The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) calls for urgent and radically different action to Close the Gap. “The Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) commitment to Close the Gap in 2007 was welcome. It was a positive step towards mobilising government resources and effort to address the under investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health”, said NACCHO Chairperson, Mr John Singer. “But ten years on t...

“It’s good that there have been some positive gains already made in areas like child and maternal health.“We are still a long way from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people achieving the same health outcomes as other Australians,”“That’s why it’s absolutely imperative that we continue to see commitments to programs and health care models that work – programs created by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people which involve them in t...

The gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians is widening, not closing. States currently spend $2 per Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander for every $1 for the rest of the population whereas the Commonwealth in the past has spent only $1.21 per Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island person for every $1 spent on the rest of the population. NACCHO calls for the Commonwealth to increase funding to Close the Gap.

As Australia marks National Close the Gap (CTG) Day, it is an opportunity for the nation to reflect on the progress and challenges in the life outcomes facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. For ten years Closing the Gap has put an important spotlight on the vast health, economic and life disparities between First Nations peoples and the Australian population at large. Historically, the challenge of Closing the Gap has always centred around the la...

Today the Close the Gap Campaign calls on Australian governments to embrace genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to collectively close the gap in health outcomes for the next generation. “We need transformation of minds to have transformation of systems,” said June Oscar AO, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, and Co-Chair for the Close the Gap Campaign Steering Committee. Launched today on 17 March Close the Gap Day, thi...

The Close the Gap report released today has called for an urgent investment in community-led health services to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NACCHO strongly supports the messages, the actions taken and the recommendations that need to be addressed to drive health transformation. NACCHO CEO and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, Pat Turner states, “We already know that policy and programs that are led by our people work better for our peopl...

Still more needs to be done to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live strong, proud and healthy lives, ten years after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued the Apology to the Stolen Generations and more than 20 years after the Bringing Them Home report. Marking the tenth anniversary of the Apology, the Chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) Mr John Singer reflected on the momentous day. “It wa...

The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) welcomed the nib foundation’s announcement to provide $1 million funding to Aboriginal Community ControlledHealth Services to help close the gap in health and life expectancy outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.The $1 million funding was announced today by the nib Chairman, Steve Crane. This funding will be distributed over four years to support a suite of Aboriginal community contro...

A joint funding pool is being established by Australian governments to strengthen the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector to deliver vital services to communities and help deliver on the commitments of Priority Reform Two under the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap.  The Commonwealth Government has announced an initial contribution of $46.5million over four years, with the Victorian Government adding an additional $3.3 million. Lead Conve...

NACCHO CEO Pat Turner I wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are meeting on. I acknowledge and respect our continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this vast and important region. As you know, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples h...