ATNS - Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements project

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National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes
Date:	1 July 2009
Date To:	30 June 2013
Sub Category:	COAG Agreement
Place:
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State/Country:	Australia
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Subject Matter:	Health and Community Services
URL:	http://www.curtin.edu.au/research/jcipp/local/docs/National_Partnership_Agreement_on_Closing_the_Gap_in_Indigenous_Health_Outcomes.pdf
Summary Information:
The National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes ('the Agreement') was established to address the 'Closing the Gap' targets related to health set out in the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (NIRA, 2008).
Detailed Information:
Finance The Agreement committed parties to $1.58 billion in expenditure over four years from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2013. It was to be implemented with the objectives and outcomes of all National Agreements and National Partnerships entered into by the Parties in the same period, as detailed in Attachment A1. Objectives, outcomes and outputs The Agreement centres on five priority areas; preventative health, primary health care, hospital and hospital-related care, improving patient experiences, and sustainability. It sets out the outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in relation to the priority areas, for example a reduced burden of tobacco related disease. It details expected outputs to achieve these outcomes, and allocates responsibility for each output to either the State or Territory or the Commonwealth or both. Examples of outputs include strategies to improve the cultural security of services and practice within public hospitals (state/territory responsibility) and implementing Indigenous specific smoking cessation and support services (shared responsibility). Performance indicators and benchmarks The agreement sets out the performance benchmarks related to each initiative at Clause 21. The Agreement specifies that targets will be agreed in Implementation Plans between the Commonwealth and each individual state or territory. Performance indicators are listed to help determine whether benchmarks are being met according to specified objectives and initiatives; Reporting and oversight Oversight of the Agreement is the responsibility of the Australian Health Ministers' Committee, through the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council.