First Nations people

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner: An Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who has gained a Certificate IV in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care Practice and is registered with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia. For more information, see the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia website.

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services: Primary health care services initiated and operated by local Indigenous communities to deliver comprehensive, holistic and culturally-appropriate health care to the community that controls it through a locally elected board of management. These services range from large multi-functional services employing several medical practitioners to small services that rely on nurses and/or Aboriginal health workers. For more information, see the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) website. See also Indigenous-specific primary health care organisations.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander: In most data collections, a person who identified themselves, or was identified by another household member, as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. For a few data collections, information on acceptance of a person as being Indigenous by an Indigenous community may also be required. See also Indigenous.

clan, tribal group or language group: A group of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who share a common language and/or clan or tribal membership.

household: A group of 2 or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling, and who make common provision for food or other essentials for living, or an individual living in a dwelling who makes provision for his or her own food and other essentials for living, without combining with any other person. See also Indigenous household and other household.

Indigenous: Used interchangeably with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. See also Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

Indigenous Areas (IAREs): Medium-sized geographical areas used to report data about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous Areas are one of three levels of geographic units within the Indigenous Structure of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Indigenous Areas are aggregates of one or more Indigenous Locations. For the 2016 ASGS, 430 Indigenous Areas are defined to cover the whole of geographic Australia. For more information, see the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme: A program established by the Australian Government on 1 July 2014 that consolidated 4 existing funding streams: primary health care, child and maternal health programs, Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory (Health), and programs covered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund. For more information, see the Australian Government Department of Health website.

Indigenous household: A household that contains one or more Indigenous Australians. See also Other household.

Indigenous Locations (ILOCs): Encompass small Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (urban and rural) with a minimum population of 90 Indigenous usual residents. Indigenous Locations are one of three levels of geographic units within the Indigenous Structure of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Indigenous Locations are aggregates of one or more Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). For the 2016 ASGS, 1,115 Indigenous Locations are defined to cover the whole of geographic Australia. For more information, see the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

Indigenous Regions (IREGs): Large geographical areas used to report data about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous Regions are one of three levels of geographic units within the Indigenous Structure of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Indigenous Regions do not cross state or territory borders and are aggregates of one or more Indigenous Areas. For the 2016 ASGS, 58 Indigenous Regions are defined to cover the whole of geographic Australia. For more information, see the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

Indigenous-specific primary health care organisations: Primary health care organisations that receive funding from the Australian Government Department of Health to provide primary health care services mainly to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The primary health care organisations include Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, state and territory managed organisations, Primary Health Networks and other non-government organisations.

Indigenous status: Whether a person identifies as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Indigenous Structure: Provides a geographical standard for the analysis and publication of statistics and other data about Indigenous people. It comprises 3 levels of geographic units in a single hierarchy: Indigenous Locations—formed by aggregating one or more Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s); Indigenous Areas—aggregates of Indigenous Locations; and Indigenous Regions—aggregates of Indigenous Areas.

At each level of the structure, the components collectively cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. The Indigenous Structure is one of the structures in the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). For more information, see the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

national Key Performance Indicators (nKPIs): A national set of indicators reported by Indigenous-specific primary health care organisations about their regular Indigenous clients. It includes process-of-care and health outcome indicators in the areas of maternal and child health, preventative health and chronic disease management.

non-Indigenous: People who indicated they are not of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. See also other Australians.

Online Services Report: A data collection that contains information about organisations funded by the Australian Government under its Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme (IAHP).

other Australians: People who indicated they are not of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin and those who did not state their Indigenous status. See also non-Indigenous.

other household: A household that does not contain one or more Indigenous Australians. See also Indigenous household.

Stolen Generations: Indigenous people who were forcibly removed from their families as a result of former government policies across Australian jurisdictions.