Environmental Health
Advocating to grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental health workforce.
“In mainstream Australia, hardly anyone recognises the role that environmental health plays. For the majority of the population, environmental health is silently present. Water, sanitation, rubbish, housing standards, food safety, everything is all taken for granted. In mainstream settings, there is no battle for recognition or resources for environmental health from finance departments. There is nothing more to prove and a fully resourced framework is in place. But Aboriginal environmental health is something else again. Aboriginal environmental health combines deep cultural knowledge of how things work in Aboriginal communities with these hard scientific facts about disease. Aboriginal environmental health must forge high-trust partnerships with community. Aboriginal environmental health is a community asset … and Aboriginal environmental health is needed now more than ever.”
– Pat Turner AM, CEO of NACCHO
NATSIEH Conference, Perth, 17 September 2019
What we do
NACCHO is advocating to embed an environmental health workforce within ACCHOs. NACCHO’s Roadmap, Growing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health Workforce, outlines the pathway for investing in and expanding the environmental health workforce.
Our initiative
Our key initiative focuses on growing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental health workforce, recognising the critical role they play in addressing the high rates of environmentally attributable diseases.
While NACCHO is not funded to create new jobs or services within this project, our aim is to advocate for investment in a dedicated environmental health workforce.
Our approach
NACCHO’s approach is grounded in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan. By working with member services and other stakeholders, we’re advocating for investment in a workforce that responds to the diverse environmental health challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This includes addressing the varying levels of policy readiness and capability across States and Territories, which have led to disparities in approaches to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental health.
Our impact
NACCHO is working with members and affiliates to advocate for investment in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental health workforce.
The National Strategic Roadmap outlines the pathway to grow a sustainable and effective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental health workforce embedded within ACCHOs, aimed at addressing the inequitable burden of environmentally attributable diseases in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
About environmental health
The environment where people live and work significantly impacts their health. Environmental determinants of health include:
- Air pollution
- Climate change
- Exposure to chemical and radiation
- Housing risks
- Land use and built environment
- Noise
- Water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH)
When these factors are not properly addressed, they contribute to preventable health issues and inequities. Many diseases disproportionately affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are rooted in environmental conditions.
In 2010, the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference endorsed six Policy Principles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health, including the necessity of good environmental conditions, cross-portfolio collaboration, and the employment of trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental health practitioners.
Environmental health was further identified as a priority in the My Life My Lead consultations in 2017 and is a key focus in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021-2030, and in the sector’s Core Services and Outcomes Framework. This plan emphasises capacity building to ensure access to safe environments, sustainable housing, sanitation, water security, and disaster preparedness.
Action 4 (A4) of the Health Sector Strengthening Plan, endorsed by the Closing the Gap Joint Council in 2021, calls for investment in a permanent, nationally credentialed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health workforce.
Other reports include:
- Action 1.7 of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan 2021–2031, which outlines steps to grow and support the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health Workforce.
- Action 4 (A4) of the ‘Health Sector Strengthening Plan’ endorsed by the Closing the Gap Joint Council in November 2021, which identifies the need to invest in a permanent, highly skilled, and nationally credentialed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health workforce.
Committees
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health Workforce Expert Steering Committee
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health Workforce Expert Steering Committee was established to guide the development of the Roadmap, they completed their work in December 2025.
ACCHO locations
NACCHO oversees a network of 148 members, each running Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across urban, regional, and remote Australia. These ACCHOs range from large facilities with multiple healthcare professionals providing comprehensive services to smaller centres focused on preventive care and health education, primarily delivered by Aboriginal Health Workers and nurses.
Contact
For any inquiries or further information about the environmental health workforce in ACCHOs, please contact the team at: ehw@naccho.org.au.
