National Stocktake of Organisational Cultural Competence in Public Maternity Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women 2016-2017

This report was commissioned by the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) to provide a National Stocktake of the progress that public (government) maternity services have made towards improving the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women when accessing antenatal, birthing and postnatal care. The project was undertaken by the Northern Territory Department of Health Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer. The National Stocktake was underpinned by three key aims. The first aim was to assess the degree to which 14 previously identified characteristics of effective culturally competent care (Kruske, 2012) have been incorporated into the fabric of maternity services nationally. The second aim was to raise health service organisational awareness of how to work towards creating a culturally safe environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The third aim was to validate a tool for the cyclic assessment of progress as a driver for implementing positive change. This executive summary provides an overview of the outcomes in respect to each of these aims.