IPAA CONFERENCE ADELAIDE

21 October 2010

Romlie MokakChief Executive Officer

Brief history of AIDA

• Salamander Bay, 1997

• AIDA established 1998

• Secretariat established in Canberra

• Strategic Plan, 2005

• New Constitution and Registered as a Company, 2008

• Moved into OPH, 2010

• Indigenous Governance Awards, 2010

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors

• Professor Helen Milroy first Aboriginal doctor, 1983

• By 1993, only another 7 graduate medicine

• In 2010:- 150 graduates- 160 students

• Most in General Practice

• Others:- Surgeon x 1- Obstetrician x 1- Cardiologist x 1- Paediatrician x 0- Ophthalmologist x 0- Radiologist x 0

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce

• Need to grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce, especially in health. Health is the largest employer in Australia.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is young and growing.

• Gaps start early and increases with age

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people employed in health-related occupations represent only 0.9 per cent of the total health workforce

• While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise 93 per cent of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers, they only comprised 0.3 per cent of medical workforce0.8 per cent of nurses0.5 per cent of allied health professionals

Leadership

• Move to Old Parliament House

• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professional organisations

• Growing our future leaders

• Accountability and transparency

Partnership

• Close the Gap Campaign

• Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand- LIME- AMC

• Medical Colleges

• Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors Congress

• Relationships with purpose

Scholarship• Aspirations and expectations

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals and organisations

• Actions at multiple levels – community, regional and national

Some observations

• Omnipresence of public policy

• Strengths not deficit

• Power and control

• Our knowledge and values in public policy

• Reversing the inverse care principle

• Connecting the dots

• Our people in the public service

• Longevity is gold