Indigenous Environmental Health: Report of the Fifth National Conference 2004
Recommendations
Table of contents
- Glossary
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword from the National Indigenous Environment Health Forum
- Introduction from the enHealth Council
- Recommendations
Conference Opening- Environmental Health Workforce Development
- Housing Issues and Planning
- Local, Regional and National Initiatives
- Community Capacity Building and Partnerships
- Community Food Supply and Nutrition
- Environmental Health Services in Communities
- Storyboard Presentations
- Appendixes
The following recommendations were distilled by the NIEHF from over 160 comments received from delegates during the conference’s workshop sessions. These recommendations have been presented to the enHealth Council for consideration and placement into an appropriate Action Framework.
- Environmental health input to be provided for the proposed third edition of the National Indigenous Housing Guide, including the need to incorporate sustainable Indigenous housing principles and standard housing designs.
- Advocate for communities to be listed as ‘special areas’ under the Building Code of Australia to recognise the special needs of building housing for Indigenous communities and to provide a legislative basis for Indigenous housing design and construction standards.
- Develop award/s for Indigenous Environmental Health Workers to ensure uniformity in pay and recognition of Indigenous Environmental Health Workers.
- Provide scholarships and/or cadetships for Indigenous environmental health practitioners, particularly Indigenous Environmental Health Workers, to expand the Indigenous environmental health workforce.
- Frequently update the enHealth Council web site to improve dissemination of information to stakeholders and to raise the profile of the NIEHF.
- Give due consideration to providing reticulated sewerage systems in all major Indigenous communities to improve the standard of sewage management in Indigenous communities.
- Subject all Indigenous community water supplies to appraisal under the Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality contained within the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (2004) to ensure safe drinking water supplies in Indigenous communities by using a preventive management approach for drinking water.
- Conduct a national review of the status of Indigenous environmental health every four years to monitor the standard of environmental health in Indigenous communities.
- Develop a National Indigenous Environmental Health Strategy to ensure uniformity and improve the standard of environmental health in Indigenous communities.