Big milestones, bigger impact: Reflecting on the last year at Yagilaith Djerring
Gemma Bates enrolled in the HLT40221 Certificate IV in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care Practice to build a career. What she didn’t expect was for it to change her whole family.
“Doing the AHP course helped me better understand health and encouraged my family to engage more with our local health service,” she says. “It also helped us better understand our health needs.”
That’s the story behind every number in this year in review. Yes, it’s qualifications earned. But it’s also families reconnected with care, Communities strengthened, and a workforce being built by the very people it serves.
As the financial year closed, it felt like the right moment to look back on a year of growth – and forward to everything still to come.
A workforce grown from Community
Ryan Trickey, a graduate from Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative, describes what completing his Cert IV meant to him simply.
“It has allowed me to help provide culturally safe healthcare for my Community, and to help improve the health of my Mob.”
That’s the thread running through this entire year. Ninety percent of our students are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and 70% already work inside Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) – which means most of our students aren’t just training for a job, they’re deepening the care they can offer the Community they already belong to.
That’s why partnerships mattered so much this year. Through NACCHO’s First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Partnership Program and the Indigenous Health Workforce Traineeship program, we supported more than 100 trainees across over 30 ACCOs.
And for the first time in Victoria, in partnership with the Lowitja Institute, we’re delivering the NAT11037 Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Theory and Practice – giving students the chance to lead culturally safe research in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander context.
Meeting students where they are
Not every student can pick up and move for training, so this year we moved instead. We launched five new classes in regional Victoria and supported over 120 regional students with travel and accommodation to attend metro classes when they needed to.
The result? More than 80% attendance across every cohort we ran – a clear sign that when the barriers come down, students show up and stay.
Community that shows up for its students
None of this happens on qualifications alone. Our Student Success and Engagement Officers logged over 1,050 check-ins this year, walking alongside students through everything from cultural and wellbeing support to workplace advocacy and enrolment.
It’s this wraparound care that turns a course into a career, and it’s what Luana Carter, a graduate from Moogji Aboriginal Corporation, points to when she reflects on her own journey.
“It has allowed me to give back to my Community, build trusting relationships, and help people feel heard, supported, and empowered to take control of their health. Seeing positive impact on people’s lives makes the journey worthwhile.”
Looking ahead
Every graduate we celebrated last November is now out in Community, doing exactly that. And that’s really what this year has been about – not just training more Aboriginal Health Practitioners and counsellors, but growing a workforce that reflects, understands and belongs to the Communities it serves.
This year, we’ll keep pushing further into regional Victoria, deepening our ACCO partnerships, and walking alongside every student who chooses this path. The future of Aboriginal health is being built right here – one graduate, one family, one Community at a time.