AIDA

Policy

AIDA is the peak national body representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors and medical students.

Our work advocates for a health system that is culturally safe, reflective of needs and inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s cultural values, which in turn will improve the health and life outcomes of our people.

AIDA produces policy papers addressing issues that affect our members and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health more broadly.

As a peak organisation, AIDA is represented on over forty medical, health and health workforce committees nationally and collaborate with a range of key stakeholders and affiliated organisations.

To contact the AIDA Policy Team, please email policy@aida.org.au

AIDA is a proud supporter of the Racism. It Stops with Me Campaign.

AIDA is a proud partner of the Coalition of Peaks.

The Australian and Torres Strait islander Medical Workforce Project

Growing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical specialists – Self-assessments provided by specialist medical colleges against minimum and best-practice standards aimed at attracting, recruiting and retaining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specialist trainees

AIDA and specialist medical colleges continue to collaborate on recruiting and retaining more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specialist trainees:

Over two years AIDA worked closely with specialist medical colleges to devise a total of fifteen standards that colleges agreed to implement and biennially report against. The ‘Growing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical specialists’ report released today is the first of these biennial reports.

Reports

Advocacy

AIDA is uniquely positioned to provide perspectives aimed at improving the health and life outcomes of our people. We work to create a health system that is culturally safe, reflective of needs and inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural values.

A complete list of our policy submissions, policy papers, and policy partners can be found under the ‘Advocacy’ tab on the left.

Policy Papers

2023

AIDA Position on the Voice to Parliament Referendum

2022

AIDA Policy paper Incarceration: the disproportionate impacts facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

2021

AIDA Position Statement: Cultural Safety

AIDA SRC Position Statement: Importance of Indigenous representation in university medical societies

AIDA Position Statement: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Patient Identification – COVID-19 release

2020

Climate change and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health

Ethics in Clinical Triaging Frameworks: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Earlier

AIDA stands with Yuendumu people after Kumanjayi Walker killing

Strong Futures: Strengthening the Path to Fellowship for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical Graduates

Federal Election 2019 – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical Workforce

Identification Position Statement

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical student retention

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctor mental health and emotional wellbeing in the health care system

Report on the findings of the 2016 AIDA member survey on bullying, racism and lateral violence in the workplace

Racism in Australias health system

Best Practice in Student Support for Indigenous Medical Students

The Role of Doctors in Closing the Gap

Cultural Safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Doctors, Medical Students and Patients

Health Impact Assessment of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Final Report

Improving the Transition into Health Careers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students

Pathways Into Specialties

Boatshed Racism Roundtable Declaration University of Western Australia Boatshed, Nedlands, Perth

Close The Gap Statement of Intent Indigenous Health Equality Summit

The Aotearoa Declaration International Indigenous Health leaders call for improvement in the health of Australia’s Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders

A Call for Health Equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Healthy Futures: Defining best practice in the recruitment and retention of Indigenous medical students

Policy Partnerships

AIDA is represented on approximately 45 health and medical workforce committees nationally and collaborate with a range of key stakeholders and affiliated organisations. The expertise that our Board and member representatives provide across these roles is shaping Indigenous health policy and the environments in which our members learn, train and work.

AIDA participates as a partner in a range of collaborations, including:

Coalition of Peaks, over 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled peak and member organisations across Australia
National Health Leadership Forum (NHLF), a collective partnership of national organisations who represent a united voice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing with expertise across service delivery, workforce, research, healing and mental health and social and emotional wellbeing.
Close the Gap Committee – Australia’s peak Indigenous and non-Indigenous health bodies, NGOs and human rights organisations are working together to achieve equality in health and life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Partnership for Justice in Health, a strategic partnership of health and legal organisations and individuals whose object is to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and justice outcomes through addressing racism at individual, institutional and systemic levels
Raise the Age, this campaign has been developed by a coalition of legal, medical and social justice organisations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community owned organisations to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
Racism. It Stops With Me, a national campaign that provides tools and resources to help people and organisations learn about racism and stand against it by acting for positive change.

AIDA is proud to have partnership agreements with the Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand (MDANZ), the Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) and the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC). These agreements are fundamental to developing a culturally safe medical education continuum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students and doctors.

Outcomes of the partnerships have included:

MDANZ- the biennial Indigenous Knowledge Initiative at the Medical Deans’ conference
MDANZ – National Medical Education Review: A Review of the Implementation of the Indigenous Health Curriculum Framework and the Healthy Futures Report within Australian Medical Schools
AMSA – Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students: a framework for medical societies