or update on the minimum age of criminal responsibility in their jurisdiction, offering an important opportunity to modernise Australia’s criminal justice system and improve health outcomes of Australian children and young people.

Dr Jacqueline Small, Paediatrician and president of the RACP, says “we urge all Attorneys-General to agree to raise the criminal age of responsibility to at least 14 years of age, without exception. “Agreement this Friday is the best hope for nationally consistent reform to keep very young children out of the criminal justice system. All governments need to listen to health experts who have been sounding the alarm: 10 to 12 years as the threshold for criminal responsibility is too low.”

“Some jurisdictions have made a step in the right direction. We praise the NT and the ACT especially, noting they have more to do, and the leadership from the Commonwealth. Friday’s meeting is an historic opportunity for all states and territories to commit to reforming our criminal justice system and protecting children from harm. Paediatricians and physicians support at least 14 as the uniform, nationally consistent, minimum age of criminal responsibility,” Dr Small said.

To read the RACGP media release Governments must listen to child health experts – Physicians call for national agreement to raise the age of criminal responsibility in full click here.

Advocates have long called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 to 14 around the country. Photo: Nikki Davis-Jones. Image source: The Mercury.

RACGP criticises oversight of PHNs

Insufficient oversight. Potentially inefficient spending of taxpayer funds. Systemic governance issues and poorly managed conflicts of interest. These are the among the highly critical observations included in a recent RACGP submission, available here, to the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) about the oversight of the country’s 31 Primary Health Networks (PHNs), the organisations tasked with improving primary care.

The ANAO auditors are inviting contributions on whether the Department of Health and Aged Care (DoH) manages the performance of PHNs in a way that is fit for purpose; whether compliance has been well monitored; and if the PHN program meets its objectives. In the 12-page document, the RACGP outlines significant member concerns on all three fronts, and queries how taxpayer funds are being spent.

“Such inefficiency is unacceptable when general practice is experiencing some of the most significant challenges in its history and struggling to remain financially sustainable,” the submission states. The college suggests that assessing PHN performance should shift towards being judged on the delivery of outcomes rather than the provision of services. “The community and primary care stakeholders of PHNs need to be involved in determining these indicators to ensure outcomes are meaningful,” the RACGP states.

The submission puts forward potential improvements to the way PHNs work with ACCHOs. “PNHs have been found by ACCHOs to insufficiently consult and collaborate with them and have failed to provide them with adequate resourcing to serve their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations,” the college states. “The Government must move beyond optional guidelines on how PHNs and ACCHOs work together and create mandatory standards for Aboriginal consultation and equitable involvement in commissioning.”

To view the RACGP newsGP article ‘The bar has been set too low’: RACGP criticises oversight of PHNs in full click here.

hand of man in suit pointing to screen with words Audit Compliance Regulation

Image source: RACGP newsGP.

Sector Jobs

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

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week (ATSIHAW) is held each year in the first week of December. Now in its 11th year, ATSIHAW has been making sure that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know about the risks of HIV. They also share some great information about how to get tested and what treatment involves.

Anyone can get HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). When someone has HIV, their body’s immune system is attacked, so they’re more likely to catch, or get sick from other sicknesses. The virus is carried in their blood, so it’s important to keep safe!

People most at risk of catching HIV are those who:

have unprotected sex with someone who has HIV
share a syringe or needle with someone with HIV
get blood from an infected person in an open cut or wound
get the virus from their mum when they are a baby if she has HIV.

It’s important to be aware of the risks and get tested for HIV if needed. If HIV isn’t treated it can become a very serious disease that could lead to ending up in hospital, or even dying.

Getting tested for HIV is about looking after your health, and the health of your community. To find out more about HIV, visit the ATSIHIV website here.

To get tested for HIV, have a confidential yarn with your healthcare worker.

NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News

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

Category Just Justice

13 May 2024

Indigenous women most affected by family violence

Australian Mental Health Prize nominations open

Record high imprisonment due to policy failure

Bush camp on front line of efforts to reduce youth crime

CDU to establish NT’s first locally-run medical school

International Nurses Day – Sunday 12 May 2024

Kidney Health Week – 11–17 May 2024

6 December 2023

Steven Oliver: HIV Awareness Week Trivia host!

Navigating the path the health justice

Boosting sexual health engagement in rural areas

Rotavirus study aims to reduce child hospitalisation

What’s needed to fix NDIS for mob

Seatbelts saving lives in remote WA

Sector Jobs

1 December 2023

World AIDS Day 2023: Inclusion. Respect. Equity

Family Matters 2023 Report launched

National crackdown on vaping

Calls for national agreement to raise age

RACGP criticises oversight of PHNs

Sector Jobs

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week

Over-policing during pandemic amplified disadvantage

ACCHO purchases primary health centre

Call for greater LGBTIQ+ inclusivity in palliative care

First Nations Aged Care Commissioner reports in

Aged Care Star Ratings – have your say

Exercise Right Week – 20–26 May 2024

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Indigenous women most affected by family violence

Australian Mental Health Prize nominations open

Record high imprisonment due to policy failure

Bush camp on front line of efforts to reduce youth crime

CDU to establish NT’s first locally-run medical school

International Nurses Day – Sunday 12 May 2024

Kidney Health Week – 11–17 May 2024

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Senator McCarthy: ACCHOs crucial to CTG

Partnerships and data key to health in pandemics

Mid West eye care clinic helping mob

Symposium on effects of natural disasters

Colonisation: forgotten culprit in gendered violence

‘Every Yarn Counts’ Hep C campaign launch

Patient Experience Week – 29 April–3 May 2024

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Indigenous mums taking measures into own hands

Data underscores rural health investment urgency

Murder of Indigenous women a national crisis

PM says $20m investment ‘making a difference’

Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale online module

World Maternal Mental Health Day

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Overcrowding under scrutiny amid flu outbreak

Maari Ma opens ‘holistic’ health centre

Awesome STI resources for mob

Too Deadly for Diabetes program to go national

Program helps young men get life back on track

Commonwealth supports justice reinvestment initiatives

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Locking up children is not the answer

TAMS submits $18m medical centre plans

Pregnancy Connect to improve health care access

Chronic wounds: Australia’s hidden epidemic

Tumut’s newest health hero, AWH Tana Scott

Neurodiversity Celebration Week – 18–24 March 2024

World Social Work Day – 19 March 2024

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First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Program launched

Blue Lures’ aim: positive community-police relations

Productivity Commission finds CTG targets worsening

Overcoming barriers for future generations

Victoria’s prison system failing health needs of mob

The March Charge

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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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Steven Oliver: HIV Awareness Week Trivia host!

Navigating the path the health justice

Boosting sexual health engagement in rural areas

Rotavirus study aims to reduce child hospitalisation

What’s needed to fix NDIS for mob

Seatbelts saving lives in remote WA

Sector Jobs

Share this:

World AIDS Day 2023: Inclusion. Respect. Equity

Family Matters 2023 Report launched

National crackdown on vaping

Calls for national agreement to raise age

RACGP criticises oversight of PHNs

Sector Jobs

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week

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