New Peak Body to Support More Indigenous Physiotherapists, Dieticians, Occupational Therapists and Optometrists
The health of Indigenous Australians has taken another step forward with the launch of a new peak national body to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health professionals and students.
View by date:
Previous MinistersPDF printable version of New Peak Body to Support More Indigenous Physiotherapists, Dieticians, Occupational Therapists and Optometrists (PDF 25 KB)
9 July 2010
The health of Indigenous Australians took another step forward with the launch of a new peak national body to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health professionals and students, the Minister for Indigenous Health, Warren Snowdon, said today.
Mr Snowdon said the Australian Government is funding the Indigenous Allied Health Australia Incorporated (IAHA), as part of its $19-million National Indigenous Health Workforce Training Package.
“Indigenous Allied Health Australia brings Indigenous allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists and optometrists, and students in these professions, from around the country, together for the first time, giving them support and representation at a national level,” he said
“This is crucial, because ultimately it will strengthen the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce and encourage more students to take up careers as allied health professionals. This will translate to more trained Indigenous physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists and optometrists, being provided to remote and communities across Australia.”
Indigenous Allied Health Australia will:
- help build the skills of the existing Indigenous allied health workforce by providing them with the necessary resources and learning opportunities to build a long and success career
- play an important role to develop and contribute to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy and planning
- work with the nation’s universities to increase the number of opportunities being provided to Indigenous students and ensure they have the support they need to succeed.
The IAHA will complement funding already provided by the Australian Government to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak health bodies, such as the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association, the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Nurses and the new National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers Association.
In addition, the Australian Government is rolling out a national program aimed at upskilling the country’s 1,600 Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander health workers, which will prepare them for registration and accreditation.
The Australian Government is also ensuring that non-Indigenous health professionals are provided with education and training to work in Indigenous communities. This is being achieved through the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education Network, which brings together all medical deans of universities, to ensure that Indigenous health is integrated within all health curriculums.
“A strong and skilled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce is essential to the Australian Government’s efforts to close the gap in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians,” Mr Snowdon said.
“All Australians have the fundamental right to have equitable access to quality health care, no matter where they live, and the launch of the IAHA is another step towards achieving that goal,” he said.
For more information on the AIHA, please see www.indigenousalliedhealth.com.au
Media contact:
Alice Plate 0400 045 999
Help with accessing large documents
When accessing large documents (over 500 KB in size), it is recommended that the following procedure be used:
- Click the link with the RIGHT mouse button
- Choose "Save Target As.../Save Link As..." depending on your browser
- Select an appropriate folder on a local drive to place the downloaded file
Attempting to open large documents within the browser window (by left-clicking)
may inhibit your ability to continue browsing while the document is
opening and/or lead to system problems.
Help with accessing PDF documents
To view PDF (Portable Document Format) documents, you will need to have a PDF reader installed on your computer. A number of PDF readers are available through the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) Web Guide website.