Aboriginal Health
Aboriginal people are the first peoples of Australia and have strong cultural connections to family, communities, kinship and land. More Aboriginal people live in NSW than in any other Australian state or territory, comprising 34.5% (in 2021) of the total Aboriginal population in Australia. In NSW, Aboriginal people comprise 4.2% of the total population.1 Improving Aboriginal health and culturally safe care and services delivery are key focus areas for the entire NSW health system. The resilience of Aboriginal people provides the foundation upon which to build further efforts to improve the health of Aboriginal people. Aboriginal health means not just the physical wellbeing of an individual but refers to the social, emotional and cultural wellbeing of the whole community in which each individual is able to achieve their full potential as a human being, thereby bringing about the total well-being of their community.2 In line with the concept of self-determination, the active involvement of Aboriginal people in all decision making affecting Aboriginal health is fundamental to informing the delivery of health services. NSW Health works in partnership with Aboriginal communities through Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) and the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW (AH&MRC) on a wide range of policies and strategies to achieve health equity for Aboriginal people, families, and communities in NSW. These include the NSW Aboriginal Health Plan, National Agreement on Closing the Gap and the NSW Implementation Plan for Closing the Gap 22-24. Other key documents that contribute to Closing the Gap include Good Health - Great Jobs: NSW Health Aboriginal Workforce Strategic Framework, the NSW Aboriginal Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the NSW Aboriginal Procurement Policy. NSW Health supports the principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and the right of Aboriginal people to govern over all aspects of their data, including design, collection, analysis, and reporting including interpretation. This ensures that data reflects the priorities, values, cultures, worldviews, and diversity of Aboriginal people in NSW. HealthStats NSW, by being an open data source website, supports communities to find and access the data they need, thus supporting community decision making and contributing to Closing The Gap Priority Reform 4 - Shared access to data and Information at a Regional Level. Click on the indicator links below to view and download health data on the NSW Aboriginal population.