Australia's Health Equity Reckoning: Indigenous Medicine Demand Reveals Systemic Failure

LISMORE, Australia – July 31, 2026 – A groundbreaking study has cast a harsh light on the Australian healthcare landscape, revealing a profound and largely unmet demand for Indigenous cultural medicines. The research, led by Southern Cross University, provides the first national, co-designed evidence that for First Peoples, traditional healing is not an 'alternative' practice but a central component of health and wellbeing. The findings present a strategic challenge to policymakers, reframing access to cultural medicine as a core issue of health equity and a litmus test for the nation's commitment to its own Indigenous citizens.

The report, published in the Indigenous-led First Nations Health and Wellbeing – The Lowitja Journal, quantifies a systemic failure. It argues that achieving health equity for First Peoples requires not piecemeal inclusion or more cultural awareness training, but deep, structural change.

A Chasm Between Desire and Access

The data paints a stark picture of disparity. While practices like connecting with 'Country as medicine' and smoking ceremonies are relatively common, access to other critical forms of healing is virtually non-existent for most. The study found that only 9.7 per cent of the 186 First Peoples participants reported easy access to traditional healers. Yet, of those without access, an overwhelming 94 per cent indicated they would use healers if they were available.

This gap is not an accident of geography but a direct consequence of Australia's colonial history, as the study's authors assert. "The study found substantial unmet need, shaped not only by geography and service availability but likely by colonisation, displacement from Country, disruption of knowledge transmission, and the ongoing marginalisation of Indigenous knowledges systems within health structures," said lead author Dr. Alana Gall, a proud Truwulway and Litamirimina woman from Southern Cross University's National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine.

Dr. Gall highlights a galling paradox at the heart of Australia's multicultural society. "As an Aboriginal person myself, it concerns me that we can learn about, access and use Traditional Chinese Medicine and all these other medicines from across the globe yet we can't do the same when it comes to our own medicines," she stated. This observation transforms the issue from a simple lack of services into a question of national priorities and systemic bias.

Beyond the Clinic: Healing, Grieving, and Holistic Wellbeing

The research underscores that the demand for cultural medicine extends far beyond treating physical ailments, permeating the most profound moments of life and death. One of the most compelling findings emerged from the domain of palliative and end-of-life care. While two-thirds of participants wanted access to cultural medicines for themselves during palliative care, the desire for community healing was even more pronounced.

More than 92 per cent of participants wanted their families to have access to healing ceremonies for grieving and bereavement. This statistic powerfully illustrates the holistic and family-centric nature of Indigenous concepts of health. "Family is always at the centre of wellbeing for Indigenous people," Dr. Gall explained. "This finding highlights a strong demand for culturally governed cultural medicines within palliative and bereavement pathways."

This demand calls for a radical rethinking of how healthcare institutions approach not just end-of-life care but the entire continuum of health. It requires a move away from a purely biomedical model to one that creates, in Dr. Gall's words, "shared spaces of medical and therapeutic plurality." It is a call to decolonise the healthcare experience itself, making room for practices that have sustained communities for millennia.

From Marginalisation to Self-Determination

The study's findings are not merely a request for more services; they are an indictment of a system that has failed to meet its own commitments. The call for structural change directly aligns with Australia's national "Closing the Gap" policy agenda and its obligations under international frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Article 24 of the declaration explicitly affirms the right of Indigenous peoples to their traditional medicines and health practices.

"Taken together, these results reframe cultural medicines as a core equity issue rather than a peripheral or 'alternative' aspect of care," Dr. Gall asserted. The current state of affairs, where Indigenous knowledge is marginalised, represents a failure to uphold these basic rights to culturally safe care and self-determination.

This marginalisation has created a policy vacuum, leaving Indigenous knowledge vulnerable to exploitation and biopiracy while simultaneously denying communities access to their own heritage. The research serves as a critical evidence base to compel government and health organizations to move beyond rhetoric and implement tangible reforms that protect Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and empower communities as the rightful stewards of their knowledge.

Charting a New Path with Indigenous-Led Solutions

The path forward, according to the research and allied experts, lies in recognizing First Peoples as the original experts in health and healing and empowering Indigenous-led governance. This involves a fundamental power shift.

Promising initiatives are already taking shape. In partnership with Southern Cross University, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) is developing a Cultural Medicines Hub. This project aims to create practical guidelines and tools for health professionals, fostering a safer environment for patients to disclose and use cultural medicines alongside Western treatments. The goal is to build a knowledge base that respects Indigenous sovereignty while improving integrative care.

Furthermore, institutions like Southern Cross University are fostering a new generation of practitioners through dedicated scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to study naturopathic medicine. These programs are vital for building capacity within communities and ensuring that the future of healthcare is more representative and culturally competent.

Ultimately, the study is a call to action. It demands that the Australian enterprise—from federal health ministries to local clinics—recognize that integrating cultural medicine is not simply about cultural accommodation. It is a non-negotiable requirement for achieving health equity, upholding human rights, and rectifying a legacy of systemic neglect.