Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of all ages can get an annual 715 health check. They are free at Aboriginal Medical Services and bulk-billing clinics.
On average, health care expenditure was $7,995 per Indigenous Australian, compared with $5,437 per non-Indigenous Australian—thus $1.47 was spent on health care per Indigenous person for every $1.00 spent per non-Indigenous person.
Overall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience poorer health than non-Indigenous Australians, but they do not always have the same level of access to health services. This module includes some selected measures of access to health care services that cover the different levels of the health system.
Barriers to accessing health services for Indigenous Australians include services not being available in their area (especially for those living in remote areas), services being too far away and they do not have transport, cost, waiting times, and the availability of culturally safe and responsive health services.
We ask everyone coming to our hospital if they are from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. This is because we can offer you services that can provide you cultural support through your care.
For many Aboriginal people being in a sterile hospital environment conjures up memories of racism and mistreatment. Many Aboriginal people have a lot of mistrust towards the existing health system due to their past and present experiences with mainstream services.
Coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases and lung and related cancers are the main causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
'”Aboriginal health” means not just the physical well-being of an individual but refers to the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole Community in which each individual is able to achieve their full potential as a human being thereby bringing about the total well-being of their Community.
Per person expenditure on community health services was 3.6 times higher for Indigenous Australians—$1,114 per person compared with $312 per person for non-Indigenous Australians.
The New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme provides ex-gratia payments of $75,000 to living Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families and committed to the care of the New South Wales Aborigines Protection or Welfare Boards.
Some NSW public dental services have specific programs for Aboriginal people. Contact your local clinic to find out more. Children 2-17 years old may also be eligible for some basic free dental care through the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS).
If you're an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian and have a Health Care Card, you may get prescription medicines at a lower price or free. Your doctor can see if you're eligible and register you for the Closing the Gap Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
In 2018–19, the median gross adjusted household income per week among Indigenous Australians aged 18 and over was $553, after adjusting for household size and age profile.
There is a long history of Indigenous workers being denied equal pay in Australia. Before 1966 it was common in many industries for Indigenous workers to often be paid around one-third of what non-Indigenous workers were paid. Many Indigenous workers were forced to work for rations.
Amounts you don't include in your tax return
There are some amounts don't need to be include as income in your tax return. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Indigenous holding entities don't need to pay income tax or capital gains tax on native title payments or benefits.
The islands were settled by different seafaring Melanesian cultures such as the Torres Strait Islanders over 2500 years ago, and cultural interactions continued via this route with the Aboriginal people of northeast Australia.
Primary health care includes general practitioners (GPs), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals, midwives, pharmacists and dentists.
Based on age-standardised rates, circulatory diseases accounted for the largest gap in mortality rates between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians (gap of 78 deaths per 100,000 population).
Colonisation has led to negative outcomes on the physical and mental health of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Before 1788, Aboriginal peoples lived a semi-nomadic life in family and community groups. The impact of colonisation includes: disconnection from culture, family, and Country.
Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, cardiovascular diseases and cancer represented a smaller proportion of deaths, and external causes and endocrine, metabolic and nutritional disorders represented a larger proportion of deaths, among Indigenous Australians. Notes 1. Data are for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT.
Racism within the New South Wales public health service has been identified as a key barrier for Aboriginal people trying to access medical care.
The highest proportion of Indigenous Australians living in areas in the most disadvantaged quintile (the lowest-ranked 20% of areas) was the Northern Territory (66%), which was 10 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians (6.7%).
The Australian Burden of Disease Study: impact and causes of illness and death in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2018 found that, in 2018, Indigenous Australians as a whole lost almost 240,000 years of healthy life due to ill-health and premature death – equivalent to 289 years for every 1,000 people.