The Abbott Government’s decision to abolish the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS) has been described by Australia’s peak Indigenous doctor’s representative body as undermining the Government’s support for Indigenous education, particularly tertiary education. The ITAS acknowledges Indigenous educational disadvantage, providing supplementary tutorial support to Indigenous students in order to increase participation and graduation rates. The […]

AMA President, A/Prof Brian Owler, today called on the Government to dump its seriously flawed GP co-payments proposal and adopt the AMA model, which exempts the most vulnerable patients from extra cost burdens for their health care. A/Prof Owler said the AMA has vigorously opposed the Government’s proposal since Budget night and has worked to produce an alternative […]

22 August 2014 Australia’s Indigenous doctors say the AMA Medicare co-payment plan does not address the concerns of the Aboriginal and Torres Islander community. President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA), Dr Tammy Kimpton, said that Indigenous doctors were disappointed that the AMA’s “Alternative Model” for Medicare co-payments makes no mention of Indigenous Australians. […]

Diversional Therapy Australia – Press Release  July 21, 2014 The Board of Diversional Therapy Australia (DTA) would like to express their strong disappointment in the announcement of the termination of the dementia and severe behaviours supplement announced on 26th June 2014. However, the DTA Board look forward to hearing Minister Fifield’s plans for an ongoing […]

beyondblue is launching a new national anti-discrimination campaign – Stop. Think. Respect. – on 29 July. Highlighting the impact of racism on the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the campaign’s key message is that subtle or ‘casual’ racism is just as harmful as more overt forms. Stop. Think. Respect. […]

29 May 2014The Australian Government will provide $52 million over three years to improve palliative care services and training, the Assistant Minister for Health, Fiona Nash, announced today.Minister Nash said the State and Territory Governments were responsible for delivering palliative care services, while the Australian Government supports projects that enhance the overall quality of services. “The […]

Efforts to Close the Gap must be accelerated, not slackened, if small gains are to be built upon and early investment realised, according to the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representative body. The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples said it was also vital to have independent, reliable data that tells us if we’re […]