Summary

This report brings together, from a wide variety of sources, information about the health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Much of the data comes from sources that cover all Australians but which separately identify Indigenous Australians. Other sources include special purpose ABS surveys, such as the 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey (NATSIS), the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS), the Indigenous supplement to the 2001 National Health Survey (NHS (I)), administrative data from government systems and data from service delivery programs that are Indigenous
specific.

The report primarily presents a broad picture at the national level and, wherever possible, uses existing and new data sources to reflect the diversity of the Indigenous population, including a separate chapter about Torres Strait Islander people. Also where possible, changes over time in the health and welfare outcomes for Indigenous people are described. The disparities in health and welfare between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are also explored.