Culture Care Connect

External link

About the initiative

Culture Care Connect (CCC) supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and communities through culturally safe suicide prevention, aftercare and local service coordination.

The program strengthens local responses, builds workforce capability and supports communities to shape care around local priorities.

The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) leads and supports CCC nationally.

More than 30 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) deliver the program locally.

Key features

Culture is at the heart of the program

Culture Care Connect centres culture, connection and community. It supports responses that reflect the strengths, priorities and knowledge of local communities.

Suicide prevention services and supports

Culture Care Connect supports trauma-aware, healing-informed suicide prevention and aftercare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and communities.

Community-led choice and control

ACCHOs work with communities to design responses that reflect local priorities, needs and ways of working.

Local networks

Community Controlled Suicide Prevention Networks bring services together, strengthen referral pathways and improve local coordination.

Strong, culturally safe workforce

Culture Care Connect supports a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce through local roles, training, connection and wellbeing support.

Why it is important

Culture Care Connect matters because it:

• provides culturally safe suicide prevention and aftercare
• strengthens local responses and referral pathways
• supports social and emotional wellbeing
• improves access to support, especially in regional and remote areas
• backs community-led planning and local decision-making
• builds workforce capability and service coordination.

Goals

Culture Care Connect aims to:

• reduce suicide and self-harm
• support social and emotional wellbeing
• support self-determination and community-led responses
• improve coordination between suicide prevention, mental health and other local services
• strengthen culturally safe aftercare
• build and sustain an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workforce
• align with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Meeting our goals

Culture Care Connect works towards these goals by:

• supporting ACCHOs to lead local delivery
• integrating suicide prevention, early intervention and aftercare
• working with communities to shape responses around local priorities
• establishing and supporting Community Controlled Suicide Prevention Networks
• strengthening referral pathways and local service coordination
• supporting workforce training, wellbeing and connection
• working with communities and governments to support long-term system change.

Who we work with

NACCHO leads, administers and supports Culture Care Connect nationally.

More than 30 ACCHOs deliver the program, employing local community members and working with communities to shape responses.

Status

Culture Care Connect is funded by the Australian Government from 2021 to June 2028.

Evaluation

An independent evaluation by Inside Policy in 2025 found that Culture Care Connect:

• is culturally safe and effective
• improves access to culturally safe suicide prevention and aftercare services
• strengthens referral pathways between ACCHOs and other local services
• increases community awareness of available supports and engagement with services
• plays an important role in regional and remote areas, where services are limited
• supports workforce growth, cultural safety and wellbeing.

The evaluation also found that some communities did not have access to these supports before CCC and that demand exceeds current funding.

More information

Find more information about Culture Care Connect on the NACCHO website, including:

• locations
• model of care
• resources that support the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.