Who we are
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) is the national leadership body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Australia. NACCHO provides advice and guidance to the Australian Government on policy and budget matters and advocates for community-developed solutions that contribute to the quality of life and improved health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
NACCHO is the national peak body representing 145 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across the country on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing issues. NACCHO is the third largest employer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, with over 3,500 out of the 6,000 staff working in ACCHOs being either of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander background.
Our primary health care network represents a national footprint of more than 550 sites. ACCHOs provide 3.1 million episodes of care per year for almost 410,000 people across Australia, including about one million episodes of care in remote regions.
Many NACCHO members have almost 50 years of experience in the delivery of comprehensive primary health care. Services are delivered through fixed, outreach and mobile clinics operating in urban, rural and remote settings across Australia.
In 1997, the Federal Government funded NACCHO to establish a Secretariat in Canberra, which greatly increased the capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people involved in ACCHOs to participate in national health policy development.
The integrated primary health care model adopted by ACCHOS is in keeping with the philosophy of Aboriginal community control and the holistic view of health. Addressing the ill health of Aboriginal people can only be achieved by local Aboriginal people controlling health care delivery.
NACCHO is leading negotiations with the Commonwealth and state and territory governments on a genuine partnership to identify an agreement on both the process and the new Closing the Gap targets including health and health-related targets.
