Indigenous health

The Indigenous Nation-led learning charter sets the aspirations for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners learning on a specific Country. It provides guidance and leadership in partnership with schools that centres First Nations learners

Hayley McQuire · Melinda Mann

It will take decades for the gaps to close completely at the current rates of change

Esther Davis

This issue of the MJA is the second of this year with a specific focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. It includes three articles that were originally selected by the Guest Editors for the NAIDOC week Special Issue, which was published in July, 2025.1,2 We were in the fortunate position of having too many accepted articles for that issue, so we are delighted to now publish them, alongside other articles on Indigenous health that went through regular MJA editorial processes. Two of the articles previously selected are research articles: a study by Alasdair Vance and colleagues evaluates Elder‐governed cultural therapy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people with mental health conditions,3 and Karrina DeMasi and colleagues describe the development of an Aboriginal women‐led maternal and child health model when cardiometabolic complications are experienced in pregnancy.4 The third article is a perspective from Paul Gray and colleagues that discusses the need to move towards epistemic pluralism, cultural safety, and critical reflexivity in Australian psychology.5 Together, these articles reflect the depth and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Islander‐led research and community, strength‐based approaches. These values are also reflected in the other articles of this issue, which demonstrate a huge diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research and critical thought, ranging from voluntary assisted dying in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, to exploring the need for meaningful partnerships in health and medical research grant applications. This issue was timed for the 18th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — an important international resolution. The editorial for this issue reflects on the Declaration and, despite endorsing it, the failure of successive Australian governments to incorporate it into national law. As the editorial concludes “The 18th anniversary of UNDRIP is a historical marker but serves as a powerful call to action. It reminds us that health is inextricably linked to human rights, self‐determination and cultural integrity”. The cover for this issue of the MJA features an image of Mer Island in the Torres Strait. Sophie Pitt, who authored the editorial, explains the how this image calls us to recognise the links between the escalating climate crisis, Indigenous rights, and health, as it represents “both a celebration of the enduring connection to Country and a reminder of what can be lost” (Box). For this issue, as for the previous NAIDOC week issue, we are very grateful for all the expertise and wisdom generously provided by the Guest Editors, and the care they took in assessing and selecting papers for these two Indigenous health issues. Box – Cover connection

Virginia Barbour

Examination of an Australian government scheme to fund health and medical research targeted at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Heather McCormack · Troy Combo · Bridget G Haire

Paul J Beggs · Alistair J Woodward · Kathryn Bowen

We are very proud that this MJA Special Issue on Indigenous health — “Carving our path with spirit, strength and solidarity” — is the second to be edited by a team of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Guest Editors: Professor Pat Dudgeon (Bardi), Professor Jaquelyne Hughes (Wagadagam), Associate Professor Michelle Kennedy (Wiradjuri), Professor Kelvin Kong (Worimi), Professor Odette Pearson (Eastern Kuku‐Yalanji and Torres Strait Islander), and Associate Professor Paul Saunders (Biripi). This Special Issue consists of work led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and that underwent careful assessment, discussion, and guidance by the Guest Editors across all stages of the editorial and publication process. The final published articles reflect the care that went into this undertaking. The Editorial1 for this Special Issue is a reflective piece by the Guest Editors, where they examine the vision and impact of this issue. This year, as last,2 we received many more articles than could be accommodated in one issue, and we plan to publish additional articles from this Special Issue process later in the year. At the MJA, we understand the privilege that it is to publish articles from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers. We also understand that a journal like the MJA has a duty to acknowledge and address the imbalance of power that has led in the past to publication in the MJA being a hard and uncomfortable experience for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors. As editors of this Journal, we have an ongoing commitment to ensuring that the MJA is a welcoming and respectful place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and their publications, and we look forward to receiving future submissions. For the MJA team, it has been an enormous privilege to work with the Guest Editors, and we thank them for their generosity in sharing their time and expertise. We are also very privileged to have on the cover of this Special Issue the powerful carving by Uncle Paul Scott that describes the issue's purpose (Box). His story is a reminder of a shared future: “a story of resilience, of shared journeys, and of walking together, side by side, with respect for each other and the land beneath our feet”. Box – Artist's story

on behalf of the <em>MJA</em> team

This perspective reports on a highly collaborative research process through which a clear definition of decolonising primary health care practice in an Australian context has been developed, and how this can be applied

Tamara J Mackean · Kim O'Donnell · Juanita Sherwood · Shane D'Angelo · Madison Shakespeare · Cleone Wellington · Toby Freeman · Anna M Ziersch · Matt Fisher · Deborah A Askew · Judith M Dwyer · Annette J Browne · Fran Baum AO

The core elements of a First Nations cancer care coordination role developed by iterative yarning with First Nations stakeholders, audits of current care, and recommendations from existing patient coordinator programs

Mollie C Wilson · Marissa Mulcahy · Jennifer Philip · Brian H Le · Gail Garvey

An Aboriginal desktop review team evaluated the preliminary self-assessments of primary medical education providers to gauge how they are currently positioned to meet the new standards pertaining to First Nations health, cultural safety, and equity

Paul Saunders · Nicole Mercer · Maria Mackay · Ian Lee · Madelyne Hudson‐Buhagiar · Miriam Cavanagh · Emma Milliss · Melody Muscat · Kathleen Martin · Adam Shipp · Melissa Johnson · Belinda Gibb

The NLCSP provides a timely opportunity to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, it is critical that the program is tailored to the needs of each community and upholds rights to self-determination to be successful

Tanika L Ridgeway (Worimi) · Kayden Roberts‐Barker (Wiradjuri) · Kade Booth · Michelle Kennedy (Wiradjuri)

Supriya Subramani

Geographic considerations are of crucial significance in dementia epidemiology, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Antonia J Clarke · Marwan Ahmed · Judith M Katzenellenbogen · John Towney (Wiradjuri) · Anna H Balabanski · Adrienne Withall (Dharawal Yuin) · Kylie Radford · Amy Brodtmann