In 2024, in collaboration with the NT Department of Housing, Local Government and Community Development (DHLGCD) NT Health initiated the Healthy Homes Program. The program recognises housing and living conditions as key social determinants of health for Aboriginal people and aims to strengthen cross-sector collaboration to improve environmental health outcomes in remote communities.
The Healthy Homes Team has supported Health Habitat in the delivery of Housing for Health and Maintaining Houses for Better Health projects in Alice Springs, Yirrkala, Gunyangara, Ramingining and Milingimbi. Activities were planned, prioritised and designed in collaboration with local health and community stakeholders to add value to these bigger projects.
Partnerships with external stakeholders have also been strengthened through joint initiatives, including integrated pest control strategies, environmental health systems thinking maps and data integration efforts.
The program is focussed on embedding Healthy Homes approaches into routine environmental health and housing practices to support sustainable improvements in housing-related health outcomes. The Healthy Homes team have developed a MyLearning package for those working within the health and housing space. It covers the link between housing and health, the impact of environmental health on health outcomes as well as describing roles and responsibilities of different departments and organisations within remote communities.
The implementation of the Healthy Homes Program has faced a number of challenges including:
-Turnover of staffing within the Healthy Homes team;
-Staffing changes and engagement issues within other agencies including housing, as well as external organisations:
-Competing demands of emergency management responsibilities following extreme weather events in 2025; and
-Ongoing governance and decision-making delays.
These challenges are being managed and will inform refinement of priorities as the program progresses.