Queensland’s ACCHO sector is under pressure to support the mounting demand for services, including an increased patient caseload and the spiralling chronic disease burden impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
QAIHC Acting CEO Paula Arnol said funding for the ACCHO sector has never met the sector’s needs, despite national expenditure for health services tailored to the needs of Indigenous Australians increasing 38% from June 2011 to June 2020.1
“The Queensland ACCHO sector is struggling to meet increased demand for services, while operating with minimal government funds and resources — most health funding is diverted away from the ACCHO sector to mainstream hospital and health services,” Ms Arnol said.
“Despite this, clients are coming to see Aboriginal medical services because they want culturally appropriate health care. Over the five years from 2019-2023, the Queensland ACCHO sector’s active patient population has spiked 53% to 84,000 clients.2
“Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is also increasing rapidly. In 2031, the Indigenous population is projected to number between 302,093 and 315,585 persons.3
“Chronic disease is also a big concern in our communities. In 2019, the total burden of disease rate was 2.1 times higher for First Nations Queenslanders than that of other Queenslanders. Mental health and substance use disorders were the leading cause of health burden, and cancers the leading cause of death.”4 This is why QAIHC continues to advocate for better funding and welcomes the Queensland government investment. It’s why we are advocating for national funding reform.
Delivering quality care
Queensland’s ACCHO sector plays a critical role in delivering high-quality, holistic and culturally safe healthcare to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the state.
Additionally, the ACCHO sector delivers various programs such as dental care, aged care, child and maternal health care, social and emotional wellbeing and allied health.
Ms Arnol said the high-quality primary health care that the ACCHO sector delivered was making a real difference to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the state.
Over the past five years, the rate of potentially preventable hospitalisations in Queensland for the Indigenous population remained constant.5
“This indirectly highlights the efforts from the ACCHO sector in providing quality health care services in primary healthcare settings to avoid unnecessary burden on the tertiary health care system,” Ms Arnol said.
More funding for ACCHOs
According to QAIHC, Commonwealth and state funding is not meeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population growth, comprehensive service delivery, nor the complexity of care provided by the ACCHO sector.
Ms Arnol called for reform to the funding mechanisms to recognise the role of ACCHOs.
“ACCHOs currently receive most of their funding through fragmented grant funding arrangements and a flawed MBS system,” she said.
“Our people don’t benefit from the PBS in the way most other Australians do. The Commonwealth needs to reform the MBS, PBS and National Health Reform Agreement so ACCHOs are recognised and acknowledged as an integral part of our health system: and new investments made to allow ACCHOs to play a greater role in health service delivery.
“New funding mechanisms will create opportunities for services to partner with ACCHOs to deliver health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. They will also create opportunities to improve income through MBS and ensure First Nations people have much better access to prescription medicines.”
To strengthen the ACCHO sector further, QAIHC called for more transparency in terms of funding allocation and MBS revenue.
“The funding allocation data dashboard is long overdue from the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO). This type of funding allocation transparency would help the ACCHO sector to better plan the health service needs which will eventually further improve the quality of the healthcare,” Ms Arnol said.
References
- AIHW 2024. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework – Summary report. Canberra, AIHW.
- Health Data Portal. National Key Performance Indicators (nKPI) data for December 2019 and December 2023 reporting period. Department of Health and Aged Care.
- Queensland Government Statistician’s office 2021. Population estimates and projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders, 2006 to 2031. Queensland Treasury, Brisbane.
- Queensland Government Chief Health Officer Queensland 2018. First Nations Australians burden of disease. Queensland Health, Brisbane.
- Data source: Queensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC), 2023. Prepared by Statistical Reporting and Coordination, Statistical service branch, Queensland Health, Brisbane.
