Table 1 Summarised policy timeline in the development of the AHW role

1950s – 1990s

• The first AHW roles commenced with the employment of Aboriginal women as leprosarium workers and hospital assistants in Northern Territory in the 1950s and 60s.

• Development of the role in the 1970s and 80s followed national recognition of the need for an accessible and culturally safe workforce to address government or ‘mainstream’ health service gaps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and adopted a primary health care focus.

• Australia’s first Aboriginal community controlled health service was established in Redfern in 1971, with services subsequently established Australia-wide. The developing community-controlled sector championed the role of AHWs as key members of multidisciplinary primary healthcare teams.

• AHWs were recognised as a professional group in the Northern Territory through the Northern Territory Health Practitioners and Allied Health Professionals Registration Act 1985, which addressed restrictions on entry, registration, title, practice and disciplinary provisions.

• National competency standards were developed for AHWs in 1996, although these were not universally adopted.

2000s – current

• A 2000 report, Training Re-Visions: A National Review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Training by the Commonwealth Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health addressed AHW training priorities following a national review.

• The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association (NATSIHWA) was established in 2009 as the peak national body for AHWs and Practitioners in Australia, following Australian Government commitments to strengthen the AHW workforce as part of ‘Closing the Gap’.

• The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework (2011–2015) prepared for the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council, emphasised the role of AHWs in achieving equitable health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

• Health Workforce Australia’s National Health Workforce Innovation and Reform Strategic Framework for Action (2011–2015) emphasised the need to increase the number of AHWs working in the health sector to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

• Health Workforce Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Project Final Report (‘Growing Our Future’) released in 2011 articulated policies and strategies to strengthen and sustain the AHW workforce in Australia.

• From 1 July 2012, AHWs who have gained Certificate IV in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care Practice can register as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. AHWs are not required to register unless deemed necessary for employment purposes. Health Practitioners previously regulated by the NT Boards are now regulated under the national Scheme.

• The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework (2016–2023), developed within the context of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023, guides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce policy to build a strong and supported health workforce capable of providing culturally-safe and responsive health care.