The South Australian State Election is scheduled for 21 March 2026, with the Caretaker period commencing in early February. This election presents an important opportunity for the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) sector to make our voices heard and to work with political parties and candidates to keep the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities at the forefront of government agendas.

AHCSA has developed our State Election Priorities on behalf of our sector, reflecting what we have heard from our members. The priorities have been developed collaboratively, grounded in the structural and social determinants that continue to shape health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal people across South Australia. These priorities are designed not just to support broader reforms in governance, program design, and funding allocation, but also to provide clear, measurable outcomes that will track real progress. We are advocating to government representatives to ensure they are aware of our priorities and seeking their formal commitment to make meaningful changes.

The priorities set out a platform for furthering South Australia’s efforts on Closing the Gap, demonstrating a genuine commitment to meaningful engagement with Aboriginal organisations (Priority Reform 1) and to building a strong, capable community-controlled sector (Priority Reform 2).

Key areas identified as priorities include:

• Community-sector funding commitments
• Justice health
• Environmental health
• Aboriginal health workforce
• Addressing Racism in healthcare
• Aboriginal aged care
• Mental health

These priorities have been carefully reviewed and endorsed by our Member Services, following their presentation and discussion at the recent Members Forum in November 2025.

We encourage everyone to contact their local MPs about any additional election priorities that affect their health service or community, so all voices are heard as we head into the 2026 State Election.

For further information, please contact AHCSA.