About IAHA
Indigenous Allied Health Australia
Indigenous Allied Health Australia Inc, the peak allied health body for Indigenous people in Australia, was incorporated in June 2009, with a Board of Management of Indigenous allied health professionals. Our vision is to achieve the same quality of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
IAHA aims to achieve this vision through three key objectives:
1. Contribute to improved knowledge and competencies of allied health practitioners working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities.
• Advocate for excellence in tertiary curricula addressing socio-cultural and economic determinants of Indigenous health
• Provide educational events, resources & learning opportunities for allied health practitioners to gain the understanding, knowledge and skills to be culturally competent
2. Contribute to improved allied health services for Indigenous people and communities
• Encourage & facilitate a greater number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health professionals
• Develop & contribute to Indigenous health policy and planning
3. Provide effective support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of IAHA
• Facilitate collegial networks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health professionals
The IAHA Board comprises Indigenous allied health professionals of the following allied health professions: dietetics; exercise sport sciences; occupational therapy; pharmacy; physiotherapy; podiatry; psychology; social work; speech pathology; radiography. All of the allied health professions are represented by IAHA.
Indigenous allied health professionals and students are eligible to be full members of IAHA. Non-Indigenous allied health professionals and students are eligible to be associate members.
Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) website
This website is for Indigenous allied health professionals and students wishing to network together, share information and ideas and join in the activities of this Indigenous lead allied health professionals association. The website is also for non-Indigenous allied health professionals and students who wish to be better informed about Indigenous Australians’ culture, society and requirements of health services and who wish to contribute to strategies to improve Indigenous health in Australia.
Within this IAHA website, allied health professionals around Australia can join in discussions and share information and ideas with peers within their profession, or collectively with their 'allies in health' - their allied health colleagues collectively. As well as discussing aspects of service delivery specific to their profession, they can discuss service delivery with Indigenous clients and communities in urban, rural and remote settings. A key purpose of these website discussions is to also plan strategies: to encourage more young Indigenous people to see allied health as a career option and to support these students through to tertiary education; to support Indigenous allied health students through the tertiary courses and placements; and to improve the teaching of Indigenous health and service delivery in allied health courses - to better equip allied health professionals to provide culturally sensitive services.
The development of the IAHA website by the Indigenous Allied Health Network Project was funded by the Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing.
The IAHA website provides members of the public with easy to follow links to learn about: the various allied health professions; which universities offer allied health courses and relevant post graduate courses; what support schemes and scholarships are available for Indigenous allied health students; as well as other organisations concerned with Indigenous health.
Additional information and links for this website are very welcome - please CONTACT US.
