Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

The government is committed to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. We acknowledge the importance that good hearing has for social, education and health outcomes. A priority for the government is to support Indigenous children to be school ready. Good health and hearing are key to this.

An example of this is the continued support to the Healthy Ears—Better Hearing, Better Listening Program to improve access to ear and hearing health services for children and youth living in rural, remote and urban locations. Through this program, a range of health professionals—such as GPs, nurses, medical specialists, speech pathologists and audiologists—support children and families to access health care in their home locations through an outreach model. In total, we are providing around $30 million over four years to primary health care services to better manage ear disease through a range of programs, including outreach health services in rural and remote areas.