Environmental health is a fundamental determinant of health and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Yet, despite decades of investment and service delivery, many of the underlying drivers of environmental health inequities remain complex, interconnected and influenced by systems that were not designed with First Nations communities at their centre. Recognising this challenge, Queensland Health’s ongoing investment in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Health Program, that operates within Queensland 16 First Nations Local Governments and their 34 communities, is committed to the critical need to transform the way government works and partners with communities, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sectors and other stakeholders. This transformation is essential to achieving positive and sustainable environmental health outcomes across Queensland’s First Nations peoples.
This commitment aligns with the principles of Closing the Gap Priority Reform 3: Transforming Government Organisations, which calls for embedding First Nations leadership and decision making in policies and practices that impact their communities. The program is guided by an understanding that health is holistic and extends beyond physical infrastructure and environmental conditions. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, wellbeing is intrinsically connected to mind, body and spirit and to relationships with family, community, culture and Country. This requires environmental health approaches that move beyond transactional service delivery and instead centre care, connection, community strengths and local knowledge.
Rather than focusing solely on what is lacking, the Program seeks to recognise and build upon what is already in front of us and recognise and build upon the strengths, leadership, resilience and expertise that exist within communities and within Government. Through a commitment to First Nations leadership, partnership and systems thinking, the Program is exploring how government can shift from delivering perceived solutions to enabling community-led outcomes. This approach reflects the broader goals of Priority Reform 3, which emphase the importance of walking together in two worlds, respecting cultural notions of time and process and fostering genuine partnerships that dismantle systemic barriers and empower First Nations communities to lead. By embedding these principles, the Program aims to not only address immediate environmental health challenges but also contribute to the long-term transformation of government organisations, ensuring they are responsive to the needs, aspirations and leadership of First Nations peoples.
Ultimately, this presentation invites participants to consider how environmental health can become a vehicle for broader systems transformation, one that places First Nations voices, knowledge and holistic concepts of health at the centre of decision-making, policy and practice.