Remote Australia Online

PURPOSE: This study aimed to gain an understanding of the functional impact of a traumatic hand injury on a rural and remote Australian population. METHOD: A retrospective, exploratory design was used. Patients who had experienced a traumatic hand injury were samples and were treated at the occupational therapy department at a major regional Australian hospital between January 2003 and February 2007 (n = 198). A mail-out survey was utilized, with 65 respondents included in the study. Questions focused on the impact on specific areas of occupational performance and on compliance to home exercises. The upper extremity functional index was also incorporated in the survey. RESULTS: The results revealed that almost 90% of survey respondents had residual difficulties as a result of the traumatic hand injury. The overall impact these difficulties have on 'day-to-day' life was moderate to extreme for over half of the respondents. In the areas of occupational performance, the most affected were work and leisure with less impact reported in self-care and rest. Comments were at times contrary with closed question data, with many respondents expressing relative satisfaction with their outcome despite highlighting the functional difficulties. CONCLUSION: A significant impact on occupational performance has been highlighted, which reflects common issues within this rural and remote population. Confirmation of the extent of these identified issues within the larger rural and remote Australian population will contribute to the formulation of policy and consequent improvements in health for this traditionally underserved population.

Movements for racial and Indigenous justice are targeting rapidly expanding budget allocations for prisons and police. In Australia, Indigenous Communities are seeking to redirect public money from the criminal justice system to Indigenous-controlled services and infrastructure through ‘justice reinvestment’. This article explores the possibilities and tensions of justice reinvestment as a strategy for exercising Indigenous self-determination in a marketised policy landscape. Focusing on the case of Just Reinvest NSW and the Maranguka initiative in Bourke, we compare justice reinvestment to neoliberal ideas of social investment, exemplified by social impact bonds (SIBs). We identify three tools of marketisation in SIBs – liability budgeting, pricing evidence, and devolution to non-state providers – and analyse how these are being engaged, and contested, by Indigenous Communities through justice reinvestment. While incomplete, we discuss how Indigenous-run justice reinvestment initiatives are creatively using these tools against the settler-colonial, carceral state to claim fiscal resources, develop bureaucratic capacity, and institute territorial governance. We argue that justice reinvestment demonstrates the potential to repurpose the tools of marketisation to create alternative ‘hybrid’ spaces of governance that contest both the state and the market.

Alcohol is the leading cause of healthy years lost. There is significant variation in alcohol consumption patterns and harms in Australia, with those residing in the Northern Territory (NT), particularly First Nations Australians, experiencing higher alcohol-attributable harms than other Australians. Community leadership in the planning and implementation of health, including alcohol, policy is important to health outcomes for First Nations Australians. Self-determination, a cornerstone of the structural and social determinants of health, is necessary in the development of alcohol-related policy. However, there is a paucity of published literature regarding Indigenous Peoples self-determination in alcohol policy development. This study aims to identify the extent to which First Nations Australians experience self-determination in relation to current alcohol policy in Alice Springs/Mbantua (Northern Territory, Australia).

Among the challenges for rural communities and health services in Australia, climate change and increasing extreme heat are emerging as additional stressors. Effective public health responses to extreme heat require an understanding of the impact on health and well-being, and the risk or protective factors within communities. This study draws on lived experiences to explore these issues in eleven rural and remote communities across South Australia, framing these within a socio-ecological model. Semi-structured interviews with health service providers (n = 13), and a thematic analysis of these data, has identified particular challenges for rural communities and their health services during extreme heat. The findings draw attention to the social impacts of extreme heat in rural communities, the protective factors (independence, social support, education, community safety), and challenges for adaptation (vulnerabilities, infrastructure, community demographics, housing and local industries). With temperatures increasing across South Australia, there is a need for local planning and low-cost strategies to address heat-exacerbating factors in rural communities, to minimise the impact of extreme heat in the future.

Among the challenges for rural communities and health services in Australia, climate change and increasing extreme heat are emerging as additional stressors. Effective public health responses to extreme heat require an understanding of the impact on health and well-being, and the risk or protective factors within communities. This study draws on lived experiences to explore these issues in eleven rural and remote communities across South Australia, framing these within a socio-ecological model. Semi-structured interviews with health service providers (n = 13), and a thematic analysis of these data, has identified particular challenges for rural communities and their health services during extreme heat. The findings draw attention to the social impacts of extreme heat in rural communities, the protective factors (independence, social support, education, community safety), and challenges for adaptation (vulnerabilities, infrastructure, community demographics, housing and local industries). With temperatures increasing across South Australia, there is a need for local planning and low-cost strategies to address heat-exacerbating factors in rural communities, to minimise the impact of extreme heat in the future.

Objective The objective of the study was to explore the experiences of primary health care (PHC) nurses advancing their careers in a remote location in Western Australia. Setting The study was conducted in PHC organisations in one remote location in northern Western Australia. Participants Six registered nurses working in four PHC organisations participated in the study. All were registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Participants were all female, and five had child carer responsibilities. They had worked in the region for between 8 months and 10 years. Design The design was based on a qualitative, interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology involving in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Results Participants faced challenges advancing their careers given the limited employment opportunities and need to balance their professional ambitions with family needs. Participants had limited capacity to support each other's learning and felt poorly supported by employers to undertake professional development not directly related to their role. Participants were not well engaged with professional associations beyond undertaking online professional development activities provided with membership. Accessing professional development was difficult given a lack of time, limited access to local learning activities and a consequent need to travel, which was challenging. Despite the challenges they faced, most nurses remained passionate about their remote nursing roles and enjoyed the lifestyle. Conclusion Remote PHC nurses face a range of challenges, some of which can be overcome by improved availability of local professional development and better support from employers and professional associations.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this research study was to gain an understanding of how rural and remote residents in North Queensland, Australia, engaged in work, activities of daily living tasks and social activities following a traumatic hand injury. Findings from a previous retrospective survey with these participants revealed that patients experienced difficulties such as pain for many years after their injury; however, because of the survey methodology, the voices of participants were not heard. This study contributes to a larger project that seeks to propose a model of service delivery to rural and remote residents who have sustained a traumatic injury. METHODS: Utilising an interpretive phenomenological research design, data were gathered through in-depth, semistructured interviews. Fifteen participants were recruited into this study and questions were designed to explore the experience of having a traumatic hand injury in rural and remote areas of North Queensland. RESULTS: The thematic analysis indicated five major themes: injury and impairment, pain, occupation and activity, and resilience. Participants reported that having a hand injury often caused further injury due to the impairment. The pain experienced could be 'all consuming' yet participants reported 'pushing through' this pain to complete daily tasks. Participants reported that they would 'go mad' if they did not work and highlighted the importance of activity in their recovery. Participants felt grateful at having their hand and thought towards the future. Being self-reliant was important but they were willing to accept support from others when needed. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating activity and occupation in rehabilitation programs as opposed to focusing on strict protocols is an important consideration in the recovery process of rural and remote residents. In particular, engaging in activity and occupation was an important part of managing the pain associated with the hand trauma. This research also found that participants demonstrated resilient qualities while recovering from a traumatic hand injury. Health professionals who work with people from a rural and remote location with a traumatic hand injury should consider a treatment model that encourages active patient participation, identifying collaborative treatment goals that align with the values of people living in rural and remote locations. Education regarding the high risk of further injury due to the nature of, and exposure to, the type of work and activity in rural and remote locations is also recommended.

Akeyulerre was established by Arrernte Elders and community members as a place for Arrernte and other Aboriginal people to enjoy their cultural life and practice. It was designed to give people the right to access their own knowledge systems their way. It was established so that young people would feel proud of their culture and know that their culture and knowledge is strong. It was also established to work in partnership with mainstream western systems to ensure a strong understanding of cultural knowledge systems. In 2008, Akeyulerre received funding from the Department of Health and Community Services (now Department of Health and Families), to operate the service for three years. A requirement of the funding was that an evaluation of the service should take place. Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) Social Partnerships in Learning (SPiL) consortium was contracted to carry out the evaluation, commencing April 2009. Members of the SPiL evaluation team worked with the Tangentyere Research Group (TRG) to carry out consultation, data collection, analysis and report writing activities. This report details the findings of the evaluation. It includes recommendations for Akeyulerre and the Department of Health and Families.

This case study details how and why integrating storytelling, empathy, and inclusive practice shifted QSuper, a large Australian finance organisation, from minimal awareness to moral awareness then moral capability in the delivery of services to Indigenous customers. During the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Services Industry, QSuper were recognised for their exemplary service with Indigenous customers (Hayne, Interim report: Royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry, Volume 1. Commonwealth of Australia, 2018; Transcript of Proceedings, 13 August, Commonwealth of Australia, 2018). This position was in stark contrast to the inaccessible service offerings of other financial organisations where some used predatory practices to sell unethical financial products to Indigenous Australians (Hayne, Interim report: Royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry, Volume 1. Commonwealth of Australia, 2018; Hayne, Final report: Royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry, Volume 1. Commonwealth of Australia, 2019a). Storytelling garned from visiting customers in remote communities and other meaningful activities involving inclusive practice to facilitate ethical decision-making in finance is different to standard functionalist finance approaches (Schinckus, Int Rev Financ Anal 40:103–106, 2015). Two empathetic questions asked within QSuper complementing the storytelling, were: “What is the right thing to do by the customer?” and “How would I feel if this were my mother?” Exploration into the lived reality of moral capacity is important based on the Commission finding many of the 490,000 finance staff do not know how to provide ethical services to vulnerable customers, in particular remote Indigenous customers (Australian Bureau of Statistics. Labour force, Australia, detailed. ABS. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release, 2021; Hayne, Final report: Royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry, Volume 1. Commonwealth of Australia, 2019a). Furthermore, there is minimal literature on the role of Indigenous storytelling to heighten moral awareness in the finance industry which was found to lead to better ethical outcomes.

In this paper, I argue that the rhetoric and discharge of state mental health care provisions in the wake of the police shooting of Kumunjayi Walker reflect the logic of elimination that underpins settler-colonial societies. Firstly, the use of emotional politics and the diplomacy of sympathy transform the police shooting of an Aboriginal man into a simple loss of life. Secondly, the deployment of psychological services to the community specifically and only for secondary trauma victims not only erased Warlpiri trauma and foregrounded non-Indigenous trauma, it also positioned Warlpiri people as the cause of non-Indigenous trauma. Lastly, I explore how narratives in the mental health care sector regarding the state response simultaneously critique and reproduce settler-colonial elimination. As an arm of the settler-colonial state, the sector cannot help but be complicit in the ongoing elimination of indigeneity and is not exceptional as a sector in this way. Settler-colonial attempts at care are inherently characterised by this conflict of interest, which, if there is any way to resolve it, requires a depth of critical reflection beyond politically progressive narratives.

The per capita alcohol consumption of the Northern Territory, Australia, is second highest in the world, estimated 15.1 liters of pure alcohol per year. Alcohol abuse is a major public health concern among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Northern Territory consume approximately 16.9 liters of pure alcohol per year. This descriptive review is based on current published and grey literature in the context of high risk alcohol use, with a special focus on the epidemiological, etiological, and social factors, to predict alcohol misuse among the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Northern Territory. The methodology involved a descriptive search on PubMed, Northern Territory government reports, health databases, and Web sites with an emphasis on the etiology and epidemiology of high-risk alcohol consumption among the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of the Northern Territory. This review has its own limitations because it does not rely on systematic review methodologies. However, it presents real data on the motives for binge drinking and alcohol-related violent assaults of this vulnerable population. Alcohol abuse and alcohol-related harms are considerably high among the rural and remote communities where additional research is needed. High-risk alcohol misuse within Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders communities often leads to a series of physical and social consequences. This review highlights the need for culturally appropriate intervention approaches focusing on alcohol misuse among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders population of the Northern Territory.

This paper addresses a very important issue in Australian rural and remote regions: the effects of climate change on various aspects including natural resources, agricultural activity, population health, and social and economic development. The objective is to briefly characterise the consequences of climate change in rural Australia and what we can do to prevent further impact in our rural communities.

It is a truism that the impacts of any crisis always fall unevenly. In this chapter, we focus on the experience of COVID-19 by a particular population group, Indigenous Australians living in extremely remote circumstances. Here key responses to the disruption wrought by the pandemic have paradoxically registered as reprieve. In Australia, remote-living Indigenous peoples live in deep poverty and were anticipated to be highly vulnerable to food insecurity and supply chain disruption. Surprisingly, the pandemic served to disrupt in other ways. The hegemonic characterization of welfare-dependent Indigenous peoples as morally deficient subjects in need of discipline and control could not be sustained as the country “locked down” and over a million others became “welfare dependent” overnight. Unemployment benefits were temporarily doubled, and onerous work-for-the-dole mutual obligations eased. This essay explores potential positive changes to systems of food provisioning caused by government responses to COVID-19. The remote food security “crisis” is shown to be mainly an artefact of government policies designed to punish the poor and push unemployed remote-community residents into jobs. We propose permanent reform to the social security system that will enhance food security and liberate Indigenous peoples to more effectively self-provision and exercise “food sovereignty”.

The provision of services such as power, water, and housing for Indigenous people is seen as essential in the Australian Government’s "Closing the Gap" policy. While the cost of providing these services, in particular adequate water supplies, is significantly higher in remote areas, they are key contributors to improving the health of Indigenous peoples. In many remote areas, poor quality groundwater is the only supply available. Hard water results in the deterioration of health hardware, which refers to the facilities considered essential for maintaining health. This study examined the costs associated with water hardness in eight communities in the Northern Territory. Results show a correlation between water hardness and the cost of maintaining health hardware, and illustrates one aspect of additional resourcing required to maintain Indigenous health in remote locations.

Indigenous youth living in Alice Springs are subject to routine forms of surveillance, facilitated by a range of stakeholders, including police, security guards, government agents, business owners and members of their own communities. ?The problem? of youth is the subject of much attention in media and community forums as well as Northern Territory specific legislation, resulting in increased levels of policing in town. Drawing on recently collected fieldwork data, this paper explores some of the nuances in the relationships through which these processes of surveillance are enacted. Encounters observed and described by young people themselves are often at once both intimate and oppressive. This paper will first explore recent policy approaches and then focus on some examples of youth experiences with policing to outline some of the ways in which young people navigate and resist surveillance in Alice Springs. Understanding youth experiences of surveillance and policing enables a distinctive perspective on a shifting social world, and offers insight into contemporary forms of disadvantage faced by Indigenous youth.

Speech pathology assessment within cross-cultural contexts, where the assessor and client differ in their cultural backgrounds, can create many challenges for assessment usage and implementation. With Australia being home to people from many cultures, this isa particular challenge for speech pathologists working in this country. This paper outlines the development of an assessment specifically for Aboriginal children living in a discrete region of the Kimberley in Western Australia. This assessment was developed in collaboration with local language experts as well as speech pathologists experienced in the area of assessment with Indigenous children. Nearly all parts of the assessment were administered by a local co-worker in the children’s first language, Kimberley or Fitzroy Valley Kriol. The paper outlines the specific components of the assessment as well as the approaches taken to ensure fair and accurate assessment of children’s communication skills. It highlights the benefits of collaborating with local co-workers and provides those working with Indigenous children in Australia with practical activities to consider.

A rapidly warming planet provides a significant challenge to the design, delivery, and maintenance of habitable housing across Australia. Information on the adequacy of current measures for cooling Indigenous houses in regional and remote communities in relation to climate change and rising energy consumption costs is lacking. Such information is needed to better protect low socio-economic status householders, people with pre-existing health conditions, and people living in climatically exposed regions. This article models the thermal performance of both existing and ‘improved’ (built to current national construction code standards) housing stock in relation to various occupancy density, cooling system, and ventilation practice scenarios. This modelling was undertaken for housing in Australia’s tropical, arid, and hot/mild climate zones, matching the sites where most discrete Indigenous communities are located. Results show that retrofitting existing housing stock and even building new stock to meet recommended standards are not adequate measures for current or future climate changes. This paper challenges current knowledge, policy, and practices regarding Indigenous housing, demonstrating that significant reform is necessary to maintain habitable conditions and improve energy resilience.

Currently, individuals living in rural and remote areas experience 1.4 times the total burden of chronic disease, including an 80% greater risk of late-life cognitive impairment and dementia, 2.5 times the number of preventable hospitalisations and a reduced life expectancy of up to 12?years compared to their metropolitan counterparts. Traditionally, health service planning and public health interventions have been largely built on the needs and characteristics of metropolitan populations. This disproportional focus can contribute to significant physical and cognitive health status disparities for rural and remote communities. This article focuses on existing challenges and strategies surrounding the cognitive health of rural and remote populations and provides short and long-term opportunities involving Australian public health policy and clinical practice to innovate dementia prevention for rural and remote communities.

Indigenous children experience a disproportionally high number of injuries, particularly in remote communities. This study aimed to investigate: (1) the causes of injury to children within three remote Indigenous communities of Cape York, Australia; (2) differences between communities; and (3) if strengthening of alcohol restrictions reduced the incidence of injury. An injury profile for children aged 0–14 years was constructed for the period 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2011 using clinical file audit data from Primary Health Care Clinics located in each community. Children aged <14 years were responsible for 1461 injury presentations among 563 individuals. Males were responsible for 58.7% of presentations and 38% (n = 214) of children presented on three or more occasions. The leading causes of injury were falls (including sports); cutting and piercing; animals, insects and plants; transport and assault. There were variations in the order of major injury causes across the three communities. As primary causes of injury, falls and transport-related injuries aligned with other child populations. Cutting and piercing; animals, insects and plants; and assault-related injuries were more prevalent compared with other child populations. There was a significant difference in injury rates between communities and no significant difference before and after the strengthening of alcohol restrictions.

Freud argued that what is common to all comic techniques is ?the fact that in each of them something familiar is rediscovered, where we might instead have expected something new. This rediscovery of what is familiar is pleasurable? (1960 [1923], 120). In the analysis offered in his 1905 work, Jokes and their relation to the Unconscious (1963a), the further apart the two conceptual entities that are brought together in an innovative use of words or gestures, the greater is the pleasure in the short-circuit created between them. The joke, then, can be understood as instance of the more general category of the innovative metaphor, that is to say, the transfer of meaning across domains, which, while holding onto the original referent of a symbol, simultaneously creates a new relation that extends the original meaning. The strength of this innovative spark across conceptual poles is correlative to the tension that marks their difference. This short-circuit may produce a revelatory and/or comic effect. In this paper I explore an Australian Aboriginal corroboree of the Ngarinyin people from north-western Australia, in which this kind of innovatory spark is used to make new sense of racial power and violence.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Industry 4.0, but the hype obfuscates a deeper understanding, particularly about what it isn’t and what’s needed to support Australian innovators. Australia’s brief modern history is peppered with examples of entrepreneurialism and innovation, illustrating our national potential. To succeed, we’ll need more than national potential. Countries such as the US provide the economic and intellectual environment for innovation. Innovation incubators such as Silicon Valley don’t just happen. In Australia, those inputs are lacking, but more remote locales are driving a new generation of innovators. Necessity is ensuring that innovators in northern Australia are making a prominent contribution. This is a report about how innovators in the north are at the leading edge of the fourth industrial revolution and the challenges they face. Innovation in northern Australia is thriving. It’s not clear why there’s a culture of innovation in the north, and perhaps that represents a focus for social research. However, there’s no doubt that innovators in northern Australia are seizing the opportunity to pursue solutions that generate economic benefits, contribute to national resilience, and respond to defence needs. Through the lens of real experiences and success stories, this report shines a light on the opportunities and challenges, and highlights what’s needed to better harness those opportunities. In particular, we need to do these things: • Drive national capability through a philosophical positioning that’s supported by practical examples of innovation. • Acknowledge that economic theory underpinned by a need to have large-scale manufacturing and production lines for viability is thinking not aligned with the opportunity that Industry 4.0 presents. • Align government thinking and practice with the growing environmental, social and governance (ESG) mindset of business and the growing expectations of investors, consumers and the community. The case examples in this report illustrate innovation that’s already occurring in the north, often with the support of future-thinking state and territory governments. However, those aren’t overnight successes—the assumptions we make about innovation are flawed. It’s important to appreciate that innovation is underpinned by trial and error, failure and persistence, long lead times and an unwavering commitment to a better future. Still, more is needed! This report proposes changes to ensure that northern Australia can continue to leverage Industry 4.0 opportunities and sustains its innovation focus.

Acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) is an inflammatory kidney disease following infection with nephritogenic strains of Group A Streptococcus. In 1991, APSGN became notifiable in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia with cases recorded on the NT Notifiable Disease Database (NTNDS). The case definition of a confirmed case requires laboratory definitive evidence or laboratory suggestive evidence in conjunction with a clinically compatible illness. Probable cases require clinical evidence only. Acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis notifications from 2009 to 2016 were extracted from the NTNDS. Of the 322 cases, 261 were confirmed and 61 probable. The majority, 304 (94%), were Aboriginal and the median age was 8 years (range: 0-62 years). Incidence for confirmed cases was 13.8/100,000 person-years, with inclusion of probable cases increasing incidence to 17.0/100,000 person-years. Highest incidence of confirmed cases was in Aboriginal children less than 15 years of age at 124.0 cases/100,000 person-years. The rate ratio of confirmed cases in Aboriginal to non-Aboriginal Australians was 18.9 (95% confidence interval: 11.4-33.6). Recent trends show a consistently high number of notifications annually with less frequent outbreaks. The Aboriginal population of the NT continues to have high rates of APSGN with recent trends showing higher rates than previously reported. Sustained preventative efforts and continued surveillance strategies are needed.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence, clinical presentation and progress of acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis in Central Australia. DESIGN: Retrospective observational analysis. SETTING: Paediatric inpatient admission at Alice Springs Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Patients admitted to Alice Springs Hospital under 14 years of age meeting diagnostic criteria for acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis between January 2010 and December 2014. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence of acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis in central Australia. Biochemical abnormalities associated with acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Co-occuring conditions. RESULTS: Sixty-nine out of the 174 cases reviewed were identified as having either acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (63) or probable acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (6). We calculate the incidence of APSGN admission to be higher than previously reported and the highest reported incidence globally in children. Clinical evidence of skin infection was frequently documented. Co-occurring infections were common, including scabies/head lice, urinary tract infection and pneumonia. Fifty-three patients showed biochemical evidence of acute kidney injury. CONCLUSIONS: Aboriginal children in Central Australia have the highest incidence of acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis reported worldwide. Urgent action is required to improve housing and reduce overcrowding in Central Australian towns and communities to reduce the burden of disease of skin infection and Group A Streptococcus related diseases. Without effective change in living conditions, it is unlikely that there will be a significant change in the morbidity related to these conditions.

Acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) outbreaks are sporadically seen in the Northern Territory (NT), although their global prevalence is declining. We report the methodology and results of a large-scale interventional program initiated after 1 such outbreak, and provide feedback on achievements and limitations to guide further public health response field trips. Children between the ages of 1 and 17 years were screened for signs of glomerulonephritis, skin sores, and scabies. Of the targeted population 56.8% were able to be screened, 40.5% of whom were found to have skin sores requiring treatment and 3.1% of whom had scabies. Screening for trachoma was also opportunistically undertaken on a subset of this population (those aged 4 to 17 years). Overall, 19 cases of trachoma were found 18 of 19 were aged <10 years signifying a prevalence of 5.4% of those screened. In this context we discuss the methodology behind the screening and public health response with the aim of improving access and participation in future screening programs.

The Northern Territory (NT) is a geographically remote region of northern and central Australia. Approximately a third of the population are First Nations Australians, many of whom live in remote regions. Due to the physical environment and climate, and scale of social inequity, the rates of many infectious diseases are the highest nationally. Molecular typing and genomic sequencing in research and public health have provided considerable new knowledge on the epidemiology of infectious diseases in the NT. We review the applications of genomic sequencing technology for molecular typing, identification of transmission clusters, phylogenomics, antimicrobial resistance prediction, and pathogen detection. We provide examples where these methodologies have been applied to infectious diseases in the NT and discuss the next steps in public health implementation of this technology.