Leading Indigenous health outcomes through community engagement

While community control began as a response to a dearth of affordable and culturally safe health care options in the mainstream system, it has now developed into a first choice provider for many Indigenous Australians. However, with fast growing urban populations, changes in government policy and funding arrangements, can these community controlled organisations remain viable? When ‘competing’ with the mainstream, Community Controlled Health Services (CCHS) often fall short with higher caseloads, more resources required and managing problems of greater complexity than is often found in mainstream general practice. A sustainable approach for the CCHS sector is needed to address the tensions that are created through policy and funding models to facilitate outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing and health.

Come and listen to our panel of experts from government, community organisations and academia debate the role of community control and discuss what lies ahead. Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening will be Professor Tom Calma.

A cocktail networking function will follow the panel discussion. 

Professor Tom Calma AO Bio

Professor Calma is the Patron and Chair of the Poche Network and has been involved in Indigenous affairs at a local, community, state, territory, national and international level and worked in the public sector for 38 years.

Respected for his inspirational and inclusive advocacy for human rights and social justice, Professor Calma has dedicated his life to improving the lives of all Australians and particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. For the past four decades he has championed the importance of empowerment – a passion that runs through his work in education, training, employment, health, justice reinvestment and development.

Professor Calma was formerly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner and served as a senior Australian diplomat in India and Vietnam. He works to create opportunities for Indigenous voices to be heard and to build partnerships to improve their health, well-being and economic independence.

His landmark 2005 report calling for the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to be closed within a generation laid the groundwork for the Close the Gap campaign and COAG’s Closing the Gap response.

Professor Calma works to advance Australia as an inclusive society including many roles in the community relating to social inclusion, reconciliation, mental health and higher education. He is an Aboriginal elder of the Kungarakan tribal group and Chancellor of the University of Canberra.