The right to health in Australia

The right to health is administered through Federal and State Departments of health.

The Department of Health and Ageing is the Federal Government Ministry responsible for the right to health. Within the Department for Health and Ageing is the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH).

The Department of Health and Ageing has four Ministers and one Parliamentary Secretary.

Minister for Health and Ageing – The Hon Nicola Roxon MP

Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Services Delivery – The Hon Warren Snowdon MP

Minister for Ageing – The Hon Justine Elliot MP

Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth, and Minister for Sport.

Parliamentary Secretary for Health – The Hon Mark Butler MP

Leadership and responsibility for the right to health in Australia is also distributed between:

Close the Gap

Closing the Gap

Council of Australian Governments

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Policies

Health Laws

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare

 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner

 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Aging

State and Territory Heath Quality and Complaints Commissions

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Welfare Unit (within the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)

Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (Australian Government Department)

To learn more about how Housing can affect the ability of someone to achieve their right to health, please click here.