Preferences for type of health care
People’s preferences for the type of health service they use are shaped by a range of factors, including availability or accessibility, familiarity, costs, previous experiences, waiting times, and relationships with individual health practitioners.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) asked respondents about what type of health service they would like to use if given the choice – but did not ask why they selected that particular type of service. Previous research, however, has shown that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) particularly value the welcoming and culturally safe environment in which care is delivered, its accessibility, and the flexibility and breadth of services offered (that is, comprehensive primary health care) (Gomersall et al. 2021; Mackean et al. 2025).
In 2022–23, 43% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (or an estimated 431,000 of 994,000) preferred an Aboriginal Medical Service or Community Clinic (AMS/CC) as their main source of health care, 48% (474,000) a mainstream general practitioner (GP), and 5.3% (52,700) a hospital (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, preferred source of health care, 2022–23
Bar chart shows that in 2022–23, less than 2% of (or an estimated 17,800) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people preferred to use a traditional healer.
| Preferred source of health care | Number |
|---|---|
| AMS/CC | 430,500 |
| Mainstream GP | 473,600 |
| Hospital | 52,700 |
| Traditional healer | 17,800 |
| Other | 19,000 |
| Preferred source of health care | Per cent |
|---|---|
| AMS/CC | 43.3 |
| Mainstream GP | 47.7 |
| Hospital | 5.3 |
| Traditional healer | 1.8 |
| Other | 1.9 |
Note: Data are population weighted estimates.
Source: AIHW analysis of 2022–23 NATSIHS using TableBuilder (ABS 2025a).
Preference for an AMS/CC was higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Outer regional, Remote, and Very remote areas, those living in areas with higher levels of disadvantage, and females compared with males (Figure 7).
The following data visualisation shows the distribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s preferred source of health care, by remoteness, state/territory, sex, SEIFA quintile, satisfaction level with cultural knowledge and whether they experienced any form of unfair treatment in the last 12 months.
Figure 7: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, preferred source of health care, by selected categories and survey cycle
Bar chart shows that in 2022–23, 74% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Very remote areas preferred to use an AMS/CC, compared with 37% in Major cities.
Notes:
- Data are population weighted estimates.
- 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 and 2022–23 NATSIHS using TableBuilder (ABS 2013, 2019, 2025a).
Highlighting the importance of culturally safe care, preference for an AMS/CC was also higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had experienced unfair treatment or discrimination in the last 12 months – 53% (or an estimated 72,200 of 137,000), compared with 40% (167,000 of 416,000) of those who had not experienced unfair treatment). Preference was also higher among those who were more satisfied with their own knowledge about their culture (53%, or an estimated 143,000 of 270,000) than among those who were neutral (34%, or 41,100 of 120,000) or not very/not at all satisfied (35%, or 65,400 of 187,000).
Preferences are also related to service availability – for example, the availability of AMS/CCs is highest in more remote areas as is the preference for AMS/CCs, while the opposite pattern is seen for mainstream GPs. This relationship is seen at the local level with 76% (or an estimated 67,500 of 88,500) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with only an AMS/CC in their local area preferring an AMS/CC, 6.5% (5,800) preferring a mainstream GP, and 14% (12,000) preferring a hospital (Table 2). Where both an AMS/CC and a mainstream GP were available in the local area, the preference for either was similar – 47% (or an estimated 282,000 of 595,000) for AMS/CC and 45% (270,000) for mainstream GPs.
Available in local area | AMS/CC | Mainstream GP | Hospital | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMS/CC only | 67,476 (76.3%) | 5,767 (6.5%) | 11,995 (13.6%) | 3,220 (3.6%) | 88,457 (100.0%) |
Both AMS/CC and mainstream GP | 281,930 (47.4%) | 269,878 (45.4%) | 27,787 (4.7%) | 15,033 (2.5%) | 594,629 (100.0%) |
Mainstream GP only | 77,268 (25.9%) | 195,266 (65.3%) | 10,892 (3.6%) | 15,391 (5.2%) | 298,817 (100.0%) |
Neither | 3,699 (30.7%) | 2,877 (23.8%) | 2,195 (18.2%) | 3,294 (27.3%) | 12,064 (100.0%) |
Total | 430,374 (43.3%) | 473,788 (47.7%) | 52,869 (5.3%) | 36,937 (3.7%) | 993,967 (100.0%) |
Note: Data are population weighted estimates.
Source: AIHW analysis of 2022–23 NATSIHS using DataLab (ABS 2025b).
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2013) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2012–13: TableBuilder [TableBuilder], ABS, Australian Government, accessed 3 February 2025.
—— (2019) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2018–19: TableBuilder [TableBuilder], ABS, Australian Government, accessed 3 February 2025.
—— (2025a) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2022–23: TableBuilder [TableBuilder], ABS, Australian Government, accessed 11 April 2025.
—— (2025b) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2022–23: DataLab [microdata], ABS, Australian Government, accessed 11 April 2025.
Gomersall JS, Gibson O, Dwyer J, O’Donnell K, Stephenson M, Carter D, Canuto K, Munn Z, Aromataris E and Brown A (2017) ‘What Indigenous Australian clients value about primary health care: a systematic review of qualitative evidence’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 41:417–423, doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12687.
Mackean T, Freeman T, Musolino C, Fry D, MacDougall C, Lewis V and Baum F (2025) ‘Leading the way: the contribution of Aboriginal community controlled health organisations to community health in Australia’, Australian Journal of Primary Health, 31(3), PY24223, doi:10.1071/PY24223.