The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) allows Australians with a disability to choose which agencies or people they wish to collaborate with to help achieve their goals. For Indigenous people, there are many positives to this scheme. It provides the opportunity to address the identified shortfalls of the former institutionalised service system, some of which...

Aurukun School in Cape York, far north Queensland, closed in May this year after a series of violent episodes directed at teaching staff. The school is one of the Cape York Academy schools operating under the stewardship of prominent Indigenous leader, Noel Pearson. Pearson was given state and federal funding to take over the running...

In supporting the work of the Australian Parliament, the Australian Parliamentary Service strives to uphold the principles of Australian democracy and the aspirations of a nation. These aspirations for our nation include reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. The Parliamentary Service is uniquely situated to take both a symbolic and...

More effective action is urgently required in order to reduce the unacceptable health inequalities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Food insecurity and nutrition-related chronic conditions are responsible for a large proportion of the ill-health experienced by Australia’s First Peoples who, before colonisation, enjoyed physical, social and cultural wellbeing for tens of thousands...

The Aurukun campus (the school) of the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA) is the hub of the Aurukun community. The teachers and staff of the school are dedicated and motivated by a collective desire to ensure the children of Aurukun become successful learners. Collectively, all stakeholders must work together to address the challenges facing...