Roles of government and community in health: WACE Year 12 Health Studies Unit 3
“Examine the roles of government, non-government organisations and communities in health promotion and explain how partnerships improve health outcomes”
Health promotion is delivered by many players working together. Governments set policy, fund services and pass laws; non-government organisations run programs, advocate and reach groups that governments miss; and communities identify local needs, participate in decisions and own the solutions. No single sector can address health alone, so partnerships across sectors (intersectoral action) are essential, and the Ottawa Charter strategy mediate exists to coordinate them. WACE wants you to identify each role and explain how partnership improves outcomes.
What this dot point is asking
WACE expects you to know who does what and why they need each other. A strong answer describes the role of each player with an example, then explains how a partnership between them produces a better result than any one acting alone, especially for disadvantaged groups. Marks reward this connected, applied explanation rather than three separate lists.
The role of government
Government acts at federal, state and local levels and holds the most powerful health promotion levers. Federal and state governments build healthy public policy through laws, regulation and taxation, such as tobacco taxes, food labelling rules and mandatory vaccination requirements for some settings. They fund the health system, run population-wide campaigns, and collect the data that shows where inequities lie. Local government shapes the built environment through footpaths, parks, recreation facilities and food vending rules, making the healthy choice easier in everyday places.
Government's strength is scale and authority: only government can pass binding laws and fund universal services. Its limit is that it can be slow, politically constrained and distant from local needs, which is where other players become important.
The role of non-government organisations
Non-government organisations include charities, health-focused bodies and community groups. They run targeted programs, deliver services, raise awareness, conduct research and advocate to government for policy change. They often reach groups that mainstream services miss, such as people experiencing homelessness or specific cultural communities, because they are trusted and flexible. Their limit is that they usually depend on funding and have a narrower reach than government, so they work best alongside it.
The role of communities
Communities are not just recipients of health promotion; they are active partners. The Ottawa Charter action area strengthen community action recognises that communities know their own priorities, and that solutions they help design are more likely to be used and to last. Community participation builds capacity, ownership and trust, and it ensures programs fit the culture and circumstances of the group. A program imposed on a community without its input often fails, while one built with the community is far more durable.
Many determinants of health sit outside the health sector, in housing, education, transport and employment. Intersectoral action means these sectors work together on health, coordinated by the Ottawa Charter strategy mediate. A program to improve youth mental health, for instance, may combine schools, mental health services, local government and a youth charity. Each contributes what it does best, and the combined effort reaches further and lasts longer than any single agency could achieve.
How partnerships reduce inequities
Partnerships matter most for groups facing disadvantage, because reaching them requires both the scale of government and the trust of local and non-government players. Government can fund and legislate, a non-government organisation can deliver the program in a culturally safe way, and the community can shape it so it actually fits. This combination targets the determinants driving the inequity while ensuring the response is acceptable and sustained, which a single sector acting alone rarely achieves.
How this maps to the exam
Expect a stimulus describing a health issue or a program involving several organisations. Identify the role each player has, explain what each contributes, and show how their partnership improves the outcome, especially for the disadvantaged group. Link the coordination to the mediate strategy where relevant.
When a stimulus describes a program run by several organisations, the marks come from the partnership, not three separate descriptions. Build it like this.
Allocate the role each player brings
For a youth mental health program: state government funds it and sets policy, a youth mental health charity delivers counselling and outreach, a local school provides the setting and trusted staff, and the community of young people shapes what is offered. Name what each does best.
Explain why no single player could do it alone
Government has scale but lacks local trust; the charity has trust but limited funding and reach; the community knows its needs but cannot fund or legislate. Stating these limits sets up why the partnership is necessary.
Show the partnership mechanism
Explain how the contributions combine: government funding plus charity delivery plus the school setting plus community design means the program is both well-resourced and acceptable. Name this as intersectoral action coordinated by mediate.
Link to the disadvantaged group and durability
Conclude that the partnership reaches the disadvantaged group because it pairs government scale with local trust, targets the determinants, and is owned by the community, so it is more effective and lasting than any single sector acting alone.
Students often assume only government promotes health and overlook non-government organisations and communities. The marks come from showing all three roles and explaining the partnership between them. Always include the community as an active partner, not just a target, because community ownership is what makes programs last.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of SCSA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
WACE 2021-style8 marksExamine the roles of government, non-government organisations and communities in health promotion, and explain how a partnership between them can improve outcomes for a disadvantaged group.Show worked answer →
An 8 mark response needs all three roles with examples, then an explained partnership.
- Government
- Sets healthy public policy, funds services, legislates and collects data (for example tobacco tax, food labelling, funding campaigns). Strength is scale and authority; limit is it can be slow and distant from local needs.
- Non-government organisations
- Run targeted programs, advocate and reach groups mainstream services miss because they are trusted and flexible (for example a charity working with people experiencing homelessness). Limit is funding dependence and narrower reach.
- Communities
- Identify local priorities and own solutions, which makes programs fit and last (strengthen community action).
- Explain the partnership
- For a disadvantaged group, government funds and legislates, a non-government organisation delivers in a culturally safe way, and the community shapes the design so it fits. This intersectoral action (coordinated by mediate) targets the determinants while staying acceptable and sustained, which no single sector achieves alone.
Markers reward all three roles with examples and an explained partnership, not three separate lists.
WACE 2023-style4 marksExplain why intersectoral action is important in health promotion.Show worked answer →
A 4 mark response needs a definition and the reason it works.
Definition. Intersectoral action is different sectors (such as housing, education, transport and health) working together on health, coordinated by the Ottawa Charter strategy mediate.
Why important. Many determinants of health sit outside the health sector, so no single agency can address them alone. Each sector contributes what it does best, so the combined effort reaches further and lasts longer than one agency acting by itself.
Markers reward the definition and a clear link from out-of-sector determinants to the need for coordinated action.