Indigenous Health

The AMC is committed to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori people through all of its work. As a key part of this commitment, AMC acknowledges the right to self-determination and so is led by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori people when developing and delivering our work, as is likely to impact on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Peoples.

The AMC works with the Medical Board of Australia and Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand to develop the accreditation standards for medical schools and specialist colleges for both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

In considering this, the AMC also has a responsibility to reflect, as best it can, the bi-National voice of the Indigenous Peoples of both these Nations.

As such, the AMC elected to use the terms ‘Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori’ or ‘Indigenous’ as both these terms are widely understood in both Nations.

The language to refer to so many separate and diverse nations is viewed differently, and through these two terminologies, we seek to acknowledge and honour both our differences, and our shared knowledge and experience.

The Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Strategy for the AMC

The Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Strategy (2023-2028) maps the AMC’s influence in relevant sectors and the current reach of the AMC across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and identifies strategies to support cultural safety and Indigenous Health in all aspects of our work.

The Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Strategy supports the identified areas of action under the AMC Strategic Plan 2018–2028.

The Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Strategy expands on and replaces initiatives included in the AMC’s Reconciliation Action Plan (2019- 2021).

The AMC Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Policy Statement (2020) 

To show the clear intent of the AMC in relation to the Strategic Plan 2018- 28 (Pillar 3) commitment this statement acknowledges:  

• The Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the traditional and current custodians of country in Australia, and the Māori Peoples as the traditional and current custodians of country in Aotearoa New Zealand. 
• The status of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities in Australian and Māori communities in Aotearoa New Zealand as the Indigenous Peoples of the Land. 
• That due to historical and current colonial processes, protocols and policies, Indigenous Peoples continue to experience disparities in health outcomes. 
• That Indigenous Peoples have a right to health equity. 
• That Indigenous Peoples have a right to representation as stakeholders within health environments, health organisations and health training programs to ensure their rights to equitable and quality health services, a culturally safe workforce, and an increased Indigenous health workforce. 

• The AMC recognises that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Peoples are many different and distinct groups, each with their own culture, customs, language and laws.  
• The AMC further acknowledges that the right to self-determination, and both the acknowledgment of and commitment to overcoming both historical and present-day injustices towards Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Peoples.   
• That Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Peoples are critical to achieving health equity and ensuring Indigenous aspirations and expectations of well-being are met. 

Cultural Safety

As a key Strategic value of the AMC, we are working to ensure Cultural Safety is imbedded in all our work, in both the assessment of international medical graduates, the accreditation standards for medical schools and specialist colleges, and in all our policies (both internal and external) and publications.

We deliver regular cultural safety training to our staff, and work closely with our Committee Members and other key stakeholders to ensure that we continue to grow our understanding of what that means.

AMC Shared Language for Cultural Safety

The AMC acknowledges and supports the definitions widely used and supported, and notes that Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand have separate definitions for the term cultural safety and includes these definitions and their unique attributes in corresponding contexts.

We have actively sought to determine which language will best align with our organisation and stakeholders.  We note that each stakeholder will hold their own definition of these terms, and it is not the purpose of AMC to need those aligned.  However, we do want to provide clarity within the AMC and its committees to ensure that the language used is consistent.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) Cultural Safety Strategy

The AMC is a signatory to the National Scheme’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy 2020-2025, which aims to make cultural safety the norm for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients. It sets a clear direction and course of action for Ahpra and the National Boards who regulate Australia’s 740,000 registered health practitioners, and accreditation authorities whose accreditation standards and processes ensure that accredited programs are producing graduates who have the knowledge, skills and professional attributes to practice the profession in Australia.

For more information on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) Cultural Safety Strategy

Purpose, Values, Commitment, and Principles

In achieving the AMC purpose of ensuring that standards of education, training and assessment of the medical profession promote and protect the health of the Australian community, the AMC contributes to making health systems free of racism and inequality.

Our core values encompass collegiality, accountability to stakeholders and recognising the unique opportunity from partnering with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and Māori to learn about the diversity of cultural values.

The AMC is committed to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and Māori through its assessment and accreditation processes including equitable access to health services for Indigenous peoples.

The AMC’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Committee

In 2019, the AMC’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Committee (the Committee) was established as a Constituted Standing Committee to provide leadership and guidance for the AMC – an Indigenous Voice to the breadth of the AMC’s work, with the Chair of the Committee becoming a Director of the AMC.

Professor Shaun Ewen is the current Committee Chair and has a strong history with the AMC, serving on its Medical Education Standards Accreditation Committee (2015-19) and medical school accreditation teams.

Professor Ewen also served as a member on the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Strategy Committee, the predecessor to the current Standing Committee.

The primary purpose of the Committee is to ensure all matters of interest and responsibility of the AMC are strengthened by ensuring they are responsive to the needs and rights of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Peoples and communities.

It achieves this by including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Peoples in assessment, accreditation and strategic initiatives, from both historic and contemporary lenses, including the ongoing effects of colonisation and current inequalities, using communication and consultation practices that honour the cultural practices of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori communities.

Membership of the Committee includes: 

• AMC Directors,
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or Māori persons who are members of other AMC Committees,
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or Māori community members,
• A Representative of the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association,

• A Representative of the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education Network,
• A Representative of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, and
• A Representative of the Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa Māori Medical Practitioners Association.

The Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Committee is supported by the Indigenous Policy and Programs section of the AMC, who also support the other business units of the AMC to ensure that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori Peoples are considered and included in all of the AMC’s work in an inclusive, culturally safe, and appropriate way.

The IPP team consults on projects for other AMC business units and facilitates the use of Indigenous business practices and consultations with and for Indigenous Peoples.

Our Health Principles

• We recognise Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and Māori as First Nations peoples.
• We include First Nations peoples perspectives across the assessment and accreditation processes of the AMC.
• We maintain accreditation standards and procedures across the medical education continuum that ensure education programs have learning outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori health and settings and resources to achieve stated outcomes. We support a health model that promotes the emotional, social, spiritual and political aspects of health in a holistic way.
• We support targeted, evidence-based action that will contribute to decreasing the burden of disease, increase the life expectancy and enhance the development of a workforce that is cognisant of and responsive to the needs of First Nations peoples.
• We support education and training that ensures doctors are aware of the impact of their own culture and cultural values on the delivery of services, historically and at present, and have knowledge of, respect for and sensitivity towards the cultural needs of First Nations peoples.

AMC Definitions of Terms for Cultural Safety, Competency and Proficiency

The AMC acknowledges and supports the definitions widely used and supported, and notes that Australia and New Zealand have separate definitions for the term cultural safety and includes these definitions and their unique attributes in corresponding contexts.  

We have actively sought to determine which language will best align with our organisation and stakeholders.  We note that each stakeholder will hold their own definition of these terms, and it is not the purpose of AMC to need those aligned.  However, we do want to provide clarity within the AMC and its committees to ensure that the language used is consistent.   

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) Cultural Safety Strategy

The AMC is a signatory to the National Scheme’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health and Cultural Safety Strategy 2020-2025, which aims to make cultural safety the norm for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients. It sets a clear direction and course of action for Ahpra and the National Boards who regulate Australia’s 740,000 registered health practitioners, and accreditation authorities whose accreditation standards and processes ensure that accredited programs are producing graduates who have the knowledge, skills and professional attributes to practice the profession in Australia.  

For more information on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) Cultural Safety Strategy 

Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) – the founding document of New Zealand

The Treaty of Waitangi establishes the basis for Māori rights to health equity through conferring on the Crown a responsibility to protect Māori and, on Māori the rights of equal citizenship, including the right to parity of outcomes. Over time, the Waitangi Tribunal and the courts have established a body of jurisprudence in the form of principles of the Treaty that further outline the responsibilities of both government and Māori. Chief amongst these in the health sector context are the principles of Partnership, Participation and Protection. 

For further information on the responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, see the Medical Council of New Zealand strategic plan