The investment will deliver improvements to decades-old facilities as well as new health clinics and accommodation for workers.
The federal government has invested $100 million for 33 health infrastructure projects to bolster Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) across the country.
The investment will go towards constructing new clinics and renovating existing clinics, with many current ACCHS facilities between 20 and 40 years old, as well as upgrading accommodation for health workers.
Plans for the funding were co-designed with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation as a representative for the ACCHS sector, the announcement said.
The investment was confirmed by Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney at the Joint Council on Closing the Gap meeting, hosted in Adelaide, alongside Assistant Minister Malarndirri McCarthy and the lead convener of the Coalition of the Peaks Pat Turner.
“The Albanese Labor Government is committed to Closing the Gap in health outcomes,” Ms Burney said.
“Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services provide crucial medical care and are often the only health service available in rural and remote communities.
“The new and upgraded clinics will make it easier for First Nations people to access primary healthcare.”
The government previously announced $15 million to fund 10 major capital works projects for health infrastructure across Indigenous communities in May 2023, as well as more than $120 million in funding for 52 infrastructure projects aimed at improving First Nations health services, pledged in December 2022.
