On 21 June 2007 the Prime Minister, together with the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough, announced emergency response measures to protect Indigenous children in the Northern Territory.
The announcement followed the release of the Little Children are Sacred report from the NT Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse. As a result a whole of government coordinated operation, the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) was initiated.
A Taskforce was formed to advise the Prime Minister and the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs on issues surrounding the implementation and conduct of the response.
Indigenous child health checks
The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) has an important role in the whole of government response to the NTER. DoHA has been given specific responsibility to conduct individual child health checks of Aboriginal children in approximately 73 communities and a number of town camps in the NT over a period of six months.
The health checks, which are not compulsory, are standard child health checks consistent with the existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Health Check Medicare Item 708. This is a comprehensive check of the child’s health, wellbeing and social and environmental living conditions. The check includes organising investigations and referrals as required, providing preventive health advice and developing a plan for the good health of the child.
Children who have had a child health check (Medicare Item 708) in the last nine months will not need to have another one done.
Child Health Check Teams
More than 200 doctors and nurses have expressed interest in joining the Child Health Check Teams, offering to do between two to three weeks service in the Northern Territory. In assessing teams, consideration has been given to the health professionals’ previous experience, with experience in Indigenous health preferred. All participants need to be eligible for unconditional medical registration in the Northern Territory.
Child Health Check Teams include a doctor and up to three nurses and Aboriginal health workers who work in conjunction with local health services in the field. All members of the team receive nominal remuneration. These teams undertake two full days of orientation when they arrive in the Northern Territory, including cultural awareness and detailed instruction on child health check performance from consent procedures to clinical and reporting requirements and team functioning.
Local Indigenous health services provide advice on local communities. Orientation is conducted jointly by the DoHA and the Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia (CRANA) with contributions from relevant Northern Territory agencies including the Department of Health and Community Services.
The Child Health Check Teams have been valued by the communities they have visited.
The Chairman of the Ntaria Council in Hermannsburg, Mr Gus Williams, was willing to make his satisfaction with the role of the health team public. He wrote them a letter and had it published in the Centralian Advocate.
The letter stated, “The circumstances of your visit met with much anticipation, but as the result of the professional conduct of you and your staff, it left the community in no doubt that your presence is much appreciated … Rest assured that we will pass the word around to other community members not to be frightened, and to work with you.”
How to offer your services
Medical personnel can ring the DoHA Northern Territory Emergency Coordination Centre (NTECC) on (02) 6289 5800 to register their interest. You can also contact the Task Force Recruitment Hotline on (02) 6243 4855 (business hours only) to register your interest in this initiative.
