1997-1998
Australia's Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, Budget Document 1997-98
The Commonwealth contributes to the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through funding community-controlled Aboriginal Health Services.
Fact Sheet 11
Continuing improvements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Programs and Services
The Commonwealth contributes to the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through funding community-controlled Aboriginal Health Services. It also supports a range of specialist services, including mental health and hearing services. It works with the States and Territories to improve the access of indigenous people to mainstream health services.Funding
The Commonwealth will appropriate $127 million in 1997-98 for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and substance abuse program delivered through the Department of Health and Family Services. This is an increase of about $15 million on 1996-97, including $5 million being taken up as new primary health care services come on stream following the 1996-97 Budget decision to extend primary health care to 35 communities previously lacking access to basic health services.
In this Budget, the Government will also appropriate an additional $15 million each year ($60 million over four years) to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). It is likely the ATSIC Board will spend this additional funding on economic development priorities.
In the 1996-97 Budget, the Government also protected funding of $210 million each year ($630 million over three years) to ATSIC for infrastructure and environmental health from cuts.
Broader strategy - comprehensive health care system
The Government is putting in place strategies to achieve sustained change in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Of highest priority are specific strategies to strengthen the capacity of the primary health care system. This includes extending the number of community-controlled health services in remote areas. In the 1996-97 Budget, the Government announced funding for new health services in 25 remote Aboriginal communities from 1997-98. A further 10 remote communities will receive health services in 1998-99.
To date, 18 communities or areas have been identified and announced. Others will be announced soon. The planning for these remote services is being undertaken in consultation with State and Territory health agencies and the communities involved.
The Government is also tackling the issue of getting general practice and specialist services into rural and remote areas. A package of measures to support improved GP availability in the bush was announced in the last Budget worth $15 million. Aboriginal communities will benefit substantially from this initiative.
Indigenous sexual health has also been targeted and in response to a report in March this year by the Australian National Council on AIDS and Related Diseases, a package of nearly $12 million over the next two years was announced to improve the capacity of basic primary health care to screen for and treat common sexually transmitted diseases and to respond to Aboriginal people living with HIV.
In October 1996, an indigenous mental health action plan was announced. This involves funding of $20 million over four years and emphasises the need to improve training and support to mental health workers and to strengthen the role of community level workers in dealing with the complex alcohol, violence and family breakdown problems which affect too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
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Two key reviews will improve service delivery in the substance abuse and eye health areas:
- A dedicated departmental team is currently reviewing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance misuse programs to identify key strategies in this area. The review will include an examination of the responses currently provided by the health system for the prevention, treatment and management of substance misuse, and the role that the indigenous substance misuse services should take within the broader health system.
- Professor Hugh Taylor, Professor of Opthamology and Director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Centre at Melbourne University, is reviewing the provision of trachoma and eye health programs to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Partnership with community and States/Territories
The Government is working hard to develop the right structures to support service delivery.
Health framework agreements have been signed involving the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, ATSIC and the Aboriginal community-controlled health services in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, NSW, Western Australia and the ACT.
The Commonwealth has also taken the lead in promoting a set of accountability standards for Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, to ensure and measure government progress in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
Additional accountability measures, focusing on health service outcomes, are also being trialled in Commonwealth funded primary health care services. These will complement the accountability indicators for governments.
At the national level, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council has been established to advise the Government on strategies, priorities and policies to improve the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
At the State and Territory level, forums have been established with representatives from government, ATSIC and community organisations. These forums will guide joint planning and priority setting in the States and Territories.
Joint regional planning will involve coordinating existing service delivery between Aboriginal specific health services and mainstream health services. It will also ensure that resources are used effectively and efficiently, and are directed to high priority needs within regions.
Three coordinated care trials have been announced: one in the Northern Territory (Tiwi Islands); one in the far west of NSW (Wilcannia); and one in conjunction with four communities in Western Australia (Perth, Bunbury, Geraldton and Roebourne). These coordinated care trials will pilot new approaches to the funding and delivery of the full spectrum of health care needed by these communities.
Contact: Robert Griew, First Assistant Secretary, Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services, Phone: (06) 289 5314
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