Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives

31/10/2025

We invite our community to come together in Sydney to celebrate the incredible life and legacy of Aunty Dr Sally Goold OAM, our Founding Director and a guiding light for so many.

🕊️ Thursday 20 November 2025 | From 1pm | Sydney

To join us and share your reflections, please reach out via enquire@catsinam.org.au - spaces are limited so we will provide further details once your place is confirmed.

You may also wish to send through a tribute to be shared on the day via the following link - https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=aosivHWWAUKjduIozfmKrImWBiawQE1IrXt0qjB5CAVUN09HOExTWDkzMldBM1JOSUlBWUw2MDRNRC4u

20/10/2025

CATSINaM, National Association of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Workers, Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association and Indigenous Allied Health Australia call for funding security to ensure we can continue to deliver improved outcomes for our communities.

“If there is to be an impact on the Closing the Gap agenda, we know that better health outcomes are achieved when our workforces are involved in the care of our people.” - Karl Briscoe, CEO of NAATSIHWP

Funding insecurity is threatening the operations of four leading Indigenous health workforce organisations – the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA),

13/10/2025

The 2026 Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Round is open until the end of the month.

They're also seeking assessors - visit the webpage for more info!

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗣𝘂𝗴𝗴𝘆 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟬 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗴𝗴𝘆 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿

Dr Arnold ‘Puggy’ Hunter is an outstanding and highly respected Aboriginal leader who dedicated much of his life to improving health and wellbeing outcomes experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Puggy was a pioneer within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector, including serving as the inaugural chairperson of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗴𝗴𝘆 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽

Named in his honour and to continue his legacy, the Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship provides scholarships to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to succeed in their undergraduate studies.

The scholarship provides access to financial, cultural, mentoring, and other supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying in health, including access to up to $15,000 per annum (full time) for the normal duration of the course.

These supports are administered under Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community control through Indigenous Allied Health Australia and the National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners in partnership with Rural Doctors Network.

The program is funded by the Commonwealth through the Department of Health and Aged Care.

“As far as role models in health go, I would have to say, my late uncle, many of us may have been fortunate enough to receive a scholarship in his name (the Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship), but sadly not everyone knows his story. As one of the most influential Aboriginal men of our time, my uncle Puggy was a fierce grassroots leader who took community calls for change to the highest levels of government and made significant changes to the health policy landscape. He fought uncompromisingly until his last breath, and even still, his legacy lives on through the opportunities his scholarship continues to create for our mob.”

– Kimberley Hunter, IAHA Director

Apply for scholarship here: https://t.ly/d9HyQ

10/10/2025

With great sadness, we share this notice with permission of her family.

Aunty Emily was an inspiration to many. A dedicated nurse who brought so much joy to CATSINaM gatherings.

We send our love and prayers to Aunty Emily’s family.

07/10/2025

Keen to learn more about truth-telling processes and institutional accountability??

Join us on Wednesday 22 October for a webinar looking at the process we have been through over the past year with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) to articulate, receive apology for, and define tangible actions for healing in relation to the historical harms inflicted upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in mental health care and nursing.

The session will be led by CATSINaM CEO, Dr Ali Drummond, and President, Vanessa Browne - both of whom facilitated a co-design workshop at last year's National Conference to inform this process.

You can read the report that came out of that workshop on our website here - https://catsinam.org.au/resource?resource=112

The webinar is open to members only, so registrations need to be made via the event webpage here - https://catsinam.org.au/EventDetail?EventKey=CAFE25OCT

03/10/2025

To acknowledge this Mental Health Awareness Week, we encourage you to read the report from our Truth and Action Mental Health Nursing Workshop, held during our 2024 National Conference in Walyalup/ Fremantle.

The focus of this collaborative session, hosted by CATSINaM and the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN), was on addressing historical and contemporary harms experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in mental health care and nursing.

The workshop provided an opportunity for CATSINaM member delegates to share their insights into these harms, and explore tangible actions that ACMHN could take to address these. CATSINaM delegates were invited to attend the ACMHN Conference, in Perth that same week, to receive the apology from ACMHN.

Learn more about this step toward reconciliation and the approach to, and outcomes from the session via our website here - https://catsinam.org.au/resource?resource=112

29/09/2025

📣It's back - Australia's only nursing & midwifery-specific Cultural Safety course, recently revised to include up-to-date content and increased practical application!

🐣Enrol now to secure our early-bird rate, or even better, get your employer to purchase a bulk-enrolment to support Cultural Safety across the workplace!

Learn more and enrol here - https://catsinam.org.au/Web/Grow-With-Us/Murra-Mullangari.aspx

17/09/2025

Indigenous nurse Shirley Kusu's journey from diabetes patient to award-winning educator has transformed care for 400 people in remote Far North Queensland 📍Her story, here 👉 https://bit.ly/41XgGhr

16/09/2025

📣 Upcoming Webinar: Join us for a webinar featuring Assistant Professor Erica (Samms) Hurley, a Mi’Kmaq woman, sharing her insights from her research and experiences in Indigenous nursing leadership.
 
📆 Don’t miss it! Follow the link in our bio to register!

15/09/2025

Get in QUICK to join us in Sydney in November for our Governance & Leadership Workshop!

We have 30 scholarships on offer, covering return travel and accommodation, but applications close this WEDNESDAY 17 September COB.

Learn more about the opportunity by downloading the info pack here - https://www.catsinam.org.au/resource?resource=109

13/09/2025

13 September 2025 marks the 18th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

While the Australian government initially voted against this legally non-binding resolution, in April 2009 that position was reversed, albeit without a framework for implementation. For this reason, we all have a role to play in acknowledging and upholding the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

On this day, CATSINaM calls on the nursing and midwifery professions to confront their colonial legacies, to move beyond symbolic engagement, and to take tangible actions that centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sovereignty and self-determination.

Read the full statement on our website here - https://catsinam.org.au/resource?resource=113