Indigenous Health

The College acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original custodians of Australia.

The College is committed to raising physician awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health needs and their cultural context, and advocating for culturally appropriate health delivery systems that improve health outcomes.

The College vision for reconciliation is an Australia where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and other Australians, share equal access to health services. The College sees reconciliation as a strategic approach to systematically address the issues that impact on health outcomes.

The College encourages all physicians to incorporate knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and health into their own professional practice.

The College has made meaningful recommendations and stated commitments on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health as a major priority. The College can advocate and lead on reconciliation in our organisation, profession and the community by formally reflecting reconciliation in our attitudes, structures, policies and services.

We have the capacity to turn good intentions into action.

Reconciliation Action Plan - Indigenous Health - (PDF 758KB - May 2011)

  

The Maori Health Committee has developed a discussion document addressing cultural competence in its wider sense. The Committee believes the key principles could be applied to a range of cultural interactions.

  

Discussion Document on Cultural Competence - (PDF 66KB - May 2011)

  

Scholarships for RACP Future Directions in Health Congress

The College is offering up to five scholarships to medical students, junior medical officers and physician trainees who identify as being of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Maori descent to support their attendance at the RACP Future Directions in Health Congress 2012. The Congress will take place from 6 to 9 May 2012 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Applications close on 2 March 2012. For further information, and to download the scholarship guidelines and application form, please go to the Call for Abstracts section of the Congress website. 

Close the Gap

In April 2007, 40 of Australia's leading Indigenous and non-Indigenous health peak bodies and human rights organisations joined forces to launch a campaign to ‘Close the Gap' on health inequality. The campaign comes in response to a call from the Social Justice Commissioner to achieve health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within 25 years. ‘Close the Gap' calls on all levels of Australian government to put in place firm targets, funding and timeframes to address health inequalities, including providing equal access to primary health care for Indigenous Australians within 10 years.

• Close the Gap Campaign's Shadow Report on the Government's progress on 'closing the gap' - Feb 2010 (PDF 905KB)
• Close the Gap Steering Group Workshop Report: Partnership in action - What is required to close the Indigenous health equality gap by 2030? - Nov 2008 (PDF 294KB)
• Close the Gap National Indigenous Health Equality Targets - Outcomes from the National Indigenous Health Equality Summit - Mar 2008 (PDF 1592KB)
• Close the Gap Indigenous Health Equality Summit: Statement of Intent - Mar 08 (PDF 283KB)

National Best Practice Guidelines for Collecting Indigenous Health Status

All clients of health services should be asked if they are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the process of routine data collection. Despite improvements in recent years, there have been continuing problems in establishing and maintaining standard practice in the collection of Indigenous status, resulting in the under-identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in key national health data sets. These guidelines have been developed to ensure the standard Indigenous status question is asked correctly and consistently of all clients of health services, and that this information is correctly recorded.

The AIHW guidelines can be found at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/11052

Medical Specialist Information about the PBS Co-payment Measure

The PBS Co-Payment Measure is part of the Australian Government's Closing the Gap - Tackling Indigenous Chronic Disease Package. The PBS Co-Payment Measure commenced on 1 July 2010 and aims to reduce the cost of PBS medicines for Indigenous Australians. The assistance is in the form of lower or nil patient co-payments for PBS medicines.

• Medical Specialist Information about the PBS Co-Payment Measure Fact Sheet - Jan 2012

Policy and Submissions

• Inquiry into the tobacco industry in Aotearoa and the consequences of tobacco use for Maori - Feb 2010 (PDF 87KB)
• Indigenous Juveniles and Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System - Australian Federal House of Representatives - Jan 2010 (PDF 118KB)
• Medical Specialist Outreach Assistance Program - Indigenous Chronic Disease Measure Guidelines - Department of Health and Ageing - Nov 2009 (PDF 104KB) 
• National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and RACP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Expert Advisory Group - Heads of Agreement Aug 2008 (PDF 755KB)
• Outcomes and Recommendations - Finding Solutions That Work: How Can Public Health Physicians Contribute to Effective Strategies to Improve the Health of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders? Aug 2007 (PDF 1241KB)
• Submission to the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues Inquiry into Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage in NSW (PDF 82KB)
• An Introduction to Cultural Competency - AIDA & RACP: Nov 2004 (PDF 58KB)
• Policy Statement on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health: Sep 2003 (PDF 32KB)

Please contact the Policy and Advocacy Unit for further information: policy@racp.edu.au