Aboriginal health

Victorian statement of intent

On Thursday 24 March, 2011, the Premier of Victoria, the Hon. Ted Baillieu, re-signed the Victorian Statement of Intent to close the gap on Aboriginal Heath Inequality, which recommitted the Government to the Closing the Health Gap agenda.

The Premier emphasised the importance of a whole of government approach to closing the life expectancy gap between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal Victorians. The Premier outlined four guiding principles to guide the Government’s approach to Aboriginal affairs:

• Aspiration
• Accountability
• Engagement and Inclusiveness
• Partnership building and a whole of community approach

Background

In 2008, the Victorian Government and a coalition of non-government organisations, led by the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) committed support to the Victorian Statement of Intent to close the gap on Aboriginal Heath Inequality. This historic event created the opportunity for Victorian Government and non-government organisations to work together to develop and implement programs, projects and strategies to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians and to work towards health equality across Victoria.

The parties to the Victorian statement of intent (2008) commit ‘to work together to achieve equality in health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians by the year 2030’.

The signatories to the Victorian statement of intent commit:

• To developing a comprehensive, long-term plan of action, that is targeted to need, evidence-based and capable of addressing the existing inequities in health services, in order to achieve equality of health status and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians by 2030.
• To ensuring primary health care services and health infrastructure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples which are capable of bridging the gap in health standards by 2018.
• To ensuring the full participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their representative bodies in all aspects of addressing their health needs.
• To working collectively to systematically address the social determinants that impact on achieving health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• To building on the evidence base and supporting what works in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, and relevant international experience. To supporting and developing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health services in urban, rural and remote areas in order to achieve lasting improvements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.
• To achieving improved access to, and outcomes from, mainstream services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• To respect and promote the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including by ensuring that health services are available, appropriate, accessible, affordable, and of good quality.
• To measure, monitor, and report on [their] joint efforts, in accordance with benchmarks and targets, to ensure that [they] are progressively realising [their] shared ambitions.