Rachel Yates, AGPN
 In late 2008 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) announced a $1.6 billion dollar, four year package to address the unacceptable inequalities in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The Commonwealth’s contribution of $800 million includes a focus on enhancing Indigenous access to culturally appropriate, primary health care through mainstream primary health services.
The first measure to be implemented in late 2009 as part of the Commonwealth’s Indigenous Chronic Disease Package will resource the divisions of general practice network (the Network) with 80 full time equivalent Indigenous health project officers, located across 90 of the 109 divisions of general practice in Australia.
These officers will work in collaboration with local stakeholders to enhance access to mainstream primary care services. They will identify and address barriers to access and also look at improving the capacity of mainstream primary care to deliver culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in their local areas. Specific activities will be determined by assessment of local needs and by building on opportunities that can be undertaken in partnership with local communities and stakeholders.
For some divisions this will enhance the sustainability and breadth of work they already do to support access of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to primary care. For others this initiative will provide new capacity to understand and address existing barriers to Indigenous access to mainstream primary health care services.
The work of these officers in enhancing access to well-coordinated, culturally appropriate chronic disease prevention and management through mainstream services, will be supported by the introduction of 80 full time equivalent outreach workers across the Network over the following 12 months. A similar workforce will also be supported for the Aboriginal Community Controlled health sector. Whilst there is expected to be flexibility in how these workers achieve their goals at a local level, they will provide one-to-one support, as needed, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients to assist them in accessing care in a culturally secure way.
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