Diabetes Education Program

Why this mattered

Diabetes remains one of the most significant health challenges affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Improving outcomes requires more than clinical services—it depends on a skilled local workforce that can deliver culturally safe prevention, early intervention and ongoing support within communities.

Aboriginal Health Workers and Aboriginal Health Practitioners play a critical role in promoting health, supporting self-management and providing continuity of care through Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs). As the demand for specialist diabetes knowledge increased, there was a need to strengthen the capability of both the existing workforce and the Registered Training Organisations responsible for preparing the next generation of Aboriginal health professionals.

Working in partnership with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), and supported by the Bupa Foundation, HSSO designed and delivered a national workforce capability program to build this specialist training capacity across the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Registered Training Organisation (ACCHRTO) network.

HSSO’s Role

HSSO led the workforce development components of the Diabetes Education Program, translating emerging workforce needs into nationally consistent, culturally appropriate education and training resources that could be delivered locally by Aboriginal Community Controlled Registered Training Organisations.

Working alongside NACCHO, clinical specialists and Aboriginal health educators, HSSO:

• facilitated a national Expert Advisory Group to identify workforce priorities and determine the structure of the diabetes skill set
• developed a diabetes-specific accredited training pathway aligned with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Training Package
• created comprehensive student, trainer and assessor resources for five nationally recognised units of competency
• designed and delivered a national Train-the-Trainer intensive to prepare experienced ACCHRTO educators to implement the program within their own organisations and communities.

The project built on HSSO’s earlier First Nations Health Workforce Traineeship Framework, extending that model into specialist workforce capability for chronic disease prevention and management.

What We Delivered

The project produced a complete education and implementation package to support national delivery.

National diabetes education pathway

Working with NACCHO’s Expert Advisory Group, HSSO developed a nationally endorsed diabetes education pathway comprising five accredited units of competency covering diabetes prevention, nutrition, chronic disease management and client support.

National training resources

HSSO developed complete learning and assessment resources for every unit, including:

• Student Guides
• Assessor Guides
• Training and Assessment Strategies
• Assessment Mapping Documents
• Trainer resource packs
• guidance for local contextualisation by ACCHRTOs.

Resources were designed to maintain national consistency while allowing each community-controlled RTO to incorporate local examples, language, cultural knowledge and community priorities into delivery.

Building trainer capability

HSSO designed and facilitated a five-day Train-the-Trainer intensive attended by experienced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainers from ACCHRTOs across Australia.

The program combined clinical knowledge with practical teaching skills, assessment practice, cultural contextualisation, resource adaptation and peer learning. Participants developed individual delivery plans enabling them to return to their organisations ready to implement the new diabetes training locally.

Impact

Rather than creating a one-off training program, the project strengthened the long-term capability of the Aboriginal community-controlled training system.

The initiative established:

• nationally consistent diabetes education resources for Aboriginal Community Controlled RTOs
• enhanced capability among experienced Aboriginal trainers to deliver specialist diabetes education
• stronger pathways for Aboriginal Health Workers and Aboriginal Health Practitioners to build advanced diabetes knowledge
• improved organisational capacity to deliver culturally safe chronic disease education across Australia.

Importantly, the project recognised that effective diabetes education is not simply about transferring clinical knowledge. It is about empowering local educators to combine evidence-based practice with community knowledge, cultural strengths and place-based approaches to prevention and self-management.

Why It Matters

The Diabetes Education Program demonstrates HSSO’s approach to workforce development: working alongside industry and community partners to build sustainable capability rather than delivering isolated training.

By investing in Aboriginal Community Controlled Registered Training Organisations and the educators who lead them, the project created infrastructure that will continue supporting workforce development well beyond the life of the program.

The project also demonstrates how nationally consistent education resources can be successfully co-designed for local adaptation—ensuring quality, cultural safety and community ownership remain at the centre of workforce development.

Resources

The education resources developed through this project are owned and managed by NACCHO and participating Aboriginal Community Controlled Registered Training Organisations.

While the project has concluded successfully, the detailed project report is not publicly available.