Aboriginal Community Controlled Health

What are Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services?

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) are services devoted to the primary healthcare of Aboriginal people. Primary health generally means healthcare provided by a health care professional when a patient first has contact with the health system.

For Aboriginal people, primary health is about a whole community working together to achieve and maintain well being. Why?

Because it’s in a community that an individual is able to achieve their full potential as a human being and as a consequence, the whole community’s wellbeing improves.

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There are more than 150 ACCHS across Australia.

Some are multi-functional practices with various medical practitioners and others are smaller and rely on Aboriginal Health Workers and/or nurses to carry out most primary health care services.

Primary health care services often have a preventative and health education focus in the following areas:

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• Child and maternal health

• Oral and dental health

• Men's and women’s health

• Health checks

• Eye and ear health

• Preventative programs that focus on quitting smoking and healthy eating