Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, , 14:42 to 19:59
Discussion on the $450 million investment in First Nations health infrastructure, including clinic upgrades, staff housing, and co-design with NACCHO.
Topics: First Nations, Health, Closing the Gap
Speakers: Ben Barratt, Senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah, Dr Liz Develin, Ross Hawkins
Thank you, Chair. I have some questions regarding First Nations investment. I understand that we're making a highly significant investment in the order of around 450 million dollars in First Nations Health. Could you talk us through how this will be spent and what the priorities for funding are.
Good morning, Senator Stevlin, Deputy Secretary of Prevention, Primary Care and Medicare Group. I think the funding you are referring to is the First Nations Health Infrastructure Programme. So before my colleagues start on that, I think it is important to recognise that more broadly there are significant investments in First Nations Health beyond the infrastructure. The First Nations Indigenous Australians Health Programme, which is about 1.2 billion dollars a year, invests most of its money in the Aboriginal community controlled sector, providing significant primary care services, maternal and child health services, chronic disease and prevention services. So I would just like to acknowledge that beyond the infrastructure programme, there are significant investments. But I'll pass to my colleagues to talk about the infrastructure program.
Ben Barrett, Assistant Secretary, First Nations Health Division. Thank you for the question, Senator. The Australian government is investing more than $600 million in First Nations Health Infrastructure to strengthen the Aboriginal Community Control Health Sector and improve access to culturally safe primary health care. We've already funded 116 infrastructure projects worth almost 455 million dollars with 54 of those projects reaching practical completion. We're building on that through our latest investment through the third round of the major capital works program. Additionally, early analysis. We're currently undertaking an evaluation of the programme and an early early analysis is showing an average 40% increase in staffing levels and 15% increase in episodes of care in areas where we've completed one of those projects. Round three of the closing the gap major capital works programme is currently underway with up to 180 million dollars available for new and upgraded primary health care clinics and housing the health professionals. It continues the government's focus on giving Ros the dollar that uh the infrastructure they need to deliver high quality culturally safe care, including in regional and remote communities. The major capital works program was co-designed with NATO, our national peak body, which continues to be involved in both the design assessment, evaluation and decision making, put in closing the gap at the forefront of what we do.
I think you answered my my um second question, which was going to be the process of co-design and what that entailed. Apart from the NATO's what else was included in that co-design process to make sure we're actually addressing their needs.
So as part of the design process, um we we work in partnership with NACO to determine both the uh what's needed by the sector, the assessment criteria, and then when we have received the applicant uh applications, we actually sit down with NACO and partners, and they form part of the assessment committee as well as the decision-making structure that sits around where that infrastructure funding goes and important criteria are um the capacity of an organization to deliver as well as the need of a community.
Um, and just with the 54 completed projects, can you give us a sense of what these are? Are they all clinics or you mentioned working workers' residences?
Yeah, I don't have that breakdown now, um, but I could probably get it by the end of the session. But it's primarily uh new clinics, but we also fund um staff housing as you mentioned, and some of our projects are um refurbishments of existing clinics to increase their capacity to deliver more services.
Okay. And in terms of cultural safety, how how does this um program within the NHRA support improved cultural safety
I might throw to my colleague Ross Hopkins around the NHRA question?
Good morning, Senator Ross Hawkins, uh first and secretary portfolio strategy division. So, Senator is a slightly different kind of composition of the funding. So my colleagues are taking you through the kind of infrastructure. The work the department's done working with our states and territories through the NHRA is slightly separate. Um kind of comes to chain about 450 million dollars. We're working very closely with states and territories and the collaboration around how best to spend that money through co-design. Um, a lot of work's taken place to ensure that that investments are kind of worked through kind of with First Nations communities and working closely with the collaboration, um which largely goes to that kind of key component as you've mentioned of ensuring cultural safety.
And that seems to be played out in higher attendances now. You've seen 15% uplift in episodes of care. So something's working.
Yep, absolutely.
Okay. Thank you very much. Thanks, Chair.