NATIONAL AGREEMENT ON CLOSING THE GAP
Implementation Plan working in partnership The Coalition of Peaks, the collective voice of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector, proudly announced in early August the public release of their first Implementation Plan under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. All Parties to the Agreement are responsible for publishing implementation plans that are responsive to the differing needs, priorities and circumstances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and organisations across Australia. The Implementation Plan (the Plan), sets out the actions the Coalition of Peaks are and will be taking to fulfil partnership responsibilities under the National Agreement; driving deep change in how governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people so that Closing the Gap outcomes are dramatically improved. The Plan prioritises building an understanding of the National Agreement and promoting the advantages and opportunities it offers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities, and organisations, provided participation is significant and governments are held to account for its implementation. To support the Commonwealth’s first Closing the Gap Implementation
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Sector Leader M AG A Z I N E
Plan, the Australian Government is investing over $300 million in health infrastructure and support to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can access health services, when and where they need them. As part of the Australian Government’s $1 billion investment in new Closing the Gap measures, they’re investing $254.4 million in infrastructure to better support the critical work of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations (ATSICCHOs), which have been a significant part of the Government’s response to COVID-19. The Government is also investing $45 million to ensure the best start in life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, through the Healthy Mums and Healthy Bubs program. This funding is in addition to the $82 million for the Connected Beginnings Program, which includes
| August/September 2021
funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services. Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM MP said the program promotes healthy outcomes and healthy lifestyle choices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their babies. The Closing the Gap Implementation Plan sets a foundation for the Commonwealth’s efforts over the next decade in achieving the targets in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, signed by all Australian governments in July 2020. The Coalition of Peaks implementation plan has prioritised the need to build understanding of the National Agreement including its advantages to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities, and organisations, and so that collectively governments are held to account for its implementation.
