Aboriginal Health Child and Maternal Health Continuity of Care Protocols Program

The Aboriginal Child and Maternal Health Continuity of Care Protocols (CMH CCP) Program focuses on how health system performance improvement can ensure that health care provided to Aboriginal people is well-organised, relationships are maintained, and information supports continuity of care regardless of how, where, and when patients choose to receive care. 

The Program aligns directly with the four Priority Reforms and Socio-economic targets outlined in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, specifically the targets to ensure:

• Aboriginal children are born healthy and strong (outcome 2)
• Aboriginal children thrive in their early years (outcome 4)
• Aboriginal children are not overrepresented in the child protection system (outcome 12)
• Aboriginal people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing (outcome 14)

Objective

The CMH CCP Program aims to improve health system performance by embedding continuity of care for Aboriginal children aged 0 to 4 and mothers of Aboriginal babies across South Australia. Continuity of care is a critical determinant of health outcomes yet is currently not systematically monitored at jurisdictional or national levels.

The provisional Continuity of Care Protocols (CCPs) supported by the Enabling Framework were co-designed guided by three foundational principles:

• Informational – timely and accurate data sharing.
• Managerial – coordinated service delivery and transitions.
• Relational – trusted, consistent care relationships.

Current progress

The CMH CCP Program successfully completed Phase 2: Testing and Co-Design in June 2025. This phase of the CMH CCP Program has been firmly grounded in a commitment to co-design and shared decision-making. The Program applied a co-design approach to collaboratively develop the CMH CCP Program Strategy and Implementation Plan alongside cultural and clinical experts and diverse stakeholders from across the health system.

Next steps

From July 2025, the CMH CCP Program transitioned into Phase 3: Implementation and Evaluation. The Implementation and Evaluation Phase marks a critical final step in the CMH CCP Program to enable continuity of care for Aboriginal children aged 0 to 4 and mothers of Aboriginal babies across the state.  To ensure effective rollout, the program is currently undertaking pre-implementation activities, including: 

• approval of the CMH CCP Program Strategy and Implementation Plan
• preparing the health system for implementation
• communications and engagement planning grounded in strong co-design principles
• establishment of the Accountability and Responsibility Model including a new Aboriginal Leadership Group and Systems Reforms group
• funding of the CMH CCP Program workforce
• collaboration with the Australian Government
• operationalising the CCPs and Enabling Framework 

Further information

If you require further information, please email health.ccpprogram@sa.gov.au