Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders launch a class action against Queensland Health over racial discrimination
Queensland Health have been hit with a class action over allegations of racial discrimination that claim Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people received inadequate healthcare spanning three decades.
The class action alleges First Nations people were withheld or denied adequate treatment, had their concerns dismissed and received substandard medical care, which was unlawful and breached the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth).
Litigators JGA Saddler filed the class action on Tuesday on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were subject to discriminatory conduct by the North West and Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Services between 1996 and 2024.
JGA Saddler director Rebecca Jancauskas said the state needed to be held accountable for systematic practices that resulted in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who interacted with certain healthcare providers in Queensland receiving a lower standard of healthcare.
'We've heard heartbreaking stories of First Nations patients being ignored, misdiagnosed, or dismissed in ways that would simply not happen to other Australians,' she said.
'This case is about ensuring those voices are heard, and change is made.
'No one should be treated differently in our hospitals because of their race.'
Ms Jancauskas said the claim alleged the State of Queensland failed to take sufficient action to address concerns about systematic racism in hospitals and health services over 30 years despite investigations and inquiries identifying these issues.
She said there were examples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had sought medical care from public hospitals and health services in the North West and Cape regions but been repeatedly dismissed, which the case alleges led to children dying.
'This has sadly been the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have sought medical care from public hospitals and health services in these regions,' she said.
'This case goes beyond individual harm. It challenges a pattern of institutional racism that continues to impact the health and lives of First Nations people across Queensland.'
Litigation Lending Services chief executive officer Susan Wynne said they were funding the class action to seek justice on behalf of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were failed by Queensland Health.
'Every Australian has the right to access healthcare free from discrimination,' she said.
'For too long, complaints of racism in the public health system have been minimised or ignored.'
Queensland Health declined to comment on the case, as the matter is before the courts.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls has been contacted for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
14 hours ago
- ABC News
New immunisation plan to tackle drop in childhood vaccination rates
The federal government has revealed plans to tackle declining childhood vaccination rates with the launch of a new immunisation plan. It follows warnings from experts in recent months about the risk to herd immunity in Australia for some preventable diseases. In launching the National Immunisation Strategy on Thursday, Health Minister Mark Butler will tell a communicable diseases and immunisation conference: "The new strategy comes at a critical time. "Even though our childhood vaccination rates are still world leading, we cannot take this for granted," Mr Butler will say in a speech seen by the ABC. The plan sets a goal of increasing immunisation uptake around Australia over the next five years by reducing vaccine hesitancy and improving access. "Through this strategy, we will reduce the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases through high uptake of immunisation that is safe, effective and equitable across Australia," Mr Butler will say. Several priority areas have been identified as crucial to increasing immunisation coverage, including building trust in vaccines. First Nations communities will also be a key focus as they have lower vaccination rates than the rest of the Australian population for almost every vaccine. "The urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic … highlighted clear needs for more equitable access to vaccination, particularly for individuals with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, rural and remote Australians, disadvantaged communities and CALD communities," the strategy reads. The public health agency focused on vaccine-preventable diseases, the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, helped develop the plan. Its director, Kristine Macartney, said key to improving vaccine coverage is tracking public sentiment, especially in priority groups such as First Nations communities, older people, infants and children, people with disability and residents in rural, remote and regional areas. "We can do better at ensuring that partnerships are made with the community to really share information, share knowledge and address access or acceptance gaps," Professor Macartney said. "There's an important element to understanding an individual's journey through the healthcare system to say, is this working for you to go and get your vaccines? Do you have the information and the access and the support from healthcare professionals and healthcare system that you would like to be able to take vaccines up?" A real-time dashboard of coverage data for all Australian government-funded vaccines has also been flagged, which could publish up-to-date coverage data by "age group, scheduled vaccines, dose, socio-demographic detail, race and ethnicity, and pregnancy status". Vaccination experts have told the ABC that dashboard would be "best practice", if it is well developed. A no-fault vaccine compensation scheme will also be explored, similar to broader vaccine injury compensation systems in place in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Japan and South Korea. Australia implemented a claims scheme for people who suffered a moderate to severe impact following an adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine. The new strategy emphasises vaccines are "overwhelmingly safe with only very rare serious adverse events", but broad compensation schemes should be accessible.
Sydney Morning Herald
15 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
They'd been friends for decades – then they applied for the same job
In 2021, we both applied for the role of permanent after-hours nurse manager; we'd both been relieving in the role. She got the job and I heard from other people that she felt guilty. I was fine about it – I was proud of her – but I was upset that she wouldn't talk to me about it; she just disengaged. Eventually, I said, 'What's going on?' and she said, 'I've been feeling so guilty.' I said, 'Kyles, you had to get it; you've excelled in it.' I was upset that she thought I deserved it more. Our friendship means everything to me; I'd never jeopardise it. Even if I thought she was in the wrong, I'd bend over backwards to repair it. I never want to upset or hurt her. Kylie: Son started in emergency about six months after me. On our first night shift, we talked for most of the night; I loved her openness. We bonded over long, crazy nights dealing with assaults and drug overdoses, then we'd debrief in the pub on Friday night, crying and laughing together. She can always turn my mood around with a witty one-liner. I love watching her kindness with Aboriginal patients. One 25-year-old girl came from Alice Springs for a heart transplant with her mum. They knew no one in Sydney, so Son took the mum home at weekends. Another time, when an elderly lady died, her daughter wanted a smoking ceremony. Son rallied the St Vincent's executives to make it happen. Son is level-headed, pragmatic, more assertive than me; she deals with issues head-on, while I ruminate, hating confrontation. She helps me problem-solve. When I told her once about a problem I was having with a colleague, she helped me find the words to have the tricky conversation I was trying to avoid. We provided support and advice to each other while the kids were young. Our parenting styles were different – Son organised, me chaotic – but we never judged each other. We disciplined each other's kids; Son was firmer than me and sometimes I left her to manage mine because they seemed to respond better to her calmness than to my screaming-banshee approach. When I got the job over her, I felt guilty … I felt she deserved it more. Kylie Harwood On the day of the Westfield Bondi Junction attacks [April 13, 2024], I started my shift at 2pm and, at 3.50, my CEO called me and said, 'Kylie, there's something going on at Bondi. We're going to get some casualties.' I then facilitated the entire St Vincent's response. I rang Son first thing the next morning and we spoke for two hours as I went through everything I'd done. She kept saying, 'I would've done exactly the same thing.' Her validation meant the world to me. When I got the job over her, I felt guilty because she'd encouraged me to go for it, but I felt she deserved it more. We spoke less; it was the elephant in the room. In the end, I called her and said, 'Son, I feel terrible that I'm now in this role.' She said, 'Look, I couldn't have done it anyway. It's OK.' It was fine after that. Loading Son has a beautiful energy. She makes everyone – patients, especially – feel at ease with her big, warm smile and her down-to-earth attitude. She gives so much. She looks tough, but she's fragile underneath. I can tell when she's hit capacity – she gets teary and emotional. I'll say, 'You need to turn your phone off and stop saying yes to everyone. Take a break.' Son's a great storyteller. We have so many funny stories from working in emergency – like the guy who dropped a turd in the waiting room on his way out. If I told the story, you'd go, 'Huh?', but when she tells it, you're wetting your pants. She's got so much charisma. Our friendship means the world to me. She's my greatest cheerleader, the person who gets me more than anyone else. She's my person.
The Age
15 hours ago
- The Age
They'd been friends for decades – then they applied for the same job
In 2021, we both applied for the role of permanent after-hours nurse manager; we'd both been relieving in the role. She got the job and I heard from other people that she felt guilty. I was fine about it – I was proud of her – but I was upset that she wouldn't talk to me about it; she just disengaged. Eventually, I said, 'What's going on?' and she said, 'I've been feeling so guilty.' I said, 'Kyles, you had to get it; you've excelled in it.' I was upset that she thought I deserved it more. Our friendship means everything to me; I'd never jeopardise it. Even if I thought she was in the wrong, I'd bend over backwards to repair it. I never want to upset or hurt her. Kylie: Son started in emergency about six months after me. On our first night shift, we talked for most of the night; I loved her openness. We bonded over long, crazy nights dealing with assaults and drug overdoses, then we'd debrief in the pub on Friday night, crying and laughing together. She can always turn my mood around with a witty one-liner. I love watching her kindness with Aboriginal patients. One 25-year-old girl came from Alice Springs for a heart transplant with her mum. They knew no one in Sydney, so Son took the mum home at weekends. Another time, when an elderly lady died, her daughter wanted a smoking ceremony. Son rallied the St Vincent's executives to make it happen. Son is level-headed, pragmatic, more assertive than me; she deals with issues head-on, while I ruminate, hating confrontation. She helps me problem-solve. When I told her once about a problem I was having with a colleague, she helped me find the words to have the tricky conversation I was trying to avoid. We provided support and advice to each other while the kids were young. Our parenting styles were different – Son organised, me chaotic – but we never judged each other. We disciplined each other's kids; Son was firmer than me and sometimes I left her to manage mine because they seemed to respond better to her calmness than to my screaming-banshee approach. When I got the job over her, I felt guilty … I felt she deserved it more. Kylie Harwood On the day of the Westfield Bondi Junction attacks [April 13, 2024], I started my shift at 2pm and, at 3.50, my CEO called me and said, 'Kylie, there's something going on at Bondi. We're going to get some casualties.' I then facilitated the entire St Vincent's response. I rang Son first thing the next morning and we spoke for two hours as I went through everything I'd done. She kept saying, 'I would've done exactly the same thing.' Her validation meant the world to me. When I got the job over her, I felt guilty because she'd encouraged me to go for it, but I felt she deserved it more. We spoke less; it was the elephant in the room. In the end, I called her and said, 'Son, I feel terrible that I'm now in this role.' She said, 'Look, I couldn't have done it anyway. It's OK.' It was fine after that. Loading Son has a beautiful energy. She makes everyone – patients, especially – feel at ease with her big, warm smile and her down-to-earth attitude. She gives so much. She looks tough, but she's fragile underneath. I can tell when she's hit capacity – she gets teary and emotional. I'll say, 'You need to turn your phone off and stop saying yes to everyone. Take a break.' Son's a great storyteller. We have so many funny stories from working in emergency – like the guy who dropped a turd in the waiting room on his way out. If I told the story, you'd go, 'Huh?', but when she tells it, you're wetting your pants. She's got so much charisma. Our friendship means the world to me. She's my greatest cheerleader, the person who gets me more than anyone else. She's my person.
