How do initiatives improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
Initiatives to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' health and wellbeing, and how they reflect the action areas of the Ottawa Charter and the principles of social justice
VCE HHD Unit 3 AoS 2 guide to initiatives improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, including Closing the Gap, mapped to the Ottawa Charter and social justice.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point asks you to describe initiatives that improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing, and to analyse how they reflect both the action areas of the Ottawa Charter and the principles of social justice. You must connect a real initiative to specific action areas and to ideas of equity, access, participation and rights.
The gap
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience poorer health status than non-Indigenous Australians, including lower life expectancy, higher rates of chronic disease, higher infant mortality and a higher burden of disease. These differences arise from a combination of biological, sociocultural and environmental factors, layered on the ongoing effects of colonisation, dispossession and discrimination. Initiatives aim to close these gaps.
Key initiatives
Closing the Gap is a national agreement between Australian governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations. It sets measurable targets such as closing the life expectancy gap, reducing child mortality, and improving birth weight, education and employment, and reports progress each year. Crucially, the current agreement is built on shared decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) deliver culturally safe primary healthcare that is planned and run by local Aboriginal communities. They combine clinical care with cultural understanding, outreach and prevention, improving access and trust.
Other initiatives include immunisation programs, maternal and child health programs, tackling Indigenous smoking programs, and the Indigenous Australians Health Programme funding.
Mapping to the Ottawa Charter
- Build healthy public policy - the Closing the Gap agreement and government funding commitments.
- Strengthen community action - community-controlled organisations and shared decision-making put communities in charge of their own health.
- Develop personal skills - culturally appropriate education on nutrition, smoking and chronic disease.
- Create supportive environments - culturally safe clinics and improvements to housing and clean water in remote communities.
- Reorient health services - ACCHOs reshape services around prevention, culture and the whole community rather than only treating illness.
Mapping to social justice
The principles of social justice are equity, access, participation and rights (often expressed as diversity).
- Equity - directing extra resources to the group with the greatest need, rather than treating everyone identically.
- Access - providing culturally safe services close to communities, including in remote areas.
- Participation - involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in designing and running programs.
- Rights and diversity - respecting culture, land connection and the right to good health.
In responses, name the initiative, link it to specific Ottawa Charter action areas, and show how it reflects named social justice principles, with the gap data as evidence of why the initiative is needed.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of VCAA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
2025 VCAA5 marksVACCA's Koorie Kids Playgroup is a program run by an Aboriginal community organisation.
a. Describe how VACCA's Koorie Kids Playgroup could help to promote health and wellbeing for this Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. (2 marks)
b. Explain how VACCA's Koorie Kids Playgroup could promote social justice for this Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. (3 marks)
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Part a (2 marks): Describe a clear pathway to better health and wellbeing. For example, the playgroup brings families together, building connection and a sense of belonging, which promotes social and mental health and wellbeing (1 mark), and it can share information on child development and nutrition, supporting children's physical health and wellbeing (1 mark).
Part b (3 marks): Social justice involves equity, access, supportive environments and the right to participate. The playgroup is culturally appropriate and community-led, giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families equitable access to early-childhood support that meets their cultural needs (1 mark). It empowers the community to make decisions about their own children and connect with culture, supporting participation and self-determination (1 mark). By targeting a group with greater need, it works to reduce inequities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians (1 mark).
2022 VCAA6 marksThe headspace 'Take a Step' campaign empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to manage mental health, recognising signs that something is not right and offering practical steps, considering culture, identity, place and spirituality, through national TV and radio advertisements and culturally appropriate online resources.
Identify and describe two action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion that are reflected in the 'Take a Step' campaign and explain how they are evident. (6 marks)
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Six marks: two action areas, each named, described and shown in the stimulus (3 marks each).
Develop personal skills (about 3 marks): this involves providing information and education so people can make healthy choices. It is evident because 'Take a Step' offers culturally appropriate fact sheets, videos and online resources that teach young people to recognise warning signs and take practical steps to look after their mental health and wellbeing.
Build healthy public policy or create supportive environments (about 3 marks): creating supportive environments means making settings that support health. It is evident because the campaign frames wellbeing holistically around culture, identity, place and spirituality and provides a community-based chat feature and resources for family and friends, creating a culturally safe, supportive setting. Name each action area exactly and tie it to a specific feature of the campaign.