What role should health issues play in the new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous Affairs?
Improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health will not occur by focusing exclusively on the health sector. It also requires commitments and action from other sections of government and the community. As recently noted: Much could also be gained if current initiatives to strengthen community capacity and coordinate investments in Indigenous communities are successful in addressing some of the social determinants of ill-health; and if Indigenous communities and governments are successful in fostering an environment that enables communities, families and individuals to engage more actively in sharing responsibility for their own health.305 For this reason, the new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs at the federal level provide a good opportunity to build on the strategic focus and structures that are in place to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health inequality. This is particularly through the coordination role of the Indigenous Coor
