“The prevalence of most chronic diseases increases with age and affects not only physical health, but also the broader contributors to the well-being of older Aboriginal people, including participation in family, community and cultural leadership roles and connection with community networks.
Aboriginal people often receive a diagnosis at a more advanced stage of chronic disease, which means there’s less opportunity to prevent their condition and health deteriorating “
Professor Sanson-Fisher said chronic diseases continue to be a major contributor to unhealthy ageing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Timely diagnosis and appropriate management was vital to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. See Website
Consider these facts
In 2016-2017 just 27 per cent of Indigenous adults aged 15 to 24 had an annual health assessment.
Only 30 per cent of 25-to 54-year-olds, and 41 per cent of Indigenous adults over 55 had one.
Around 37 per cent of the burden of disease in Aboriginal people could be prevented by reducing risk factors
An intervention designed to help Close the Gap, by increasing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who receive an annual health check by their GP, will be implemented and evaluated by a new National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project.
Renowned population health researcher, Laureate Professor Rob Sanson-Fisher of the University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute, will lead a team of expert Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers in the five-year research project – which was awarded $745,056 following a Targeted Call for Research** for Healthy Ageing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
Indigenous people die about eight years earlier than non-Indigenous Australians. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians born in 2015-17, the life expectancy is 71.6 years for men and 75.6 years for women – about 8.6 and 7.8 years less than non-Aboriginal men and women respectively.
Twenty-two mainstream general practice clinics within the central Coast and New England regions will participate in the research project.
The intervention package will comprise strategies such as continuing medical education, recall and reminder systems, and mailed invitations to patients.
The project will also test whether the intervention increases doctors’ adherence to best practice care and improves patient outcomes.
More than 60 per cent of Indigenous people regularly visit mainstream general practice services – a key opportunity to deliver an annual ‘715’ health assessment, which forms an integral part of the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap commitment.
The aim of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment (Medicare Benefits Schedule item 715) is to help ensure Indigenous Australians receive primary health care matched to their needs, by encouraging early detection, diagnosis and intervention for common and treatable conditions that cause morbidity and early death.
The health assessment is an annual service and covers the full age spectrum..
Key contributing chronic conditions include cardiovascular diseases (19 per cent of the chronic disease prevalence gap), mental and substance use disorders (14 per cent), cancer (9 per cent), chronic kidney disease, diabetes, vision loss, hearing loss and respiratory, musculoskeletal, neurological and congenital disorders.
Around 37 per cent of the burden of disease in Aboriginal people could be prevented by reducing risk factors.
The risk factors causing the most burden are tobacco use (12 per cent of the total burden), alcohol use (8 per cent), high body mass (8 per cent), physical inactivity (6 per cent), high blood pressure (5 per cent) and high blood glucose levels (5 per cent).
“Mainstream general practice is a crucial setting to impact on prevention, timely diagnosis and appropriate management of chronic disease for Aboriginal people, which is imperative to help Close the Gap,” Professor Sanson-Fisher said.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia is projected to reach 1 million by 2028, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
These projections are based on a series of assumptions of future levels of fertility, paternity, mortality and internal migration, which are guided by recent population trends.
ABS Demography Director, Beidar Cho, said: “Based on medium series, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia is projected to grow by 2.0 per cent per year to reach around 1,072,000 people by 2031.
“This compares with a projected annual growth rate of 1.5 per cent for the total Australian population over the same period.
“Although younger than the general population, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia is ageing.
The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons aged 65 years and over is projected to double from 4 per cent in 2016 to 8 per cent in 2031.”
Ms Cho added: “The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in all states and territories are projected to continue to grow, although at varying rates.”
Based on medium series, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population living in Major Cities is projected to grow by 2.5 per cent, compared with 2.0 per cent in Inner and Outer Regional Areas and 0.7 per cent in Remote and Very Remote Areas.
In 2016, there were 798,400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, representing 3.3% of the total Australian population.
Between 2006 and 2016, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population increased by 2.2% (from 640,000 people) per year on average, compared with 1.6% for the total Australian population.
By 2031, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is projected to increase to between 1,054,600 people (low series) and 1,100,400 people (high series) at an average annual growth rate of between 1.9% and 2.2% per year. In comparison, the average annual growth rate of the total Australian population is projected to be between 1.3% and 1.7% per year over the same period (Population Projections, Australia, 2017 (base) to 2066 (cat. no. 3222.0)).
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia is projected to reach one million people by 2027 (high series) and by 2028 (medium and low series).
At the national level any growth in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is entirely due to natural increase as net overseas migration is assumed to be zero.
Although decreasing fertility rates are assumed, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births is projected to increase over the projection period. This is due to the increase in the number of women of child-bearing ages over the projection period as well as the assumption of increasing paternity rates.
As a result:
births are projected to increase from 18,970 in 2017 (Series B), to between 22,150 and 28,050 in 2031
deaths are projected to increase from 3,080 in 2017 (Series B), to between 3,900 and 4,540 in 2031
natural increase remains consistently high, increasing from 15,890 in 2017 (Series B) to between 17,620 and 24,150 in 2031.
POPULATION STRUCTURE
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has a relatively young age structure with a median age of 22.9 years in 2016 (37.8 years for the Non-Indigenous population).
in 2006 the median age was 21.2 years
by 2031 the median age is projected to be between 25.7 and 26.7 years.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is projected to increase across all age groups between 2016 and 2031.
People aged 0–14 years
The number of children (0–14 years) is 274,300 in 2016. This is projected to:
increase to between 309,800 and 350,900 in 2031
decrease as a proportion of the population, from 34.4% in 2016 to between 29.4% and 31.9% in 2031.
People aged 15–64 years
The number of people aged 15–64 years is 490,000 in 2016. This is projected to:
increase to between 658,200 and 660,000 in 2031
remain stable as a proportion of the population, from 61.4% in 2016 to between 60.0% and 62.4% in 2031.
People aged 65 years and over
The number of people aged 65 years and over is 34,000 in 2016. This is projected to:
increase to between 86,500 and 89,600 in 2031
increase as a proportion of the population, from 4.3% in 2016 to between 8.1% and 8.2% in 2031.
REMOTENESS AREAS AND INDIGENOUS REGIONS
In 2016, there were 298,400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people residing in Major Cities, followed by 351,200 in Inner and Outer Regional areas and 148,700 in Remote and Very Remote areas.
By 2031, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is projected to increase to between:
424,700 people (low series) and 443,700 people (high series) in Major Cities, at an average annual growth rate of between 2.4% and 2.7% per year
467,500 people (low series) and 488,300 people (high series) in Inner and Outer Regional areas, at an average annual growth rate of between 1.9% and 2.2% per year
162,400 people (low series) and 168,400 people (high series) in Remote and Very Remote areas, at an average annual growth rate of between 0.6% and 0.8% per year.
Table 1: ESTIMATED AND PROJECTED ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER POPULATION(a), Remoteness Areas, 2006 – 2031
2006
2016
2031 (SERIES A)
2031 (SERIES B)
2031 (SERIES C)
no.
no.
no.
Growth rate (%)(b)
no.
Growth rate (%)(b)
no.
Growth rate (%)(b)
Major Cities
242,987
298 430
443,739
2.7
431,982
2.5
424,711
2.4
Inner and Outer Regional
280,477
351 206
488,254
2.2
475,383
2.0
467,459
1.9
Remote and Very Remote
116,572
148 729
168,434
0.8
164,506
0.7
162,399
0.6
Australia(c)
640,036
798 365
1 100 427
2.2
1 071 871
2.0
1 054 569
1.9
(a) Estimates and projections based on the 2016 Census. (b) Average annual growth rate for the period 2016 to 2031. (c) Includes Other Territories.
Population share
Based on all three series:
Inner and Outer Regional areas are projected to continue to have the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population with their share remaining stable at 44% in both 2016 and 2031
Major Cities share is projected to increase from 37% in 2016 to 40% in 2031
Remote and Very Remote areas share is projected to decrease from 19% in 2016 to 15% in 2031.
INDIGENOUS REGIONS
All three series project continuing population growth in the majority of Indigenous Regions between 2016 and 2031:
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in the Australian Capital Territory is projected to be the fastest growing of all Indigenous regions, with an average annual growth rate of between 2.7% and 3.0% per year. This is followed by:
Brisbane (between 2.6% and 2.9%)
Victoria, excluding Melbourne (between 2.4% and 2.8%).
Katherine is the only Indigenous region where the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is projected to decrease between 2016 and 2031. This can be attributed to assumed net migration loss (see Assumptions chapter, Table 15).
Table 2: ESTIMATED AND PROJECTED ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER POPULATION(a), Indigenous Regions, 2016 – 2031
2016
2031 (SERIES A)
2031 (SERIES B)
2031 (SERIES C)
no.
no.
Growth rate (%)(b)
no.
Growth rate (%)(b)
no.
Growth rate (%)(b)
Dubbo
15 962
20 567
1.7
19 979
1.5
19 619
1.4
North-Eastern NSW
25 475
33 737
1.9
32 808
1.7
32 223
1.6
North-Western NSW
9 848
10 854
0.7
10 542
0.5
10 346
0.3
NSW Central and North Coast
85 169
123 722
2.5
120 367
2.3
118 120
2.2
Riverina – Orange
30 830
43 415
2.3
42 237
2.1
41 443
2.0
South-Eastern NSW
16 716
23 454
2.3
22 832
2.1
22 407
2.0
Sydney – Wollongong
81 685
108 893
1.9
106 006
1.8
104 115
1.6
Melbourne
28 584
41 896
2.6
40 845
2.4
40 114
2.3
Victoria exc. Melbourne
29 183
44 090
2.8
42 761
2.6
41 879
2.4
Brisbane
84 454
129 835
2.9
126 482
2.7
124 313
2.6
Cairns – Atherton
30 050
40 148
2.0
39 064
1.8
38 416
1.7
Cape York
10 579
13 848
1.8
13 469
1.6
13 228
1.5
Mount Isa
9 003
9 518
0.4
9 253
0.2
9 085
0.1
Rockhampton
26 941
36 468
2.0
35 528
1.9
34 941
1.7
Toowoomba – Roma
21 350
28 398
1.9
27 648
1.7
27 210
1.6
Torres Strait
7 403
8 378
0.8
8 156
0.6
8 027
0.5
Townsville – Mackay
31 496
46 046
2.6
44 795
2.4
44 072
2.3
Adelaide
30 124
44 711
2.7
43 578
2.5
42 867
2.4
Port Augusta
9 403
11 171
1.2
10 906
1.0
10 751
0.9
Port Lincoln – Ceduna
2 738
2 881
0.3
2 822
0.2
2 772
0.1
Broome
6 057
7 909
1.8
7 706
1.6
7 597
1.5
Geraldton
8 502
10 267
1.3
10 020
1.1
9 857
1.0
Kalgoorlie
7 510
10 179
2.0
9 937
1.9
9 809
1.8
Kununurra
6 040
6 932
0.9
6 760
0.8
6 643
0.6
Perth
38 919
57 899
2.7
56 463
2.5
55 635
2.4
South Hedland
11 800
16 260
2.2
15 870
2.0
15 669
1.9
South-Western WA
15 631
21 009
2.0
20 539
1.8
20 264
1.7
West Kimberly
6 053
7 789
1.7
7 600
1.5
7 506
1.4
Tasmania
28 537
38 113
1.9
37 089
1.8
36 584
1.7
Alice Springs
6 807
7 548
0.7
7 368
0.5
7 315
0.5
Apatula
10 191
12 513
1.4
12 242
1.2
12 158
1.2
Darwin
18 309
22 044
1.2
21 574
1.1
21 385
1.0
Jabiru – Tiwi
12 425
16 720
2.0
16 411
1.9
16 324
1.8
Katherine
11 063
10 105
-0.6
9 865
-0.8
9 804
-0.8
Nhulunbuy
11 377
16 370
2.5
16 020
2.3
15 957
2.3
Tennant Creek
4 374
4 778
0.6
4 690
0.5
4 645
0.4
Australian Capital Territory
7 513
11 638
3.0
11 324
2.8
11 155
2.7
Australia(c)
798 365
1 100 427
2.2
1 071 871
2.0
1 054 569
1.9
(a) Estimate and projections based on the 2016 Census. (b) Average annual growth rate for the period 2016 to 2031.
“In Aboriginal culture, healing after a conflict begins with a process of truth-telling.
The Yolngu Matha term for this is Makarrata — a peacemaking process. In Aboriginal ways of being, recognition of wrongs of the past sparks greater understanding on both sides of the conflict.
From this, we can develop a resolution, and a coming together of the parties involved in peace.
As we celebrate NAIDOC week this year, the Morrison government has a unique opportunity to make history by dealing with our troubled history.
The time is ripe to address Australia’s problematic past between settler colonials and the Aboriginal peoples through the process of Makarrata.
When we speak of Makarrata, what we’re talking about is a process that ultimately allows the restitution of wellbeing and happiness.
The kind of healing that addresses the deep wounds created by unresolved colonial history.
And we begin by acknowledging that this isn’t just an ‘Aboriginal problem’ but a shared scar that’s worn by the nation as a whole.”
Part 1 : Download below the final report from the Referendum Council
“ A Declaration of Recognition should be developed, containing inspiring and unifying words articulating Australia’s shared history, heritage and aspirations.
The Declaration should bring together the three parts of our Australian story: our ancient First Peoples’ heritage and culture, our British institutions, and our multicultural unity.
It should be legislated by all Australian Parliaments, on the same day, either in the lead up to or on the same day as the referendum establishing the First Peoples’ Voice to Parliament, as an expression of national unity and reconciliation.
In addition, the Council reports that there are two matters of great importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as articulated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, that can be addressed outside the Constitution.
The Uluru Statement called for the establishment of a Makarrata Commission with the function of supervising agreement-making and facilitating a process of local and regional truth telling.
The Council recognises that this is a legislative initiative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to pursue with government. “
We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart:
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago.
This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.
How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years?
With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.
Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.
These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.
We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take arightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.
We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
Part 3 Marching for Makarrata: The Aboriginal healing process we should all know about
The recent appointment of Ken Wyatt as our first Minister for Indigenous Affairs has been a step towards the right direction. His mother is a member of the Stolen Generation so he knows firsthand the impact of history. Wyatt is also a steady and productive force who commands respect across many groups. He has a knowledge of customary law and the power it can wield to restore wellbeing. He is also proactive about meeting with Aboriginal cultural leaders.
Wyatt’s leadership could show that peacemaking practices can be powerful. The call for peacemaking is not new. For decades, there has been an official call for a Makarrata, most recently in the Uluru Statement From The Heart.
“Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle,” says the 2017 Uluru statement, “It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.”
Indeed, it has been clear to the First People that this customary Aboriginal way of ensuring the differences and wrongs of the past are addressed appropriately has been way overdue.
The bias of ‘history’
History as we know it is a concept developed out of the West or the Global North. It’s often told through the lens of a colonial past and has evolved as a means to record the deeds of great white men. In this sense, western history serves a function to legitimise the building of nation states.
In this limited, inherently biased approach, incidences of murder, rape and other genocidal acts were often covered up or kept secret. They are minimised by the fact that the current nation-state was born of them. In some cases, these acts of cruelty and genocide are erroneously seen as ‘necessary’ and best forgotten.
This is not to say that there are only such biased accounts of history in Australia. The institution of history in Australia is marked by the large number of historians who have championed the Aboriginal case for a just and proper settlement over recent decades. They have worked on revising earlier inaccuracies, using documents and oral testimony to provide alternate histories that highlight the impact of colonial racist violence and the impacts of racial segregation.
But it can be argued that they are still working within the parameters of western history-making until they can incorporate Aboriginal ways of dealing with history. And we cannot hope for foundational changes to our relationship to the settler colonial state until we properly integrate Aboriginal theory, ethics, values and methodologies into this. This is what “Aboriginal history” is truly about.
The need for Aboriginal history
Aboriginal philosophy incorporates a very different theory and approach to history. For Aboriginal people, any difficult history is not forgotten until it is dealt with — and then it is truly left behind.
History is with us, it impacts on our lives now, until it is addressed. And we will not belong to the nation state until our history is incorporated into the narrative of the nation and resolved.
Culturally, Aboriginal people have engaged in history in a functional way, in that it has not been used as a celebratory or foundational narrative. Stories are retained to ensure historical wrongs are addressed and when they are, they are no longer told. People with authority and knowledge lead the resolution of disputes, the wrongs are righted, including through ceremony, and then everyone can move on. The business of the past is then declared to be finished.
Aboriginal approaches to time and history are instructive. In this way, the methodology of the Makarrata is a way to address the injuries of the past – in order for all parties to move on.
Makarrata is about self-determination
The process of Makarrata needs to be led by Aboriginal cultural leadership across the nation, by those who understand the true spirit of this process that can go by many other names. It is important that the whole difficult history be revealed, that every Aboriginal person has the chance to speak to a Makarrata commissioner, whether in public or in private, be heard and with permission be recorded for later reference.
Aboriginal commissioners need to oversee the ways in which this information is managed. The end product should allow those events in which Aboriginal people were truly victims to be balanced by the development of other stories, of friendships, co-operation and understanding into the future. Self-determination is key.
Makarrata success stories
An example of this process is demonstrated in the documentary Dhakiyarr vs. The Kingwhereby the Yolngu descendants of Dhakiyarr who disappeared, presumed dead, (on his way home from Darwin) retold and reinvestigated the events leading up to his death. They included the family of the policemen who he had killed, the Court House in Darwin where he had been denied justice. They told the story in full, incorporating the descendants of the people involved and performed ceremony at specific important locations, to acknowledge the true history and put it to rest.
The documentary has since been shown around the world to critical acclaim. It continues to be a powerful example of the way Aboriginal people can deal with the wrongs of history and allow everyone to move on with increased wellbeing.
Another example is the annual pilgrimage to the site of the Myall Creek Massacre in New England NSW, where Aboriginal and settler colonial Australians come together to acknowledge a very difficult history and put it to rest. This has proven to be a profound experience of resolving the injuries of the past for all who have made the journey.
As an Aboriginal historian, the prospect of using Makarrata to right historical wrongs is exciting — a once-in-the-lifetime-of-a-nation-opportunity that would potentially lead to greater wellbeing, hope, and most importantly –- true healing.
Victoria Grieve-Williams is a Warraimaay historian and Adjunct Professor, Indigenous Research, RMIT University
National NAIDOC Week runs 7 – 14 July 2019. For information head to the official site. Join the conversation #NAIDOC2019 & #VoiceTreatyTruth
The award is designed to recognise a dedicated young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander man employed in the Aboriginal health area. Eligibility requirements
In order to be eligible for the Jaydon Adams Memorial Award 2019, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:be a young male, age 30 years or under and of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent
currently work either in ACCHOs, AMSs, AODs (full forms) or in social and emotional wellbeing services from across urban, regional/rural and remote Australia
nominated by a supervisor and supported or endorsed by the current CEO of the organisation.
For more details on the selection process, selection panel and to nominate an eligible young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander man employed in the Aboriginal health area click here.
10 July Minister Ken Wyatt at the National Press Club -SOLD OUT
During NAIDOC week and in his first major Address as Indigenous Affairs Minister, Ken Wyatt will lay out the pathway towards possible constitutional recognition for Australia’s first peoples and the importance of its view on the voice to parliament.
Ken Wyatt AM will outline how he and the Government want to do things differently – how partnerships, pride, respect and responsibility underpin his vision for a better future for Indigenous Australians and a stronger nation, even more confident in its cultural heritage and history.
Our first Aboriginal Minister for Indigenous Australians will detail the critical role of education, culture, community safety, suicide prevention, health, hope, employment and business development.
He will share the importance of co-designing and planning with Indigenous Australians at all levels, from the grassroots to peak representative bodies – and how inclusion and understanding is the only pathway towards Constitutional recognition.
As he has said, his dream is to ensure the greatness of our many Indigenous nations is reflected in the greatness of our Australian nation, now and forever.
Ken Wyatt was elected in 2010 as the Federal Member for Hasluck, located east of Perth, making history as the first Aboriginal Member of the House of Representatives.
The traditional garment worn by Ken on special occasions is a booka, a traditional kangaroo skin cloak presented to him by Perth’s Noongar elders and decorated with cockatoo feathers that signify his status in Noongar culture as a leader.
Since his election, Ken has worked tirelessly to be a strong advocate for his electorate to help build a stronger local community.
In 2015 Ken became the first Aboriginal member of the Federal Executive after being sworn in as Assistant Minister for Health, responsible for Aged Care, as well as for Dementia, the Organ and Tissue Authority and Australian Hearing.
In January 2017, Ken made history as the first Aboriginal Minister to serve in a Federal Government, after being appointed as Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Indigenous Health.
In August 2018, he was made Minister for Senior Australians & Aged Care and Minister for Indigenous Health.
In May 2019, he again made history when he became the first Aboriginal person to be made Minister for Indigenous Australians.
Before entering politics Ken worked in community and senior government roles in the fields of health and education including as Director of Aboriginal Health in both New South Wales and Western Australia.
In addition to Ken’s extensive public service career, he has made an enormous contribution to the wider community which was recognised in 1996 when he was awarded the Order of Australia for services to health, education and Indigenous affairs.
In 2000, Ken received a Centenary of Federation Medal for his contribution to improving the quality of life of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and mainstream Australian society.
4 August National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day 2019
We Play, We Learn, We BelongWe play on our land.We learn from our ancestors.
We belong with our communities.
In 2019, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day is celebrating the early years, and promoting the importance of early years education and care for our little ones.
We recognise the critical role that family, community, country and culture play in their development.
And we will continue to fight for better access to culturally appropriate early childhood education for our children through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
Our 2019 Ambassador is Nanna from the animated children’s series Little J & Big Cuz.
We are delighted to have Nanna representing Children’s Day this year.
Children’s Day has been celebrated on the 4th of August for more than 30 years. It’s a special time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to celebrate our children, and for all Aussies to learn about our cultures.
Around the 4th of August, schools, kinders and communities run Children’s Day events. On this website you can get ideas for how to run a Children’s Day event, and register your event so we can see Children’s Day growing each year across the nation.
We sell Children’s Day bags with fun toys and activities for kids to play with at your event. We can send you posters to promote Children’s Day and we will have a video of Nanna that you can show at your event.
Are you holding a Children’s Day event this year? Call us on (03) 9419 1921 or email info@snaicc.org.au to order your FREE Children’s Day poster!
6-8 August AMSANT is holding a one and a half day conference to celebrate its 25thAnniversary of working with and supporting the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector and member services.
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) have a long and successful history as leaders in providing best practice primary health care to our communities, starting in the NT in 1973 with the establishment of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress). This was only two years after the first Aboriginal Medical Service was established at Redfern in Sydney.
At a meeting in Alice Springs in 1994, ACCHSs in the NT formed our own peak body, the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT). Our sector has not looked back. AMSANT now has 26 member services across the Territory and is continuing to expand and strengthen its membership.
The last 45 years has seen our sector grow significantly, supported for the past 25 years through AMSANT’s leadership and advocacy. The innovation and leadership of the ACCHSs sector has influenced system-wide improvements in primary health care.
This record of achievement has ensured that ACCHSs are the preferred model for primary health care services to Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Currently, our member ACCHSs provide over half of all primary health care services delivered to our people in the Northern Territory and there is an ongoing process for further transition to community control in coordination with our partners in the NT Aboriginal Health Forum.
A nationally-significant conference
The Our Health Our Way – 25 of Health Leadership Conference 2019 will be held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre and will bring together key local and national speakers to discuss the achievements and successes of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector in the Northern Territory and the future development of Aboriginal comprehensive primary health care here and beyond.
The themes of the conference will cover key aspects of our sector, from health leadership and governance through to research and data and continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes, and growing a sustainable Aboriginal health workforce.
The conference will showcase the successes of AMSANT’s member health services in effectively delivering primary health care services and developing local, community based and led programs across a range of areas including social and emotional well-being, health and housing, and expanding community controlled health services.
The conference format will include keynote speakers, plenary sessions and breakout workshop sessions on key topics. The conference program will be available soon on AMSANT’s website.
Conference Dinner
A Conference Dinner will be held on the evening of Wednesday 7th August at the Convention Centre featuring dinner and entertainment.
Individual seats or tables may be booked as part of the registration process.
Partner information stalls
The Our Health, Our Way – 25 Years of Health Leadership Conference 2019 will provide opportunities for government and NGO partners to hold information stalls within the conference venue to promote their work.
If you are interested in holding a stall during the conference please contact us using the details provided below.
Further information and registration
Further information including registration for the event will be available on AMSANT’s website: http://www.amsant.org.au
Inquiries can be made by phone or email or in person:
13- 14 August Indigenous Health Justice Conference (IHJ)
This year AMSANT is pleased to partner with the group representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander lawyers and law students in the Northern Territory – Winkiku Rrumbangi NT Indigenous
Lawyers Aboriginal Corporation – to host the Indigenous Health Justice Conference (IHJ) in Darwin
This conference will run parallel to the 14th National Indigenous Legal Conference being held in Darwin for the first time. Collaborations between Health and Justice services are gaining momentum nationally and internationally because the broadly accepted evidence shows these can lead to improved outcomes.
AMSANT’s policy focus has raised the importance of dealing with the social determinants of healthand, for some individuals, unresolved legal issues can also be determinants of health.
To discuss this conference further, please contact John Rawnsley via email directors.wrnt@gmail.com.
This year the event will be held at the Pullman on the Park in Melbourne between 29-30 August 2019.
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) Ochre Day Men’s Health Conference provides a national forum for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male delegates, organisations and communities to share knowledge, design concepts and strengthen relationships that work to directly improve the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.
Commencing in Canberra in 2013, Ochre Day is an important NACCHO Aboriginal male health initiative. Ochre Day has also been held in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Tasmania. NACCHO has long recognised the importance of addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male health as part of Close the Gap initiatives.
NACCHO identified it needed to raise awareness, gain support and communicate to the wider Australian public on issues that have an impact on the social, emotional health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males. The purpose of the Ochre Day conference is to assist NACCHO to strategically develop this area as part of an overarching gender/culture based approach.
Ochre Day Registrations
Registrations for this year’s Ochre Day Men’s Conference are now live!
To register for this year’s Ochre Day Men’s Health Conference in Melbourne, please click on the below link.
A night of celebrating excellence and action – the Gala Dinner is the premier national networking event in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health.
The purpose of the IAHA National Indigenous Allied Health Awards is to recognise the contribution of IAHA members to their profession and/or improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The IAHA National Indigenous Allied Health Awards showcase the outstanding achievements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health and provides identifiable allied health role models to inspire all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to consider and pursue a career in allied health.
The awards this year will be known as “10 for 10” to honour the 10 Year Anniversary of IAHA. We will be announcing 4 new awards in addition to the 6 existing below.
24 -26 September 2019 CATSINaM National Professional Development Conference
The 2019 CATSINaM National Professional Development Conference will be held in Sydney, 24th – 26th September 2019. Make sure you save the dates in your calendar.
Further information to follow soon.
Date: Tuesday the 24th to Thursday the 26th September 2019
The AIDA 2019 Conference is a forum to share and build on knowledge that increasingly disrupts existing practice and policy to raise the standards of health care.
People with a passion for health care equity are invited to share their knowledges and expertise about how they have participated in or enabled a ‘disruptive innovation to achieve culturally safe and responsive practice or policy for Indigenous communities.
The 23rd annual AIDA Conference provides a platform for networking, mentoring, member engagement and the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of AIDA’S Indigenous doctor and students.
9-10 October 2019 NATSIHWA 10 Year Anniversary Conference
2019 Marks 10 years since the formation of NATSIHWA and registrations are now open!!!
Register here today to become a Full Member to gain all NATSIHWA Full Member benefits
Come and celebrate NATSIHWA’s 10 year Anniversary National Conference ‘A Decade of Footprints, Driving Recognition’ which is being held in Alice Springs. We aim to offer an insight into the Past, Present and Future of NATSIHWA and the overall importance of strengthening the primary health care sector’s unique workforce of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners throughout Australia.
During the 9-10 October 2019 delegates will be exposed to networking opportunities whilst immersing themselves with a combination of traditional and practical conference style delivery.
Our intention is to engage Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners in the history and knowledge exchange of the past, todays evidence based best practice programs/services available and envisioning what the future has to offer for all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners.
Building on the success of last year’s inaugural conference, the 2019 System of Care Conference will be focusing on further exploring and sharing the systems and processes that deliver this life changing way of looking at life-long health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
This year IUIH delivers 10 years of experience in improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with proven methods for closing the gap and impacting on the social determinants of health.
The IUIH System of Care is evidence-based and nationally recognised for delivering outcomes, and the conference will share the research behind the development and implementation of this system, with presentations by speakers across a range of specialisations including clinic set up, clinical governance, systems integration, wrap around services such as allied and social health, workforce development and research evidence.
If you are working in:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled health services
Primary Health Networks
Health and Hospital Boards and Management
Government Departments
The University Sector
The NGO Sector
Watch this video for an insight into the IUIH System of Care Conference.
This year, the IUIH System of Care Conference will be offering a number of half-day workshops on Thursday 17 October 2019, available to conference attendees only. The cost for these workshops is $150 per person, per workshop and your attendance to these can be selected during your single or group registration.
IUIH are also hosting a 10 years of service celebration dinner on Tuesday 15 October – from 6.30-10pm. Tickets for this are $150 per person and are not included in the cost of registration.
16 October Melbourne Uni: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing Conference
The University of Melbourne, Department of Rural Health are pleased to advise that abstract
submissions are now being invited that address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and
wellbeing.
The Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Conference is an opportunity for sharing information and connecting people that are committed to reforming the practice and research of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander health and celebrates Aboriginal knowledge systems and strength-based approaches to improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal communities.
This is an opportunity to present evidence-based approaches, Aboriginal methods and models of
practice, Aboriginal perspectives and contribution to health or community led solutions, underpinned by cultural theories to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.
In 2018 the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Conference attracted over 180 delegates from across the community and state.
We welcome submissions from collaborators whose expertise and interests are embedded in Aboriginal health and wellbeing, and particularly presented or co-presented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and community members.
closing date for abstract submission is Friday 3 rd May 2019.
As per speaker registration link request please email your professional photo for our program or any conference enquiries to E. aboriginal-health@unimelb.edu.au.
Kind regards
Leah Lindrea-Morrison
Aboriginal Partnerships and Community Engagement Officer
Department of Rural Health, University of Melbourne T. 03 5823 4554 E. leah.lindrea@unimelb.edu.au
November date TBA World Indigenous Housing Conference
Want to be kept updated on the WIHC in November 2019 ?
Inbox us your email address and we will add you to the mailing list or email our Principal Project Manager- Brandon.etto@nationalcongress.com.au
4 November NACCHO Youth Conference -Darwin NT
Darwin Convention Centre
Website to be launched soon
Conference Co-Coordinator Ben Mitchell 02 6246 9309
5-8 November The Lime Network Conference New Zealand
This years #LIMEConnection whakatauki (theme for the conference) was developed by the Scientific Committee, along with Māori elder, Te Marino Lenihan & Tania Huria from @otago.
In 2017–18, Indigenous primary health services were delivered from 383 sites (Table 3). Most sites provided clinical services such as the diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses (88%), mental health and counselling services (88%), maternal and child health care (86%), and antenatal care (78%). Around two-thirds provided tobacco programs (69%) and substance-use and drug and alcohol programs (66%).
Most organisations provided access to a doctor (86%) and just over half (54%) delivered a wide range of services, including all of the following during usual opening hours: the diagnosis and treatment of illness and disease; antenatal care; maternal and child health care; social and emotional wellbeing/counselling services; substance use programs; and on‑site or off-site access to specialist, allied health and dental care services.
Most organisations (95%) also provided group activities as part of their health promotion and prevention work. For example, in 2017–18, these organisations provided around:
8,400 physical activity/healthy weight sessions
3,700 living skills sessions
4,600 chronic disease client support sessions
4,100 tobacco-use treatment and prevention sessions.
In addition to the services they provide, organisations were asked to report on service gaps and challenges they faced and could list up to 5 of each from predefined lists. In 2017–18, around two-thirds of organisations (68%) reported mental health/social and emotional health and wellbeing services as a gap faced by the community they served.
This was followed by youth services (54%). Over two-thirds of organisations (71%) reported the recruitment, training and support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff as a challenge in delivering quality health services.
This is the tenth national report on organisations funded by the Australian Government to provide health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Indigenous primary health services
Primary health services play a critical role in helping to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous Australians may access mainstream or Indigenous primary health services funded by the Australian and state and territory governments.
Information on organisations funded by the Australian Government under its Indigenous Australians’ health programme (IAHP) is available through two data collections: the Online Services Report (OSR) and the national Key Performance Indicators (nKPIs). Most of the organisations funded under the IAHP contribute to both collections (Table 1).
The OSR collects information on the services organisations provide, client numbers, client contacts, episodes of care and staffing levels. Contextual information about each organisation is also collected. The nKPIs collect information on a set of process of care and health outcome indicators for Indigenous Australians.
This tenth national OSR report presents information on organisations funded by the Australian Government to provide primary health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes a profile of these organisations and information on the services they provide, client numbers, client contacts, episodes of care and staffing levels. Interactive data visualisations using OSR data for 5 reporting periods, from 2013–14 to 2017–18, are presented for the first time.
Key messages
A wide range of primary health services are provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In 2017–18:
198 organisations provided primary health services to around 483,000 clients, most of whom were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (81%).
These organisations provided around 3.6 million episodes of care, with nearly 3.1 million (85%) delivered by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs).
More than two-thirds of organisations (71%) were ACCHSs. The rest included government-run organisations and other non-government-run organisations.
Nearly half of organisations (45%) provided services in Remoteand Very remote
Services were delivered from 383 sites across Australia. Most sites provided the diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses (88%), social and emotional wellbeing services (88%), maternal and child health care (86%), and antenatal care (78%). Around two-thirds provided tobacco programs (69%) and substance-use and drug and alcohol programs (66%).
Organisations made on average nearly 13 contacts per client
In 2017–18, organisations providing Indigenous primary health services made around 6.1 million client contacts, an average of nearly 13 contacts per client (Table 2). Over half of all client contacts (58%) were made by nurses and midwives (1.8 million contacts) and doctors (1.7 million contacts). Contacts by nurses and midwives represented half (49%) of all client contacts in Very remote areas compared with 29% overall.
At 30 June 2018, organisations providing Indigenous primary health services employed nearly 8,000 FTE staff and over half of these (54%) were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. These organisations were assisted by around 270 visiting staff not paid for by the organisations themselves, making a total workforce of around 8,200 FTE staff.
Nurses and midwives were the most common type of health worker (14% of employed staff), followed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and practitioners (13%) and doctors (7%). Nurses and midwives represented a higher proportion of employed staff in Very remote areas (22%).
Social and emotional health and wellbeing services are the most commonly reported service gap
Organisations can report up to 5 service gaps faced by the community they serve from a predefined list of gaps. Since this question was introduced in 2012–13, the most commonly reported gap has been for mental health and social and emotional health and wellbeing services. In 2017–18, this was reported as a gap by 68% of organisations.
” This NAIDOC Week we need to lift our gaze and consider the bigger picture reforms required to take the next step forward.
A Voice to Parliament; agreements or treaties; and a process to enable systematic truth telling.
All of this is achievable, and all requires deep listening from the Australian community and a commitment to action if we are to all move forward together as a single, unified nation.”
Donna Ah Chee CEO Congress ACCHO Alice Springs
Voice. Treaty. Truth. This is the theme for NADIOC Week 2019, and the words have never been more relevant; especially in Central Australia.
The movement for constitutional recognition culminated in 2017 in a National Constitutional Convention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at Uluru. From this convention rose the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Put simply, this statement sums up where Aboriginal people see ourselves standing now and what we believe needs to be done to move forward for social justice; Voice, Treaty, Truth.
As Professor Megan Davis recently wrote “The Uluru Statement from the Heart was tactically issued to the Australian people, not Australian politicians. It is the people who can unlock the Australian Constitution for Aboriginal people, as they did in 1967, and the descendants of the ancient polities can unlock what is sorely lacking in this country, a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.”
Co-chair of the Referendum Council, Alywarre woman Pat Anderson said powerfully: “We need real change, because we, First Peoples, have something unique to offer this country. Our peoples have been here 65,000 years or more. Over these immeasurable periods we have developed a profound wisdom about this land and about what it means practically and spiritually to live here. We know this place. This is our place, and there is no doubt about it.”
Despite the enormity of the demands that Aboriginal people could make as peoples who never ceded sovereignty over the lands on which we now all live, our major demand is simply the right to be consulted about the legislation, policies and programs that are meant to help us.
The experience that Aboriginal people have had having been on the ‘underside’ of Australian history places us in a unique position from which to consider the laws and policies before Parliament and make suggestions for improvements that could make Australia a better place for all of us.
Having a constitutionally enshrined Voice in parliament would mean that the people who have actually experienced real poverty and hardship would finally be able to use this lens to consider the laws and policy decisions proposed in Parliament.
Just this week we heard from Kerry O’Brien on being inducted into the Logies Hall of Famefor his outstanding contribution to journalism, that “the failure to reconcile Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia remained one big glaring gap in this nation’s story.” While lamenting the “awful racism this country is capable of”, he said that the Uluru Statement— which endorsed a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous representative body — offered hope for the future. Why is this seen by so many to be so important?
Relative to their numbers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are politically marginalised in Australia. The seventy years following Federation saw not a single First Nations representative elected to any Australian parliament, only changing in 1971 when Neville Bonner entered the Australian Senate.
Since then only 38 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been elected to any of the State, Territory or Federal parliaments; 22 of these being in the Northern Territory. Even today, the unprecedented four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people we have seated in our national parliament only reflects 1.8% of all representatives.
A small number already, made even smaller when compared to the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3% of the Australian population, a number that is rising.
The systemic under-representation of Aboriginal people is mirrored in senior decision-making roles within public services across Australia. It is a powerful contributor to the lack of an accountable, informed, and sustained approach to Aboriginal issues, and the limited success in reaching the Closing the Gap targets.
Since the now famous Whitehall studies of the 1970s, ‘the control factor’ has been recognised as an important contributor to patterns of disease. The evidence shows that the less control people have over their lives and environment, the more likely they are to suffer ill health. Powerlessness is an identified risk factor for disease for Aboriginal Australians.
Aboriginal peoples’ lack of control of their lives is expressed at a national, systemic level through the absence of a national political representative institution; at a community level through their marginalisation from decision-making about programs that affect their own communities; and at an individual level through their experience of racism.
You only have to look at the poor implementation record of inquiry after inquiry into issues surrounding the health and wellbeing of the nation’s First Peoples for evidence of the absence of any real political influence.
Over the last three decades we have seen (most significantly) the National Aboriginal Health Strategy (1989), the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991) and the Bringing Them Home report (1997). They are among numerous other Royal Commissions and parliamentary inquiries into issues surrounding Aboriginal disadvantage resulting in recommendations that have not been fully implemented. I often think there needs to be a Royal Commission into the failure to implement so many Royal Commissions.
A genuine commitment to ‘Closing the Gap’ must include the establishment of a national representative body for Australia’s First Nations, as was recommended by the Referendum Council after extensive consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
This must come alongside a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Such changes, foreshadowed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart,have the support of the overwhelming majority of Aboriginal people and would provide the basis for substantive change in Aboriginal lives, as opposed to mere symbolic recognition.
This NAIDOC Week we need to lift our gaze and consider the bigger picture reforms required to take the next step forward. A Voice to Parliament; agreements or treaties; and a process to enable systematic truth telling. All of this is achievable, and all requires deep listening from the Australian community and a commitment to action if we are to all move forward together as a single, unified nation.
First published in the Centralian Advocate July 4 2019
Only 7 weeks to the NACCHO OCHRE Day in Melbourne and registrations are open
Between now and the 29-30 August National men’s Conference NACCHO will be publishing each Monday articles about Men’s Health and contributions from an amazing line up of speakers: Our first contribution from Trevor Pearce Acting CEO VACCHO
” For so many of the men at Ochre Day, healing had come about through being better connected to their culture and understanding, and knowing who they are as Aboriginal men. Culture is what brought them back from the brink.
We’ve long known culture is a protective factor for our people, but hearing so many men in one place discuss how culture literally saved their lives really brought that fact home.
It made me even more conscious of how important it is that we focus on the wellbeing side of Aboriginal health. If we’re really serious about Closing the Gap, we need to fund male wellbeing workers in our Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.
In Victoria, the life expectancy of an Aboriginal male is 10 years less than a non-Aboriginal male. Closing the Gap requires a holistic, strength- based response. As one of the fellas said, “you don’t need a university degree to Close the Gap, you just need to listen to our mob”.
I look forward to this year’s Ochre Day being hosted on Victorian country, and for VACCHO being even more involved.”
Trevor Pearce is Acting CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Health Organisation (VACCHO)Originally published here
“NAIDOC Week is a proud celebration of everything Australia’s First Nations’ people hold dear – our lands and waters, languages and stories that have been passed on from generation to generation in the oldest continuing culture on earth.
This year’s theme, Voice. Treaty. Truth – Let’s work together for a shared future, reflects the desires of Indigenous Australians to achieve concrete progress in having their voices and truths heard.
By applying a ground-up approach through co-design, we will work to further our priorities including Closing the Gap, addressing the shocking rates of Indigenous youth suicide, working through a thoughtful process for Constitutional Recognition and a Voice for Indigenous Australians.”
Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Ken Wyatt
NAIDOC Week 2019 has kicked off on the weekend under the theme of Voice. Treaty. Truth – Let’s work together for a shared future echoing the call for constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. See Part 1
“The National NAIDOC Awards are the premier awards for Indigenous Australians and this year’s recipients are well-deserving of our praise and admiration
Their accomplishments in culture and community, sports, education and the arts stand as examples to which we can all aspire and commemorate the unique and precious place of Indigenous history, culture and achievement within the fabric of our nation.”
Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Ken Wyatt
Picture above the winners with the NAIDOC Committee
” Thelma Weston, a descendant of the Meriam people of the Torres Strait, is like no other. Her life is a story of survival, achievement, hope, love and celebration.
Despite only having a limited education, Aunty Thelma trained as a nurse and became a fully qualified health worker. At age 83, Aunty Thelma still works full time at Winnunga Aboriginal Health and Community Services in Canberra, using her skills to manage the needle exchange program.”
See Thelma’s full bio below Part 3
Part 1
Minister Wyatt, said this year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations, which provided Australians the opportunity to honour and respect the ongoing history, culture and achievements of our First Nations’ people, were even more significant given the recent commitment by both sides of government to work together to bring about change.
Minister Wyatt also said that the Morrison Government was committed to doing things differently by working in partnership and sitting down and talking with Indigenous communities.
NAIDOC Week features hundreds of events around the country to share stories and celebrate our rich heritage and uniquely Australian culture.”
The Morrison Government has committed $1.4 million in local community grants to support these events to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can celebrate their culture and achievements.
NAIDOC Week events cover a wide range of activities such as family days with dancing, food markets and marches, Welcome to Country ceremonies, cultural performances, speakers, art workshops, BBQs and awards ceremonies.
“I encourage everyone to find an event near them and take the opportunity to deepen ties in
their communities and celebrate our culture and successes,” Minister Wyatt said.
NAIDOC Week runs from 7 – 14 July 2019. A full event listing can be found at
“I congratulate this year’s winners and commend each of them for their contributions to achieving a better shared future for all Australians and the wonderful role models they represent for the young members of our communities.”
“This better future is reflected in this year’s NAIDOC theme of Voice. Treaty. Truth. Let’s work together for a shared future.
“The Award winners embody this theme and represent the contributions all First Nations’ people make to our community – contributions we celebrate in NAIDOC Week,” Ministery Wyatt said.
For more information on these proud Indigenous Australians and other NAIDOC events please go to www.naidoc.org.au
Thelma Weston, a descendant of the Meriam people of the Torres Strait, is like no other. Her life is a story of survival, achievement, hope, love and celebration.
Despite only having a limited education, Aunty Thelma trained as a nurse and became a fully qualified health worker.At age 83, Aunty Thelma still works full time at Winnunga Aboriginal Health and Community Services in Canberra, using her skills to manage the needle exchange program.
She has a long history of outstanding involvement and achievements in the community and has sat on a number of local and national committees and boards.
Aunty Thelma is on the board of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association (NATSIHWA) and regularly travels across Australia to attend board meetings.
As a breast cancer survivor, Aunty Thelma has worked with Breast Cancer Network Australia to encourage other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to connect, seek support and information about the disease.
Aunty Thelma is much loved, admired and well respected, not only in her workplace and amongst her clients, but in the wider ACT community and across Australia. She is a wonderful example of a wise and caring Torres Strait Islander woman who has achieved much for her family and community.
2.2 Katungul ACCHO : It pays in more ways than one to have a 715 Health Check
2.3 NSW : Survey of Aboriginal patient experience people admitted to NSW public hospitals.
3.1 VIC : VACCHO meets with the Victorian Minister of Mental Health
3.2 VIC : VAHS would like to congratulate our staff member Chris Saunders who was crowned Mr. NAIDOC 2019.
FEATURE 4. QLD : Queensland’s Indigenous life expectancy gap is now the lowest in Australia, shows the overall positive impact the Brisbane-based Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) Deadly Choices is having among communities
5.1 WA : Aboriginal health Research Alliance in Kimberley big winners with Lotterywest grant of $2,920,185
5.2 WA : KAMS Aboriginal youth representatives met with Roger Cook MLA to share recommendations from Empowered Young Leaders forums in the Kimberley.
6. SA : AHCSA proudly launch their newest and deadliest resource, the ‘Deadly Sights’, a Communicare and MBS guide for the ACCHO Sector.
7. NT AMSANT’S 25 YEARS of health leadership conference 7-8 August 2019, Alice Springs
8. ACT The June 2019 edition 17 pages of the Winnunga AHCS Newsletter is available
Wednesday by 4.30 pm for publication Thursday /Friday
1.1 NACCHO Press Release : NAIDOC week theme speaks to NACCHO’s priorities #voice, #treaty and #truth
“ NACCHO encourages the government to accelerate the call for a Voice to Parliament and supports a Makarrata Commission to supervise the treaty process as necessary steps towards true reconciliation. The voice will respond to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s exclusion from the constitution and will help include our say in the development of significant laws and policies that affect our lives.
We work with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) across the nation for the sustainable delivery of comprehensive primary healthcare services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. Over the years, we have seen the increased accessibility and quality of services and medicines across states and territories.
It is our collective challenge along with our Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services sector to make a real difference in Closing the Gap. As we celebrate NAIDOC week, let’s continue our national conversations around voice and treaty grounded in truth-telling. Speaking truth to our country’s past will lay a strong foundation for a brighter, stronger and more equitable future for all.”
NACCHO Acting Chair, Donnella Mills said, “The NAIDOC theme speaks to NACCHO’s priorities. Having an Indigenous voice to Parliament is an important step in protecting and ensuring the interests of Indigenous communities are represented at the highest levels of government
1.2 National : Our CEO Pat Turner meets with Northern Land Council to highlight the work of the Coalition of Peaks / Closing the Gap
Left to right : NLC CEO Marion Scrymgour, NACCHO CEO Pat Turner and NLC Senior Policy Trish Rigby
Left to right : NLC Chairman Sam Bush-Blanasi, NACCHO CEO Pat Turner , NLC Deputy Chairman John Christopherson and AMSANT CEO John Paterson
2.3 National : OCHRE Day Registrations open forthe National Men’s Health Conference in Melbourne August 29 to 30
Registrations for this year’s Ochre Day Men’s Conference are now live!
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) Ochre Day Men’s Health conference provides a national forum for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male delegates, organisations and communities to share knowledge, design concepts and strengthen relationships that all work to directly improve the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men..
To register for this year’s Ochre Day Men’s Health Conference in Melbourne, please proceed to follow the below link.
Ochre Day Accommodation
To take advantage of the Ochre Day conference room rates which have been arranged with Pullman on The Park, Melbourne, please proceed to follow the link below.
On the 3rd of July 2019, interviews will be taking place for the recruitment to the Chief
Executive Officer position at the AH&MRC until such time as the appointment is finalised the following arrangements are in place, Ms Tania Brown will be acting as the Chief Executive Officer and Mr Avnit Raj will be acting as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the AH&MRC.
On behalf of the AH&MRC Board of Directors and the staff at the AH&MRC we would like to thank Raylene for her dedication, direction and commitment that she has provided to the
AH&MRC and we wish Raylene all the best and great success as the Chief Executive Officer of Awabakal Aboriginal Medical Service.
2.2 Katungul ACCHO : It pays in more ways than one to have a 715 Health Check
Congratulations to Kaiden Fernando and Sean Kinchela who are the winners of Katungul’s Deadly Choices Deadly Blues Origin experience.
Kaiden and Sean had their 715 Health Check at Katungul, picked up a Deadly Blues jersey and automatically went into the draw to win an all expenses paid trip to Sydney to see the final State of Origin game this month.
Pictured: Katungul Admin Team Leader, Cherie Russel and Director of Community Services, Angela Nye draw the winners today in our Batemans Bay clinic!
2.3 NSW : Survey of Aboriginal patient experience people admitted to NSW public hospitals.
BHI and the Centre for Aboriginal Health are working together to collect the experiences and outcomes of care for Aboriginal people admitted to NSW public hospitals.
For the first time, every adult patient who identifies as Aboriginal will be invited to provide feedback on their admitted patient or maternity care experience during 2019.
The Adult Admitted Patient Survey asks Aboriginal people who have recently been admitted to a NSW public hospital for feedback about their experiences of care. This survey is mailed out to people about three months after the end of their hospital stay.
The Maternity Care Survey asks Aboriginal women who recently gave birth in a NSW public hospital about the care they received. This survey is mailed out to women about three months after their baby is delivered.
The results of these surveys will provide hospitals with valuable information about what they are doing well and where they can improve care to better meet the needs of Aboriginal people.
BHI previously published a Patient Perspectives report on the experiences of care for Aboriginal people, which drew on data from almost 2,700 Aboriginal patients who were admitted to a NSW public hospital in 2014.
Healthcare in Focus 2017 examined healthcare in the context of three important dimensions of performance – accessibility, appropriateness and effectiveness – for more than 60 measures and one third of these measures related to the experiences and outcomes of Aboriginal people.
To find out about upcoming releases of survey results that reflect the experiences of Aboriginal people, please refer to our Reports Plan.
3.1 VIC : VACCHO meets with the Victorian Minister of Mental Health
Acting CEO of VACCHO Trevor Pearce and Hon. Martin Foley Minister for Mental Health met this week to confirm new resourcing so VACCHO can support Community consultations into the Royal Commission in Mental Health Services.
Trevor believes that we need “…to support strong Aboriginal voices and input.”
3.2 VIC : VAHS would like to congratulate our staff member Chris Saunders who was crowned Mr. NAIDOC 2019.
VAHS sponsored Chris to participate as an candidate in this year’s Mr. NAIDOC.
VAHS would also like to congratulate all other winners and all the nominees from last night’s event. No doubt all the winners will make the Victorian Aboriginal Community proud during NAIDOC 2019.
Sports Person – Marissa Williamson
Miss NAIDOC – Yirgjhilya Lawrie
Mr NAIDOCs – Chris Saunders
NAIDOC Patron Uncle Jack Charles
*Photo source – 3KND
4. QLD : Queensland’s Indigenous life expectancy gap is now the lowest in Australia, shows the overall positive impact the Brisbane-based Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) Deadly Choices is having among communities
The State Government’s 2018 Closing the Gap report card, which indicates Queensland’s Indigenous life expectancy gap is now the lowest in Australia, shows the overall positive impact the Brisbane-based Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) is having among communities.
IUIH’s flagship Deadly Choices engagement and health promotion program is considered the most recognised Indigenous brand in Australia, and welcomed almost 600 participants at this year’s Junior Murri Carnival, which started this week at Brendale’s South Pine Sporting Complex.
The inaugural 2-day Junior and Senior Murri Netball Carnival began Thursday at the State Netball Centre in Nathan.
As with all Deadly Choices initiatives, mandatory health checks need to have taken place before confirmation of each individual registration to these free events.
The directive is one wholeheartedly supported by notable Deadly Choices Ambassadors, former Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australian rugby league players Steve Renouf and Petero Civoniceva, plus fellow former NRL Dally M Player of the Year Preston Campbell.
The trio will be joined by another former NRL representative and newly appointed Deadly Choices Ambassador, Brenton Bowen; Olympic weightlifter, Brandon Wakeling; NRLW representative, Tallisha Harden; former Olympic sprinter Patrick Johnson, plus Reds rugby players Moses Sorovi and Duncan Paia’aua.
“Participation in any Deadly Choices program requires individuals to commit to a comprehensive health check and complementing health management plan, so there’s strong health values associated with the brand,” confirmed Renouf.
“This is a brilliant school holiday initiative which has become one of our most frequented events among local communities.
“We get real outcomes across the whole spectrum of the community; from infants, adolescents and our elders, everyone is positively affected.
“This program enables us to motivate kids into ideal lifestyle choices with respect to nutrition, exercise and education.”
There’s added anticipation surrounding the future successes of the Deadly Choices Junior Murri Carnival, as youngsters aged 3-4 years are already being indoctrinated into the Deadly Choices ways, through the highly successful Deadly Kindies Program.
Over a 12-month period (2017-18), this initiative recorded 300 percent increases in kindy enrolments across Queensland, which is music to the ears of Deadly Kindies Ambassador, Johnathon Thurston.
‘I’m a Dad to four little ones and I know just how important Kindy is,’ confirmed Thurston.
‘At Kindy our kids get to play and learn and get ready to go to school.’
Education is a vital pillar in the pro-active health pursuits of Deadly Choices, which is assisting IUIH to provide a national blueprint towards greater life expectancy among Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.
“Deadly Choices is well engrained within communities throughout South-east Queensland, ensuring members are healthy, active and obviously educated around what needs to be done to be living a very healthy lifestyle for themselves and their families,” added Civoniceva.
“Programs like the Junior Murri Carnival will hopefully light the fire within our little people in what they want to achieve in life and make positive steps towards achieving those goals and chasing their dreams.”
Testament to this mantra is Preston Campbell, who despite his diminutive frame escalated himself to cult status in the NRL, claiming the 2001 Dally M Player-of-the-Year title and securing a 2003 premiership ring with the Penrith Panthers.
“Sharing the good word among community around positive health, both physically and mentally, is something I believe in and feel privileged to be a part of through Deadly Choices,” confirmed Campbell.
“It’s all positive, making a difference in communities and providing a chance to give back. I love being at events like the Junior Murri Carnival, spending time and staying connected with community.”
The Netball component to this year’s Junior Murri Carnival will take place as a stand-alone event at the home of the Queensland Firebirds, the all-new Queensland State Netball Centre in Nathan.
Held on July 5-6, the junior girls will participate in clinics and educational sessions with the Firebirds and Deadly Choices teams, before participating in the Netball Carnival on the final day of the event.
The inaugural Senior Open Women’s competition will run alongside the juniors, with major plans being discussed towards greater participation in 2020 and beyond.
5.1 WA : Aboriginal health Research Alliance in Kimberley big winners with Lotterywest grant of $2,920,185
Lotterywest has awarded a grant of $2,920,185 towards the establishment of the Kimberley Aboriginal Health Research Alliance
Alliance aims to co-ordinate research and improve health in the Kimberley region
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt has welcomed the establishment of the Kimberley
Aboriginal Health Research Alliance, made possible by a grant of $2,920,185 from Lotterywest.
The Aboriginal-led alliance consists of six organisations representing Kimberley-wide Aboriginal communities, research institutes, universities and health service providers.
The founding members of the alliance are Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, WA Country
Health Service, Rural Clinical School of Western Australia, The University of Notre Dame Australia – Nulungu Research Centre, Telethon Kids Institute and the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia.
The focus of the alliance will be in promoting Aboriginal-led research methodologies, building the capacity of Aboriginal researchers, and monitoring the implementation of health research in the Kimberley.
The grant from Lotterywest will contribute towards support staff, developing training and resources, information technology and other supports to create avenues for community involvement in research and health services.
Comments attributed to Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt:
“It is fantastic that through Lotterywest, the McGowan Government is able to support the establishment of the Kimberley Aboriginal Health Research Alliance.
“All the organisations that will form part of the alliance have a strong track record in both research and in delivering better health outcomes for people in the Kimberley.
“The research that will come about as a result of this investment will improve service delivery, health care practice and improved health outcomes for the Kimberley region.”
5.2. WA : KAMS Aboriginal youth representatives met with Roger Cook MLA to share recommendations from Empowered Young Leaders forums in the Kimberley.
They focused on collaboration & ensuring young Aboriginal people are heard & their actions are supported into the future
The Kimberley region is one of 12 sites across Australia selected by the Australian Government to participate in The National Suicide Prevention Trial.
The 12 locations chosen for the Trial have a higher than average suicide rate and this major trial aims to find the most effective approaches to suicide prevention for at-risk populations and share this knowledge across Australia.
Each year about 3,000 Australians take their lives and the suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is about twice that of non-Indigenous people.
The Kimberley Aboriginal Suicide Prevention Trial is helping to develop a model of suicide prevention that meets the unique and culturally-sensitive needs of the region’s Aboriginal communities.
The communities involved are: Broome, Bidyadanga, Dampier Peninsula, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Kununurra, the Kutjunka region and Wyndham.
Preventing suicide is a complex problem and a one-size-fits-all strategy for dealing with the challenge may not be the best approach. This is exactly what this prevention trial is all about.
6. SA : AHCSA proudly launch their newest and deadliest resource, the ‘Deadly Sights’, a Communicare and MBS guide for the ACCHO Sector.
A fantastic effort by the Eye Health Team and Quality Systems Team here AHCSA #ourhealthourchoiceourway
7. NT AMSANT’S 25 YEARS of health leadership conference 7-8 August 2019, Alice Springs
Our Health, Our Way – 25 Years of Health Leadership Conference, at the Alice Springs Convention Centre in the Northern Territory.
We are hoping to get a big turnout from members to celebrate and showcase the success of our sector.
Member’s rate of $300, which includes the Gala Dinner.
If you are interested to put a stall at the conference, please contact us or for any other enquiries please feel free to contact Mia Christophersen – mia.christophersen@amsant.org.au
or on mobile – 0429 991 763.
ACCOMMODATION
Attendees wanting to book their accommodation can find a 20% discount (best available rate at the time)
by typing the code below or by calling 08 8950 8022 / emailing: doubletreealicesprings.reservations@hilton.com
” Billions of dollars are spent annually on Indigenous programs, services and initiatives yet, despite the need, there is limited evidence on what programs are effective for improving Indigenous health outcomes.
The Productivity Commission has called for ‘more and better’ evaluations of Indigenous programs and commissioning processes that engage Indigenous communities, organisations and leaders.
The commissioning of evaluations plays a significant role in the way program evaluations are carried out. It is through the commissioning process that the budget is set, the evaluators are identified, the aims and objectives of the evaluation are set, and many other aspects of the evaluation are determined.”
This National Health and Medical Research Council funded project (GNT1165913) responds to a call from Indigenous leaders for opportunities to influence decision-making processes within the health system and across sectors for the commissioning of health programs to reflect their needs, priorities and views on program design, delivery and evaluation.
This project aims to identify how government (federal, state/ territory) and non-government (not-for-profit, corporate, foundation, philanthropic) commissioning practices can better support Indigenous engagement and leadership in the evaluation of health and wellbeing programs in Australia.
To achieve this aim, this project will address the following objectives:
To characterise the spectrum of commissioning practices of government and non-government organisations in contracting evaluations for health and wellbeing programs particularly the role of Indigenous engagement and leadership during, and resulting from, the commissioning process.
To identify the issues, challenges and opportunities for Indigenous engagement and leadership across the spectrum of commissioning practices from the perspectives of: (a) commissioners/policy makers; (b) service providers; and (c) the Indigenous community.
To translate the findings into resources to support Indigenous engagement and leadership in the commissioning of program evaluations.
The project will be supported by an advisory group, chaired by Professor Tom Calma AO.
