Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s preferences for, use of, and access to primary health care 2025

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) includes questions about people's experiences and satisfaction with the health care they received. These questions were primarily asked of respondents aged 15 years and over, who were present at the interview and living outside remote areas. This means the data reflects the views of a specific subset of the population, and may not fully represent the experiences of those in remote communities or younger age groups.

Rating of overall health care received

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over living outside remote areas and who were present at the interview were asked to rate how good they felt the health care they received from GPs and other health services was in the last 12 months. Most of these rated their health care quite highly, with 72% (or an estimated 297,000 of 414,000) rating it as very good or excellent (Figure 29). Only 2% (or an estimated 8,100) rated it as poor.

*    Estimate has a relative standard error between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.

Notes:

1. Includes only those aged 15 and over who were physically present at the time of the interview and lived in non-remote areas.
2. Data are population weighted estimates.

Source: AIHW analysis of 2022–23 NATSIHS using TableBuilder (ABS 2025).

Disaggregation by usual source of health care (Aboriginal Medical Service or Community Clinic (AMS/CC) and mainstream GPs) showed little difference in the overall rating of health care.

Comparisons across survey cycles

Ratings for health care received have remained relatively stable across survey cycles, with most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over rating the health care they received as excellent or very good (Figure 30). There was a significant increase in those who rated the health care they received as excellent from 2012–13 (35% or 93,000 of 268,000) to 2018–19 (42% or 143,000 of 344,000).

Figure 30: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over, rating of health care received in the last 12 months, by survey cycle

*    Estimate has a relative standard error between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.

Notes:

1. Includes only those aged 15 and over who were physically present at the time of the interview and lived in non-remote areas.
2. Data are population weighted estimates.
3. While non-overlapping confidence intervals (CIs) generally indicate statistical significance, overlapping CIs do not necessarily imply that a difference is not significant. See Technical notes for more information.

Source: AIHW analysis of 2012–13, 2018–19 NATSIHS and 2022–23 NATSIHS using TableBuilder (ABS 2013, 2019, 2025).