Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing.

Significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards zero.

Proportion of people who reported experiencing one or more barriers accessing health services.

There are two measures for this indicator.

Measure 1 is the proportion of people reporting they did not visit a health service provider when needed in the previous 12 months by type of service (GP/clinic doctor, counsellor, dentist, other health professional, hospital), defined as:

Numerator – number Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reporting they did not visit a health service provider when needed in the past 12 months, by type of service

Denominator – total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the population

and is presented as a percentage.

Measure 2 is the proportion of people reporting a specific type of barrier(s) to accessing a health service provider by type of service (general practitioner (GP)/clinic doctor, counsellor, dentist, other health professional, hospital), defined as:

Numerator – number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reporting they did not visit a health service provider in the previous 12 months due to a specific barrier (e.g. affordability, cultural safety), by type of service

Denominator – total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the population

and is presented as a percentage.

National Agreement on Closing the Gap July 2020

30 June 2022

Contextual information

For both measures, a low or decreasing proportion is desirable.

Name: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS)

Frequency: Six‑yearly Documentation (links): National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2018-19 financial year | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

Provider name: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Provider area: Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics

Both measures

2018–19

Both measures

2018–19

State and territory, and Australia.

Numerator divided by Denominator multiplied by 100.

Counting rules

The data relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in private dwellings in remote and non‑remote areas of Australia, including discrete Indigenous communities.

Geographical variables are based on a person's place of usual residence.

The scope of people differs across service types by age, with data collected for the NATSIHS for those aged:

• zero years and over for GP/clinic doctor, other health professionals and hospitals
• two years and over for dentists
• 18 years and over and present at interview for counsellor.

ABS TableBuilder has been used to source the data for this indicator (all measures). Numbers in TableBuilder are rounded to the nearest 100. Proportions are calculated from rounded values.

Measure 1

A person is counted for each service type that they report not visiting when needed in the previous 12 months. For example, if a person reports not visiting a GP and a counsellor, they will be counted in both service types.

Measure 2

The barriers for not visiting a health care professional were grouped by the Productivity Commission into five categories:

• affordability
• cultural safety, which comprises discrimination, service not culturally appropriate, language problems, does not trust this health service provider, dislikes service or health professional, afraid, embarrassed
• time and physical accessibility, which comprises transport/distance, service not available in area, waiting time too long or service not available at the time required
• busyness (work, personal, family responsibilities)
• other, which comprises decided not to seek care, felt it would be inadequate and other.

The sum of proportions across barriers may exceed the total proportion of people who did not visit a health service provider when needed in the past 12 months as people may have reported more than one barrier to going to a health service provider.

Supporting calculations

• 95% confidence intervals. See ‘How to interpret the data’ for further information: https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/how-to/interpret-data.

The data for these measures aligns with similar measures in the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework report.

Estimates that have a relative standard error between 25% and 50% should be used with caution. Estimates with a relative standard error of 50% or more are considered too unreliable for general use.

The final sample has been weighted to population benchmarks which align with the scope of the survey to account for under coverage. See NATSIHS explanatory notes for further information: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey methodology, 2018-19 financial year | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

The data values have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data. Discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.

Future reporting will seek to include the following additional disaggregations:

• remoteness areas
• socio‑economic status of the locality
• gender
• age groups.