Summary

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2012 report for the Australian Capital Territory finds areas of improvement in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the territory, including:

  • a significant increase in health assessments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 55 years and over recorded through Medicare since the introduction of the National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes in July 2009
  • corresponding increases in allied health-care services claimed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through Medicare since 1 July 2009. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have higher rates of general practitioner management plans and team care arrangements than non-Indigenous Australians
  • immunisation coverage rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are close to those for other Australian children by age 5
  • some improvements in literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Year 3 and 5 between 2009 and 2011
  • apparent retention rates from Year 7 to Year 10 and from Year 11 to Year 12 are higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Capital Territory than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nationally.

Areas of concern include:

  • high rates of smoking during pregnancy (51% total)
  • around half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over reported drinking alcohol at short-term risky/high-risk levels in the past 12 months, which was higher than the proportion for non-Indigenous people and for Indigenous people nationally
  • almost two-thirds (63%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over in the Australian Capital Territory have a disability or long-term health condition, which is higher than the proportion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people nationally (41%)
  • breast cancer screening rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are lower than for other women.