‘Funds the symptoms, not the cure’: NACCHO welcomes budget investments but says structural reform still missing

The national peak body for Aboriginal community controlled health has welcomed targeted investments in the 2026-27 federal budget but says the package falls short of the structural reform the sector says is needed to close the health gap.

The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) issued its response Wednesday 13 May to a budget that committed approximately $1.2 billion over five years for First Nations communities and Closing the Gap. NACCHO welcomed the headline health investments while noting the absence of the needs-based ACCHO funding model the sector has spent nine years developing in partnership with the Department of Health Disability and Ageing.

Chief Executive Officer Dawn Casey said the budget funded “some of the symptoms” of health inequity but not the cure.

“The Treasurer said last night that global uncertainty is not a reason to delay reform; it is why we must move with urgency and ambition” Ms Casey said in NACCHO’s media release.

The needs-based ACCHO funding model designed to shift outcomes across a generation was not funded in the budget. Nor was the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme (IAHP) uplift the sector says is needed to begin addressing the funding gap or the full infrastructure investment NACCHO has identified as necessary.

NACCHO Chair Donnella Mills, a Torres Strait Islander lawyer, said the community-controlled investments in the budget demonstrated what the sector was capable of when government backed it.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been building this country, and caring for its people, long before the word resilience entered a Budget Speech,” Ms Mills said. “When the Treasurer speaks of a Future Made in Australia, I want that future to include us, not as a line item, but as architects and leaders of the solutions our communities need.”

The health-specific commitments include $144 million over two years for infrastructure upgrades to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations – including health clinics and associated housing for healthcare workers particularly in regional and remote communities. NACCHO has called the infrastructure funding a meaningful investment in the workforce backbone of the sector.

A further $53 million over five years will go towards renal dialysis services in regional and remote First Nations communities. $44 million over four years extends funding for 10 existing Birthing on Country services – the culturally safe community-led maternity care model that privileges First Nations knowledge connection to Country and holistic care.

The Birthing on Country investment aligns with the National Roadmap for Birthing on Country Services 2026-2036 – a 10-year reform agenda co-designed by more than 245 stakeholders including First Nations leaders community organisations health professionals and academics. The roadmap is led by the Molly Wardaguga Institute for First Nations Birth Rights at Charles Darwin University and aligns with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

13YARN – the national 24/7 crisis support line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – will receive $19 million over four years to expand its services. Of that allocation $13.9 million was previously announced by the Prime Minister in his February Closing the Gap statement and will fund a new culturally safe text message support service alongside the existing voice line.

13YARN CEO Marjorie Anderson said earlier this year demand for the service had grown sharply since the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum.

“People are carrying a lot at the moment,” Ms Anderson said. “The high number of calls reflects a combination of factors, including ongoing cost-of-living pressures, political uncertainty and recent national events contributing to increased distress.”

The new text line is being developed in partnership with Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit Australia) the national peak body for First Nations social and emotional wellbeing mental health and suicide prevention. CEO Rachel Fishlock said the investment addresses gaps identified by the Productivity Commission and brings 13YARN in line with national services like Lifeline Beyond Blue and Kids Helpline which already offer text or chat options.

For NACCHO the next step is the one that matters most. “We have done the work. We are ready to walk this road together,” Ms Mills said.

13YARN is available 24 hours a day on 13 92 76. Lifeline is available on 13 11 14.