This background paper arose from the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) 2009 Final Report and its recommendations about future directions for primary health care. The recommendations for primary health care included 'community mental health', which led to concern that the scope and complexity of community mental health care had been overlooked or misunderstood.

Over 100 presentations and abstracts are now available from the 11th Australian Institute of Family Studies conference proceedings, held from 7 - 9 July 2010 at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

This paper presents the first data collected on one particular measure, namely access to primary health care.

One in six Australians suffers from some degree of hearing loss. By 2050 this is forecast to grow to one Australian in four. Hearing health is a mainstream health issue which touches the lives of most Australians in one way or another, yet as a public health issue it is not ranked as a national...

Indigenous Australians have often been described as highly mobile people--particularly in historical and remote ‘wilderness’ contexts. The literature paints a picture of regular, short-term population movement within and between desert, hinterland, and tropic regions of Australia, with significant implications for targeting and delivering a range of health, housing, and education services in these regions. To...