Health systems in northern Australia must evolve to respond to new challenges and crises, such as the rapidly increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and emerging infectious diseases. At the same time, digital innovations and social media are shifting how communities, governments and the private sector engage, transforming health systems. New shifts in global health financing, geopolitical conflicts and changing climates are also presenting profound health system challenges in Australia’s broader region – as well as opportunities for innovation, shared learning and investment.

Our rapidly growing health systems and climate change research team, based in Mparntwe, has identified priority areas for investment to position northern Australis’s health systems for these increasing challenges:

1. Strengthening health services and workforce to provide integrated care and reduce service fragmentation, especially in remote areas where needs are higher;
2. Improving cross-sectoral approaches to policy and service planning, considering the social and environmental determinants of health including housing, climate, community leadership/governance and education;
3. Greater collaboration on shared health system priorities and challenges across Australia’s jurisdictions and with our near neighbours in the Indo-Pacific; and
4. Robust and high-quality research and evaluation, using place-based participatory research approaches to ensure that evidence informs policy and practice, ultimately addressing local needs.

Our Mparntwe-based research centre is generating new evidence, linking knowledge to practice, and engaging in advocacy to address these priorities. Our work encompasses multi-institutional collaborations involving local, national, and international partners. We are led by a growing team of early and mid-career researchers and dedicated professional staff, exemplifying a local hub of research excellence and critical mass in remote northern Australia. This presentation will provide an overview of new evidence underlying the priority areas for health systems investment and will reflect on how the northern Australia development agenda and partnerships can generate greater awareness and investment.