Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health LibGuide

Our vision is that every Aboriginal person and community is thriving and celebrated. Our purpose is to connect, listen, advocate, and enable Aboriginal communities, and to lead accountability and change across government. Put simply, this is about putting the voice of Aboriginal people at the centre of decision-making. This plan outlines strategic priorities and goals to represent community voices, lead reform and most importantly healing.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework summary report summarises the latest information on how Indigenous Australians are faring, drawing from the Health Performance Framework (HPF) performance measures. A pdf copy of the web report is available for download below (version released on 31 January 2023).

This current review evaluates the extent to which the ATSISPEP report findings, recommendations and resources have been taken up and/or influenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention activity across Australia, particularly among PHNs. Quantitative and qualitative information was obtained through a survey and interviews with PHNs involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention. These findings confirmed PHN commissioning practices, including commitment to partnering with Aboriginal community controlled health service partnerships and supporting social and emotional wellbeing, were influenced by the ATSISPEP report.

Our aim in this strategy is to support individual practitioners, the registered health professions, and the broader regulatory system, to strengthen and embed a culture of ongoing learning and continuous improvement in culturally safe practice. Through this strategy, we aim to increase our understanding of the experiences of Aboriginal people in the healthcare system, through capturing data and information, to support accountability and improved, evidence-based practice.

This report is commonly known as the "Stolen Children" report, or, the "Stolen Generations" report. Outlines the process of the inquiry; traces the history of laws, policies and practices in each state and territory which led to family separations and the removal of children; describes the consequences of removal on children, families and communities, including inter-generational effects; recommends principles for reparation and compensation; proposes services for those affected by removal; examines contemporary separations and proposes national minimum standards for Indigenous young people under state or territory jurisdiction.

This year, in recognition of the immense work undertaken to progress the Uluru Statement From the Heart, we are proud to release our fifteenth Annual Report, ‘Voyage to Voice, Treaty, Truth and Beyond’. In the aftermath of the referendum, there was much to consider, both for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. The political landscape has shifted, public discourse is contrary, and the pain that people felt at the referendum’s defeat remains palpable. Yet, through all this, a national movement to progress the principles of the Uluru Statement was born and today it remains thriving and strong

This is the first Commonwealth Closing the Gap Annual Report, which outlines actions taken to progress both the socioeconomic outcomes and the Priority Reforms focussed on improving our ways of working. It includes details on a number of new and established policies, programs and measures designed and implemented, in whole or in part, to contribute to Closing the Gap.

The 2023 Annual Report assesses the Commonwealth’s delivery against actions outlined in the 2023 Implementation Plan. The 2024 Implementation Plan is forward looking, outlining the Commonwealth’s strategic priorities for Closing the Gap over the next year.

This framework is a renewal of the Cultural Respect Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health 2004-2009. It commits the Commonwealth Government and all states and territories to embedding cultural respect principles into their health systems; from developing policy and legislation, to how organisations are run, through to the planning and delivery of services. It will guide and underpin the delivery of quality, culturally safe, responsive health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and contribute to progress
made towards achieving the Closing the Gap targets agreed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

This is the first Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) annual report on the ear and hearing health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children and adults. First Nations people continue to experience excessive rates of ear and hearing problems, which can have profound impacts on overall health and quality of life, and can affect both the ability to communicate cultural knowledge and their immersion in culture. Ear and hearing problems limit opportunities for education, work, personal relationships and community engagement. This report presents a set of measures developed to document changes over time in ear and hearing health among First Nations people and their use of ear and hearing health services.

Lowitja Institute’s latest policy discussion paper, ‘Ethics in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research’, has identified a suite of reforms needed to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research is conducted to the highest ethical and governance standards, with the greatest impact on improving health outcomes for our communities.

Eye diseases and vision problems are the most common long-term health conditions reported by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people. This is the eighth annual report to update the Eye health measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The measures cover the prevalence of eye health conditions, diagnosis and treatment services, the eye health workforce and outreach services. The report provides an evidence base for monitoring changes in eye health amongst First Nations people over time, their access and use of eye health services, and for identifying gaps in service delivery. This report includes the latest available data against each measure where possible.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people are over-represented in Australia’s prisons. First Nations people in contact with the criminal justice system often have complex health and wellbeing needs and may require access to culturally safe health care services. First Nations people in prison are often there for short periods and many enter and exit the system multiple times. The health of First Nations people in prison is a part of public health.

This resource is intended to support organisations engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles) in a culturally safe way.

The National Guide is a practical resource intended for all health professionals delivering primary healthcare to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Its purpose is to provide GPs and other health professionals with an accessible, user-friendly guide to best practice preventive healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.

The vision of the NSW Aboriginal Health Plan 2024-2024 is ‘sharing power in system reform’. The Framework is a critical enabler to achieving this vision, through ensuring that all decisions and governance structures in NSW Health that impact Aboriginal people include Aboriginal voices and leadership. All Aboriginal voices in the NSW Health system, including our partnerships with the Aboriginal Community Controlled Sector, the role of Aboriginal NSW Health staff and the voices of Aboriginal Community members across NSW, are vital to achieve this vision and address health inequity.

The NSW Aboriginal Health Plan 2024-2034 (the Plan) is our most ambitious yet. Achieving the outcomes identified in this Plan will enable Aboriginal people in NSW to achieve the highest levels of health and wellbeing. We acknowledge the only way this can be achieved is by sharing power between Government and the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector at the highest levels of decision making. This will be key to the system reform that will drive innovative collaborations between our health workers and with Aboriginal people and communities.

The NSW Aboriginal Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2025 supports and assists NSW Health services in delivering respectful and appropriate mental health services in partnership with Aboriginal services, people and communities. This strategy is designed to support and assist NSW Health services in delivering respectful and appropriate care in partnership with Aboriginal services, people and communities. The strategy is the foundation for change that will support a future way of working under the national Agreement for Closing the Gap in Aboriginal Health outcomes.

OCHRE is the community-focused plan for Aboriginal Affairs in NSW. An annual report is published each year documenting key achievements, learnings and future priorities.

The Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status 2022 (Overview) aims to provide a comprehensive profile of the current health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The early sections of the Overview present information about the social and cultural context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, social determinants, the structure of the population, and measures of population health including births, deaths and hospitalisations. The remaining sections consist of selected health conditions and risk/protective factors that contribute to the overall health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These sections include a brief introduction and evidence of the extent of the condition or risk/protective factor and burden of disease. Information is provided for states and territories, Indigenous Regions and remoteness, and for demographics such as sex and age, when the information is available and appropriate.

Suicide is a leading cause of mortality for Indigenous Australians. In 2018–19, almost a third (31%) of Indigenous Australian adults had high or very high levels of psychological distress, and a quarter (24%) of Indigenous Australians had a diagnosed mental health or behavioural condition (ABS 2019b). Understanding what works, why, and what does not work to improve Indigenous Australians’ mental health and prevent suicide is a public health priority for all Australian governments.

Biomedical test results from the 2012–13 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey found that almost 1 in 5 Indigenous Australian adults showed signs of chronic kidney disease. This report shows that the likelihood of having chronic kidney disease increases with age, and is higher among people with high blood pressure or diabetes, and among those living in remote areas. It also shows that rates of hospitalisation for kidney disease or treatment for end-stage kidney disease among Indigenous Australians tends to be highest in remote areas, particularly in Central Australia.

The SWSLHD Aboriginal Health Plan to 2027 has been developed in collaboration with the local community and staff through an ongoing process to determine key priorities for the future and to describe effective service delivery. This plan builds significantly on previous work in the District, outlined in the SWSLHD Aboriginal Health Plan 2017 -2021 and articulated in the Transforming Your Experience (TYE) program.

The SWSLHD Aboriginal Workforce Plan 2022-2026 is evidence of our ongoing commitment to grow and support our Aboriginal workforce and to improve access to health services. This plan continues our focus on developing culturally safe workplaces and providing career opportunities for Aboriginal people. The commitment to employ more Aboriginal people is not only an important step in improving the health and well-being of our Aboriginal communities, but to also Close the Gap.

The International Decade of Indigenous Languages draws attention to the critical loss of language, the importance of language and the urgent need to revitalise and strengthen Indigenous languages. In Australia, this means a unique opportunity to work in partnership with our governments on policies that directly affect our languages, their strength and use. The Directions Group, in partnership with the Australian Government, developed this Action Plan in response to UNESCO’s Global Call for Action titled Voices of Country.