Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA)

Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) was incorporated in June 2009. IAHA is the peak Allied Health body for Indigenous people in Australia. IAHA is supported by financial assistance from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and is governed by a board of directors, who are a committed body of Indigenous allied health professionals. IAHA’s first board of directors come from the following allied health professions: dietetics, exercise sport sciences, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology, social work, speech pathology and radiography. (please note that the allied health disciplines represented by IAHA are not limited to those listed above).

Five States and Territories of Australia are represented on the board, but more importantly, more than ten Indigenous tribes or nations are represented through the links that these allied health members have to their communities. Current board of directors are individuals who are not only allied health professionals but also parents, grandparents, members of families with extended responsibilities, whom come from a diverse range of working experience from policy development, to rural, remote and urban, from direct service delivery to research and academia. Although individuals, the board of directors are united in their vision to achieve the overall IAHA vision, which is: “to achieve the same quality of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples” which will be achieved through three key objectives:

1. Contribute to improved knowledge and competencies of allied health practitioners working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities.
2. Contribute to improved allied health services for Indigenous peoples and communities.
3. Provide effective support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of IAHA.

IAHA has an interactive website <www.indigenousalliedhealth.com.au> which is designed to contribute to the achievement of these objectives. The public pages are designed to attract Indigenous young people interested in allied health and provide information on allied health courses, scholarships and support services. The members’ areas provide resource materials and links to relevant documents or sites related to Indigenous health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. There are discussion forums for Indigenous allied health professionals and students amongst themselves as well with their non-Indigenous colleagues.

We would welcome any suggestions for material to include on our website – email us at office@indigenousalliedhealth.com.au

Chair IAHA James Charles Kaurna man Podiatrist, PhD student	Deputy Chair IAHA Chontel Gibson Gamilario women Occupational Therapist	Treasurer IAHAWalker Tabua Torres Strait Islander man Exercise Physiologist