Finalist

Primary Health Care Finalists

  • Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service

Ms Julie Tongs , Chief Executive Officer

Winnunga Social Health Team - delivering health care services in ways that are supportive of the living preferences of the community.

The Social Health Team conducts programs such as: bringing them home, substance misuse, dual diagnosis, youth drug and alcohol support services, child and adolescent mental health, carer support, alcohol and other drug use, social and emotional wellbeing, no more bundah, housing liaison service and home maintenance, Indigenous drug action week, parenting program, youth diversion program, medical student education program, men's group, women's group and various research programs as approved by the Winnunga Board. The Social Health Services team employs a case management process, which incorporates brief intervention, integrated screening and assessment, shared care, and integrated care/case management. Within this process the Social Health Team (which incorporates a coordinator) is the first point

Dr Noel Hayman

Improving Indigenous access to the Inala Community Health Centre.

In 1994, only 12 Indigenous peoples were known to attend the mainstream general practice in Inala, Queensland. The program aimed to improve access to local primary health care services by Indigenous peoples in the Inala region through community consultation and participation.

Community consultation revealed reasons for non-attendance by Indigenous peoples and mechanisms were put in place to redress this. In addition to the identified measures, the service has maximised use of Medicare programs to provide a comprehensive primary care service for Indigenous patients. The service now has about 3,500 Indigenous patients registered, with over 1,200 medical practitioner consultations completed each month.

  • Unity of the First People of Australia

Hon Ernie Bridge OAM CitWA JP, President

The program promotes health awareness, education, healthy living and exercise to lessen the high rates of illness, disabilities and premature deaths from "lifestyle" disease like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease. Indigenous decision-making, cooperative partnerships and ownership of activities are strongly encouraged. Community development and acquisition of skills and employment opportunities are crucial to the program.

  • Freco Street Doctor

Karen Mercer

Provides valuable service to homeless, disadvantaged and marginalised populations of Fremantle. Aboriginal people are a specific target group within the groups mentioned. The services provide a holistic approach to health care which support physical, mental and social needs in a culturally appropriate way. Freo Street Doctor operates without appointments and the wait area is in the open outside the mobile clinic van.

  • Suncare Community Services-

Paul J Calcott Cultural service Integration worker

The programme assists carers of people with a disability are frail aged, palliative or living with a mental illness. Suncare Community Servicers inc. took the initiative to fund a position that would work with the aboriginal community, insuring culturally appropriate support was provided to Aboriginal carers and to indentify barriers preventing access to services. Suncare auspice the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Programme and Direct Respite Services with offices located from Brisbane North to Longreach, we assist carers with respite, purchasing equipment, social and community support and providing advocacy and guided referrals to appropriate ongoing support services, Suncare Community services has been able to provide assistance to over 800 Aboriginal carers since taking over the auspice in 2005

  • Hunter New England Health Service

Michelle Wilkes - Aboriginal Health Education Officer

Marrung Tiddas - Beautiful Sisters is a therapeutic group for Aboriginal women who have experienced or whose family have been affected by sexual assault. Designed to increase trust and access to the sexual assault service and other health services as required. Provide therapeutic interventions where appropriate and increase the awareness and education of women in the community of the impact and long term affects of trauma. Working with gatekeepers in the community is a key strategy towards reducing the isolation of victims of sexual assault and increasing access to crisis and long-term interventions thus reducing the impact of trauma.



Child & Maternal Health

  • Cunamulla Aboriginal Corporation for Health

Ann-Marie Thomas- CEO

South West Mother & Child (Guta Barta Yangga Gundues)

This program runs cooking classes conducted on a weekly basis, to teach parents about living skills, budgeting, hygiene and nutrition and play group on the same times to teach children the importance of play and educating them on numeracy and literacy skills. Screening them before transition of schooling.

Ante-natal is conducted weekly with various topics ranging from conceiving, birthing, trimesters, breast feeding, SIDS, Safe sleeping, Applying first aid, belly plastering, pelvic floor exercises, birth spacing and birth control.

Leslie-Ann Conway

Nguntyju Tjitji Pirni (Translated in Wongatha - Mothers and Children Together)

To offer quality maternal and infant health care during the antenatal, postnatal and infant periods, delivered by specialised Aboriginal Health Workers working in a truly culturally appropriate and community-owned agency; predominantly via a structured Home Visiting Service.

  • NPY Women's Council

Liza Balmer, Deputy Coordinator

NPYWC Child Nutrition Program (CNP)

The NPY Women's Council is an Aboriginal owned and operated service delivery organisation that covers 26 remote Aboriginal communities and their homelands across 350,000 sq kms in the cross border region of SA, NT and WA. The Child Nutrition Program began in 1996 as a program that aimed to increase the skills and knowledge of young mothers to properly feed their children due to high prevalence of 'skinny kids' (children failing to thrive) and subsequent Child Protection intervention. Today the Child Nutrition Program aims to support families residing in the NPY region to increase their capacity to care for children 0-5 years with a focus on children suffering from failure to thrive and malnutrition. We aim to increase skills, knowledge and resources of Anangu and Yarnangu communities to support children to reach their optimum health and wellbeing.



Environmental Health

  • Health Habitat

Paul Pholeros, Stephan Rainow, Dr Paul Torzillo Directors of Healthabitat

Housing for Health

The program improves health by improving the surrounding living environment. The safety and health priorities are well defined and the national program:

  • makes some change immediately,
  • works with a team comprising at least 75% local indigenous people,
  • collects data that allows targeted repair work and can be used to improve new house design.

Jeff Standen, Manager, Aboriginal Environmental Health Unit

10 years of Housing for Health in NSW

Over the last 10 years, NSW Health, in partnership with Aboriginal Affairs NSW, has delivered Housing for Health projects to 71 Aboriginal communities. The program uses a methodology developed by Healthabitat® to survey, repair and upgrade houses owned by the Aboriginal community housing sector.

We have recently completed a study which shows that people living in houses exposed to the Housing for Health intervention were 40% less likely than the rest of the rural NSW Aboriginal population to be hospitalised with an infectious disease. The same study showed that the program has produced large gains in house function.

  • The Royal Life Saving Society

Greg Tate

The Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pools Program (RASPP)

RASPP focuses on providing the remote communities of Burringurrah, Jigalong, Yandeyarra, Bidyadanga and Warmun with recreational and educational swimming programs to promote safe aquatic participation.