Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs)
Building health equity through community leadership
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) are a testament to the resilience and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These organisations emerged in response to historical and modern barriers to healthcare access, recognising the unique strengths and deep understanding within these communities to drive their own health outcomes.
ACCHOs empower communities by ensuring that health services are controlled and delivered by the people they serve, fostering culturally safe, holistic, and locally tailored approaches to healthcare.
By placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities at the centre of healthcare delivery, ACCHOs play a crucial role in addressing inequities and improving health outcomes for First Nations people.
What is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health?
An ACCHO is a community-run primary healthcare service that provides comprehensive, culturally informed care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These services address not only physical health but also the social, emotional, and cultural wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities, aiming to support healthier, happier lives.
ACCHO model of care
The ACCHO model of community-controlled comprehensive primary healthcare is,
“…a holistic system grounded in truth, lived realities, our culture, law, and country. You can bring these ingredients together, utilise changing structures and relationships to design culturally informed health models and work programs our people need. It is the way we deliver our work from the ground up that informs the best policy and legislation.”
– June Oscar, AMSANT Conference, August 2019
For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, health is deeply connected to land, sea, language, culture, and community relationships. These connections manifest differently from one individual or community to another. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled comprehensive primary healthcare model seeks to translate these unique and intrinsic values into a framework for delivering health services.
The model is built around four core domains that ensure healthcare services are locally defined and culturally responsive. These include governance, clinical services, policy direction and partnership, and community health promotion and empowerment. To read more, download our Core Services and Outcomes Framework.
Governance
This domain ensures community control through an elected governing body composed of members from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities. This body sets the strategic direction of the organisation, guaranteeing that the delivery of healthcare remains aligned with community needs and values.
Clinical services
This domain covers the full spectrum of clinical services provided under the community-controlled Core Services and Outcomes Framework. It ensures that healthcare services are not only evidence-based but also responsive to the life-course needs of the communities they serve.
Community health promotion and empowerment
This domain focuses on empowering communities through core services, including health promotion and preventative programs, all organised and delivered by community-controlled primary healthcare services. These programs aim to strengthen individual and collective health through culturally informed practices.
Policy direction and partnerships
Aligned with Article 23 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), this domain asserts the right of Indigenous peoples to determine their priorities and strategies for healthcare, housing, and other social and economic programs. It also advocates for Indigenous-led administration of these programs, ensuring self-determination at every level.
This model reflects the community-controlled sector’s unwavering commitment to delivering culturally informed healthcare that responds directly to the distinct needs and lived realities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Our resources
To access a diverse range of resources, specifically designed for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, please check out our Resource Library.
