Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people report higher levels of psychological distress than non-Aboriginal young people, with up to three in 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people rating high to very high levels of distress from mood or anxiety symptoms compared to 13% of non-Aboriginal people. The symptoms associated with anxiety and depressive disorders can cause significant life interference for youth and their parents. Life interference is the ways in which symptoms impact a young person’s life such as their participation in school, the quality of their relationships and so on. Although there are multiple validated measures for assessing anxiety and depressive symptoms and disorders in the general population, there are only a few culturally validated measures to assess Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, none of which focus on life interference. Further no research has examined how life interference is defined culturally and what areas it significantly impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youths’ lives. Thus, current data on the prevalence of mental health may not accurately reflect true prevalence of mental ill-health, nor the impact it has on young people’s lives. The present study aims to gather an understanding of what life interference from internalising disorders means in the cultural context of Indigenous Australia. 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people with anxiety and/or depression, their carers and service providers will be interviewed. Data will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.