Summary
Highlights
Pat Turner, CEO of NACCHO, highlights the plan's four key priorities: strengthening the Aboriginal community controlled health sector (ACCHOs) and its workforce, focusing on preventive healthcare, improving the overall health system, and building the evidence base. ACCHOs are recognized for their critical role in delivering comprehensive primary healthcare and the plan will guide future policies to enable their growth and service delivery.
The health plan deeply embeds all four priority reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. This includes shared decision-making, strengthening the ACCHO sector, growing indigenous representation in health workforces, and improving data collection and control at the local level. It aims to accelerate progress by ensuring indigenous Australians lead decisions impacting their health and well-being.
The plan recognizes the critical role of elders and the importance of aging well, addressing culturally safe and responsive aged care. It also highlights the need for place-based, person-centered care, especially for the two-thirds of indigenous Australians in regional and remote areas. The plan focuses on environmental aspects like housing, food, and water security, and expanding community-controlled health services, telehealth, and point-of-care testing.
The health plan has clear priorities for improving mental health, suicide prevention, and social and emotional well-being. It focuses on the protective aspects of culture and collaborative, wraparound approaches involving all levels of government, mainstream health services, and indigenous organizations. Recent government budget packages, including aftercare services and a 24/7 crisis line, further support these efforts, emphasizing indigenous-led solutions.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan for 2021-2031 is launched, aiming to improve indigenous health and close the life expectancy gap with non-indigenous Australians. The plan acknowledges the significant disparity in health outcomes and access to treatment, asserting that true equity means 'no gap'. Fundamentally, this plan was developed by the indigenous community, for the indigenous community, with government support.
The plan focuses on three main areas: recognizing social determinants of health (education, employment, housing), improving access to healthcare services (telehealth, incentives for medical professionals in indigenous Australia), and training indigenous health professionals. Specific initiatives include ending avoidable indigenous blindness and deafness by 2025, and rheumatic heart fever as a fatal condition by 2030.
Donna Murray, CEO of Indigenous Allied Health Australia, emphasizes the importance of self-determination, cultural knowledge, and holistic approaches that encompass connection to country, family, kinship, and community. The plan aims for prevention-focused, culturally safe, and equitable services free from racism and discrimination. It calls for shared commitments, truth-telling, and systemic change across all government sectors.