Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia acknowledges and pays respect to Elders, both past and present and all generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples now and into the future as the Traditional Owners of this land.
Established in late March 2020, Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia is the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention national leadership body. It is governed and controlled by Indigenous experts and peak bodies working in these areas, promoting collective excellence in mental health care.
Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia's vision is Indigenous leadership, excellence and presence across all parts of the Australian mental health system and the achievement of the highest attainable standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and suicide prevention outcomes for Indigenous peoples.
The new body takes its name from the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration (Declaration). It will, among other tasks:
- Advise Australian governments on implementing the Declaration, as they have committed to do under the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan. In particular, it will promote the Declaration’s goal of Indigenous people accessing the best of both worlds in mental health: culturally safe clinical treatment and Indigenous specialised areas of practice - including cultural healers and social and emotional wellbeing and mental health teams.
- Develop a dedicated Indigenous national suicide prevention strategy
- Work to implement the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing 2017-2023.
To find our more, see Minister for Health Greg Hunt’s announcement of Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia on the 9th of September 2019.
The images featured in this website are details from artwork by Aunty Roma Winmar. Aunty Roma is a Noongar artist, born in Gnowangerup, a small town in the south-west of Western Australia, in 1944. Her artwork has been presented nationally and internationally with numerous exhibitions. Aunty Roma is a Noongar Language teacher at the Moorditj Noongar Community College in Middle Swan, Western Australia. Copyright: Roma Winmar 2018
* 30 March 2020: Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia is a newly-established organisation and the content of this website will grow in the months ahead as our work progresses. Please bookmark us and follow us on Twitter for latest updates.