HEALTH STATUS BETWEEN INDIGENOUS AND REFUGEES PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA ARTICLE 2022

Running Head: HEALTH STATUS BETWEEN INDIGENOUS AND REFUGEES PEOPLE IN
AUSTRALIA
Health Status between Indigenous and Refugees people in Australia
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HEALTH STATUS BETWEEN INDIGENOUS AND REFUGEES PEOPLE IN
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Health Status between Indigenous and Refugees people in Australia
Introduction
The population of Australia entail several people who were born overseas, speak different
languages or have one of the parent born overseas, forming culturally and linguistically diverse
population. In this paper refugees will form part of the non-indigenous Australians who have
over the years enjoyed greater status of health relative to aboriginal population. Enhancing the
status of health of the aboriginal people in Australia is a longstanding problem for the Australian
governments. The disparity in health status between the indigenous people and Refugees in the
country continues to be unacceptable. It is key to note that this gap in health status has been
described as a violation of human dignity by the committee of the United Nations as well as
acknowledged by the governments in Australia. Job opportunity and hours worked, attainment of
education, household income and whether an individual smoke have explained the disparity in
health status between the aboriginals and Refugees population in the country. Cultural group is
described as a group of people born into like national origin, gender, class, race or religion. The
aboriginal population in the Australian, on average, have poor health status compared to the
Refugees population (Freemantle et al., 2015). Certain measures have enhanced, for example,
there has been a decrease in death rates of the aboriginals since 1990s as well as a decrease in
smoking in 2000s. However, on numerous measures, great gaps continue in outcomes of health
between the aboriginal and Refugees population.
The degree of the disparity in health has been progressively published (Shepherd, Li &
Zubrick, 2012). Comprehension continues to grow concerning the numerous as well as intricate

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factors which can contribute to and influence the disparity. This paper will critically discuss
health disparity between the aboriginal and Refugees population in Australia. The paper will
analyze the underlying historical reasons for the health gap between this two populations.
Moreover, the paper will evaluate government policies and regulations which have been put
forward to reduce or minimize the health gap status.
Historical reasons for the health gap between the aboriginal and Refugees in Australia
The history of aboriginal population in Australia over the last two centuries been one of
huge suffering. Racism, subjugation, assimilation policies, introduction of illness and disease
reduced the population of the indigenous people by over 91% between 1789 and 1900 (Martin et
al., 2019). The ongoing health disparity between the indigenous as well as Refugees population
in the country is because of historical abandonment, lack of policy framework as well as
inaccessibility of social and economic facilities, and transfer of the mentioned resources to the
local level. In spite suffering from poor health than the Refugees people, the aboriginal
population have less and inaccessible health care resources. Conventionally, the aboriginal
people have had less authority to dictate these underlying challenges as well as public health
policy judgments (Martin et al., 2019).
The poor health status of the indigenous population which is currently being witnessed
today requires thorough scrutiny in the context of historical neglect as well as regulations
towards the indigenous people which were introduced by the territory and states governments.
Starting from colonization era, aboriginals were plagued by the introduction of diseases as well
as loss of ancestral productive. In spite of these made-made problems, the government did little

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to offer socioeconomic assistance like medical aid. In 1837, the policy of protection was created
after many series of frontier conflicts (Martin et al., 2019). The protection policy continued to be
executed throughout the next century and it allowed the segregation of the aboriginal population
on missions and reserved settlements. This was done in part to minimize the spread of
communicable disease to Refugees population. The Refugees people viewed the indigenous
people as inferior to white races as well as would be left to die out without any medical
assistance. In the early twentieth century, laws and regulations were to further separate the mixed
race as well as give more powers to the protectors to socially remove the infants from their
families. In certain states, individuals of mixed races were compelled to leave their reserves and
their families.
Around 1937, the policy of assimilation was enacted replacing the protection policy. The
policy majorly targeted individuals of mixed races in the country (Porter, 2017). Nonetheless,
policies of discrimination still reigned on many and sometimes all aspects of aboriginals’ lives.
They did not equal wages as well as work conditions, and social welfare just like other Refugees
population in the country. in 1953, the government introduced the wards work ordinance in the
regions occupied by the indigenous which made them wards of the state, having minor wards,
thus discriminating them in pay and work conditions. In numerous states in the country, the
indigenous population were given less pay while some of their pay were suspended from them
and put in trust funds which were put into other purposes by the commonwealth government
(Mannix & Hefferan, 2018). The policy of assimilation continued to be practiced until 1960s and
officially recognized in 1961 at the national native welfare meeting. Moreover, in 1965, the