The Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum (NTAHF) is the key collaborative partnership guiding Aboriginal health planning across the Northern Territory. It brings together government agencies and Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHSs).
NTAHF has met quarterly since its first meeting in 1998. Its shared goal is to help in health outcomes by strengthening funding, improving systems, and ensuring resources go where they are most needed. NTAHF is responsible for the NT Closing the Gap socio economic targets for health and the related actions.
NTAHF was formed following strong advocacy from the ACCHS sector throughout the 1990s, calling for coordinated, long term health planning across all major service delivery, policy, and funding bodies.
- Northern Territory Department of Health (NTHealth)
- Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DHDA): First Nations Division and Primary Health Division
- NT Primary Health Network (NTPHN)
- Northern Territory Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet: Aboriginal Partnerships and Reform
- National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA)
- National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
- Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT)
AMSANT is the Secretariat for the NTAHF.
Key achievements of the Forum include:
- Leading the transition of government‑run primary health services to Aboriginal community control
- Increased primary health care funding through improved Medicare access for Aboriginal people
- Fairer distribution of resources using funding allocation formulas
- Agreement on core functions of primary health care
- Development of the NT Aboriginal Health Key Performance Indicators to monitor service delivery.
