Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund

$833 M program to improve the prevention, detection, and management of chronic disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

About

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund is an Australian Government initiative, administered by the Department of Health and Ageing (the department), designed to improve the prevention, detection, and management of chronic disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to contribute to the Government’s target of closing the gap in life expectancy within a generation.

The current gap in life expectancy is estimated at 11.5 years for males and 9.7 years for females. Chronic diseases (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer) are the major causes of mortality, and 70% of the gap in health outcomes is due to chronic disease.

Reducing the burden of chronic disease requires effective delivery of prevention programs and a comprehensive, well-coordinated primary health care system for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund is helping to build a health system that meets the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, providing support to both Indigenous-specific health services and general practices.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund was established in the 2011 Budget and came into operation on 1 July 2011. Following a consultation period from September to October 2011, the Department of Health and Ageing has developed these guidelines to set out the arrangements for the administration of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund.

Objectives

The objective and priorities for the Fund are consistent with those of the Indigenous Chronic Disease Package.

The primary objective is to improve the prevention, detection and management of chronic disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to increase life expectancy. The three priority areas targeted are:

Tackling chronic disease risk factors – to reduce the key risk factors that contribute to chronic disease such as smoking, poor nutrition, obesity and lack of exercise, and deliver prevention programs and community education initiatives to reduce the prevalence of these risk factors in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.
Primary health care services that can deliver – to improve access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to best practice chronic disease management and follow-up care by general practices and Indigenous health services.
Fixing the gaps and improving the patient journey – to build the capacity of the primary health care workforce to increase the use of health services by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with, or at risk of developing, chronic disease.

Funding

The Total Value of funds available under the Fund is $833.27 million over the four years ending 30 June 2015.

This amount includes funding that has been committed to the existing activities that were consolidated into the Fund as well as additional funding of 2.5% per annum to reflect the growth in the Indigenous population. The Australian Government will continue to provide additional funding of 2.5% per annum to reflect the growth in the Indigenous population thereafter. This will maintain the real per capita funding level for health care provision.

Aim

The aim of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund is to improve the prevention, detection, and management of chronic disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to increase life expectancy and contribute to the Government’s target of closing the gap in life expectancy within a generation.

The majority of the funding for this Fund relates to programs from the Indigenous Chronic Disease Package. Implementation of the initiatives from the package will continue in line with the Commonwealth’s Implementation Plan and the Government’s commitments under the National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes. Consolidation of the funding will provide additional flexibility to respond to changing needs and priorities.

The Government has allocated some $834 million over the next four years to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund.

Eligible Projects

Activities to be supported under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Chronic Disease Fund include those currently supported under:

Indigenous Chronic Disease Package:
National Action to Reduce Indigenous Smoking Rates
Helping Indigenous Australians Reduce Their Risk of Chronic Disease
Local Indigenous Community Campaigns to Promote Better Health
Subsidising PBS Medicine Co-payments
Supporting Primary Care Providers to Coordinate Chronic Disease Management – Care Coordination and Supplementary Services Measure
Improving Indigenous Participation in Health Care Through Chronic Disease Self Management
Increasing Specialist and Allied Health Follow-up Care
Monitoring and Evaluation
Workforce Education and Training
Expanding the Outreach and Service Capacity of Indigenous Health Organisations
Engaging Divisions of General Practice to Improve Indigenous Access to Mainstream Primary Care
Attracting More People to Work in Indigenous Health
Clinical Practice Guidelines – Primary Health Care Resource
Rheumatic Fever Strategy – National Coordination Unit
Closing the Gap: Improving Eye and Ear Health Services for Indigenous Australians for Better Education and Employment Outcomes – training of Aboriginal Health Workers in ear health and monitoring and screening.

To be considered for funding, applicants must propose to undertake activities that meet the objective and priorities for the Fund, and comply with the terms of the application documentation. Matters such as:

project activities/items that will be considered eligible;
any funding caps (minimum and/or maximum limits);
any restrictions on Start/End dates for activity, for example all projects must be completed within the stated Financial Year/s;
any restrictions around whether funding will be provided only for new or additional work; and
any restrictions on when funding must be expended by, for example, all funding will be available from [insert date] and must be expended by [insert date] will be included in any application documentation, as required.

Eligible Applicants

To date, the majority of funding has been directly allocated to service delivery organisations and this approach will continue up to and beyond 30 June 2013 (subject to demonstrated evidence of its effectiveness and the availability of funding) i.e. in most cases, currently funded organisations will be approached by the department to negotiate grant funding arrangements.

On occasions when funding is made available through application-based processes, applicants from a wide range of non-government and government entities are encouraged to apply. Applicants may be able to apply for funding from more than one Flexible Fund. Applicants are not required to have had a prior funding relationship established with the department, but must be a legal entity to be eligible for funding, for example:

Incorporated Associations (incorporated under state/territory legislation, commonly have ‘Association’ or ‘Incorporated’ or ‘Inc’ in their legal name);
Incorporated Cooperatives (also incorporated under state/territory legislation, commonly have “Cooperative’ in their legal name);
Companies (incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 – may be not-for-profit or for-profit proprietary company (limited by shares or by guarantee) or public companies);
Aboriginal Corporations (incorporated under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2006 and administered by the Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations);
Organisations established through a specific piece of Commonwealth or state/territory legislation (many public benevolent institutions, churches, universities, unions etc);
Partnerships;
Trustees on behalf of a Trust;
state/territory or local governments; and
where there is no suitable alternative, an individual or – jointly and separately – individuals.

Expert Assistance

Writing a good quality grant application is a critical element in the application process. An application needs to be well thought through, written concisely, have clear objectives and purpose, and show clear links to the objectives of the grant guidelines.

The grant application must answer all questions, provide all required information and respond to the merit criteria. It should also reflect your organisation’s business strategy.

Writing a good application takes time and effort, and requires particular writing skills.

Bulletpoint are expert grant consultants and can assist with all aspects of grant preparation.

Call us on (03) 9005 6789 or email to discuss further.

We have significant experience in applying for grants. Typical areas where we can be of assistance include:

Demonstrating the identified need;
Highlighting the relevance to current government policies and priorities;
Complete the Project Plan and Budget Projections;
Identify Outcomes that are measurable;
Detail the applicant organisation’s experience or expertise in undertaking the project/s;
Calculating the value for money; and
Demonstrating capacity to deliver quality outcomes

Timing

Applications for the Rural Health Outreach Fund close 25 January 2013.

Additional Information

This website is presented by Bulletpoint for the purpose of disseminating information free of charge for the benefit of the public. The material on this website may include the views or recommendations of Bulletpoint, which do not necessarily reflect the views of the relevant government body, organisation or granting body. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of the information presented above. Potential applicants should view source websites for the lastest program information.