First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Framework

Why this mattered

Aboriginal Health Workers and Aboriginal Health Practitioners are at the heart of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs). They provide culturally safe care, strengthen continuity of care and play a vital role in improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Yet despite their importance, the workforce had experienced sustained shortages, declining trainee completions and reduced investment over many years. Existing traineeship models often failed to reflect the realities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners, employers and communities, limiting their effectiveness and contributing to workforce shortages.

Recognising the need for a different approach, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) partnered with HSSO to develop a new national framework that would strengthen workforce pathways and establish a culturally safe model for growing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce.

HSSO’s Role

Working alongside NACCHO, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Registered Training Organisation (ACCHRTO) Community of Practice and stakeholders across the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector, HSSO co-authored the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Care Traineeship Framework.

HSSO led the workforce and vocational education design, bringing together policy, workforce development, vocational education expertise and extensive consultation to create a practical framework that aligned employers, Registered Training Organisations and trainees around a shared approach to workforce development.

Rather than adapting mainstream traineeship models, the Framework was designed around the strengths of the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector and the way ACCHRTOs already support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners.

What We Developed

The Framework established a nationally consistent model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health traineeships that placed the learner at the centre of workforce development.

Key elements included:

• culturally safe traineeship pathways that recognise the unique role of ACCHOs and ACCHRTOs
• clearly defined roles and responsibilities for trainees, employers, ACCHRTOs, Affiliates and NACCHO
• structured workforce pathways supporting career progression from entry-level through to advanced and specialist roles
• recognition of prior learning and flexible entry points for new and existing workers
• wrap-around learner supports designed to improve student engagement, wellbeing and completion
• stronger integration between workplace learning and accredited training.

Importantly, the Framework recognised that effective workforce development extends beyond qualification delivery. It embedded mentoring, supervision, cultural safety and career development as essential components of successful workforce growth.

Innovation

One of the Framework’s most significant contributions was the introduction of a First Nations Health Workforce Pathways Model, recognising workforce development as a continuous journey rather than a single qualification.

The model demonstrated how shared foundational skills, modular learning, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and specialist training could create flexible career pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers throughout their careers.

It also introduced concepts such as ACCHO Essentials, Health Worker Foundations and specialist learning streams, creating opportunities for ongoing professional development, career mobility and future expansion into additional health and community services qualifications.

Why It Matters

The Framework became more than a traineeship guide.

It established a new way of thinking about workforce development within the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector—one that recognises cultural safety, wrap-around support and community leadership as fundamental to workforce success.

Many of the concepts first introduced through this Framework—including learner-centred pathways, organisational capability, workforce planning and the strengthening of ACCHRTOs—have subsequently informed HSSO’s broader program of work with NACCHO and the Aboriginal Community Controlled Registered Training Organisation sector.

Building on this work

The First Nations Health Worker Traineeship Framework marked the beginning of HSSO’s long-term partnership with NACCHO to strengthen Aboriginal Community Controlled workforce development.

Building on this foundation, HSSO has continued to work with NACCHO, the Coalition of Peaks and the ACCHRTO sector through:

• development of nationally consistent training and assessment resources
• the ACCHRTO 10-Year Implementation Plan
• specialist workforce capability programs, including the National Diabetes Education Program
• national analysis of the ACCRTO sector through the More Than Training Capability Analysis
• workforce strategy, organisational capability and policy advice supporting future reform.

Together, these projects represent an ongoing commitment to strengthening Aboriginal Community Controlled workforce capability and supporting sustainable growth of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce.

Resources

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Care Traineeship Framework

Download the Framework