Remote health clinic in Central Australia appointed special administrators in wake of ‘dysfunction’

THE COVID-19 vaccination rollout at a remote health clinic in Central Australia has halted and funding has been suspended for the service after ongoing disputes.

Community representative Richard Downs in Ampilatwatja.

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THE COVID-19 vaccination rollout at a remote health clinic in Central Australia has halted and funding has been suspended for the service after an ongoing dispute between the clinic’s board of directors and senior management.

The Ampilatwatja Health Centre Aboriginal Corporation was placed under special administration last Monday by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) at the request of the board, who wrote to the corporation on March 28.

Operating since 1995, Ampilatwatja provides health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Alyawarr nation, 320km northeast of Alice Springs.

Ampilatwatja spokesman Richard Downs.

The ORIC registrar Selwyn Button said ongoing disputes between senior managers and various board members had “compromised” the health service, which had seen both funding and the coronavirus vaccine rollout delayed.

In the 2019–20 financial year, Ampilatwatja received $2m in funding for comprehensive primary health care.

“The dispute has … prompted the corporation’s major funding body to withhold the latest release of primary health care funding,” Mr Button said.

“Under these circumstances, special administration is appropriate to rectify the matters as quickly as possible.”

On April 1, a majority of the directors further explained that disputes between the directors and senior management of the corporation were putting health services at risk and advised they were unable to resolve the matters themselves.

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The NT News understands some community members have been choosing to travel to neighbouring clinics, including Alice Springs, for health care as a result.

Community spokesman Richard Downs said he believed the clinic had not been operating at full capacity over the past few years due to the staff shortages caused by the ongoing disputes.

“The community is sighing with relief now we’ve been able to get administrators to come in,” Mr Downs said.

“The community and staff have been locked out of the health service and denied access to treatment and medication which is vital in a community with a high level of chronic disease.”

The NT News has contacted management at Ampilatwatja Health Centre Aboriginal Corporation for comment.

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