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).

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 Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan outlines the Government’s forward looking strategic priorities for Closing the Gap over the next 12 to 18 months. This plan responds directly to the 2022 Closing the Gap Annual Report and shows all Australians where efforts will be focused; what tangible, practical actions are being taken; where reform is required; and what further partnerships are required to support progress.

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.

Eye diseases and vision problems are the most common long-term health conditions reported by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This is the sixth 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 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 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.

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 NSW Aboriginal Health Plan 2013-2023 (the Plan) is the result of the NSW Government’s commitment in 2011, toward closing the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal people. Over the next ten years the Plan provides unique opportunities for NSW Health to reexamine the best ways of working together and redesigning health services to achieve health equity. The Plan has been developed to help guide how health systems are planned, delivered, and monitored over the next decade in relation to Aboriginal health. The success of these reforms will be dependent upon working in partnership and utilising the expertise of Aboriginal people in shared leadership arrangements and innovative collaborations.

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.