This page outlines how different types of content and pages are defined and used across HealthInfoNet. The definitions describe how publications, resources, programs, workforce-related material, and page types are classified on the site, providing clarity about what users can expect to find in each section. They are intended to support accurate interpretation of content and to explain how different categories are applied in practice. By setting out these definitions in one place, the page supports clearer navigation and helps users understand how HealthInfoNet content is structured to support work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

Key Resources

Library entries classified as publications include reports, grey literature, and peer-reviewed journal articles that meet the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet  collection criteria. Publications are distinct from health promotion resources, health practice resources, and policy documents, each of which has its own inclusion requirements before being added to the database.

Any item that meets the AIH collection criteria but is not tagged as a health promotion resource, health practice resource, or policy document will be classified as a publication.

Within the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, policy materials are documents that outline actionable objectives and are issued by government or a government-authorised body. These documents set clear goals and specify the timeframe within which actions are intended to occur, ensuring they can be implemented and monitored in practice.

Publications about Policies

This category includes materials that examine or explain specific policies, as well as resources that support the development of policy in a particular topic area. These documents help the workforce understand policy intent, application, and implications within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health contexts.

Health promotion resources are materials designed for consumer use, supporting understanding of health issues and encouraging positive health behaviours. These may be used in public health campaigns or shared by practitioners in health promotion roles to reinforce key messages.

These resources appear in a variety of formats, including brochures, pamphlets, booklets, posters, factsheets, stickers, comics, resource packages hosted together on a single webpage, mobile apps, websites, and videos.

Resource Packages

Resource packages bring together a set of related health promotion or health practice materials created by a single organisation. These collections are presented on one webpage so users can access all components of the package in a coordinated and convenient way.

Health Practice Resources

Health practice resources are materials developed for health practitioners to support clinical and professional activities. These may take the form of guidelines, toolkits, manuals, videos, apps, or other tools designed to assist practitioners in delivering effective and culturally safe care.

Guidelines

Administrative Guidelines

Administrative guidelines outline requirements and procedures related to organisational operations, such as financial reporting, infection-control protocols in hospital settings, access arrangements for Medicare bulk-billing in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, health practitioner registration processes, and expectations for culturally secure service delivery.

Practice Guidelines

Practice guidelines provide direction for clinical or practice-related activities. These may include immunisation schedules, seasonal preparation guidance for ACCHOs, or digital tools—such as webinars or apps—that support assessment and management of specific health needs.

Toolkits

Toolkits are collections of practice-oriented materials designed for health professionals. They may include brochures, posters, assessment charts, and other resources packaged together to support consistent practice. Toolkits must be intended for practitioners rather than consumers, such as resources on alcohol and pregnancy tailored to clinical use.

Manuals

Manuals offer step-by-step information to support practitioners in their roles. These resources explain processes, approaches, or techniques relevant to professional practice, such as handbooks on working with alcohol and other drug use or practical guides for counselling.

Research Programs

Research programs involve original investigative work using quantitative or qualitative methods to answer research questions or test hypotheses. These may include clinical studies, epidemiological research, laboratory-based projects, and evaluation activities designed to assess the effectiveness or impact of a program or intervention.

Service Programs

Service programs focus on the direct delivery of support or care to clients. These programs may operate in areas such as clinical services, aged care, housing, youth work, environmental health, employment, information provision, transport, therapeutic services, and other community or health-related domains.

Funding Programs

Funding programs are structured funding initiatives that operate as programs in their own right. They provide financial support for services, infrastructure, community initiatives, or population-level activities, and are typically administered by government. These entries represent ongoing or defined funding streams (for example, the Public Health and Chronic Disease Grant Program).

Individual funding opportunities—such as awards, scholarships, or one-off grants, including the Jeannie Ferris Cancer Australia Recognition Award—are entered separately as Funding entries rather than program entries, in line with AIH classification guidelines.

Health Promotion and Education Programs

Health promotion and education programs aim to inform and empower consumers by communicating key health messages. These programs may involve public campaigns, social marketing initiatives, peer education activities, arts-based approaches, and other strategies designed to improve health literacy and support positive health behaviours.

Health System Programs

Health system programs concentrate on strengthening the broader health system through policy development, workforce initiatives, and improvements in service models. Examples include best practice approaches, models of care, and continuous quality improvement activities in settings such as hospitals, primary health care services, or Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. These programs focus on system-level change and do not include direct service provision or consumer-focused health promotion activities.

Organisations are bodies involved in creating, delivering, or supporting work related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. This includes Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, government departments, research centres, non-government organisations, and other service providers. Organisation entries identify the groups responsible for producing resources, programs, or evidence featured on the HealthInfoNet.

Workforce Information

Events are scheduled activities relevant to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce. These may include conferences, webinars, workshops, seminars, symposiums, and community-based health events organised by recognised sector bodies.

Courses are structured education or training programs designed to strengthen skills and knowledge across the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce. These may be delivered by universities, registered training organisations, peak bodies, or other sector-based providers, and can include both accredited and non-accredited learning options.

Funding refers to grants, scholarships, tenders, and other financial support opportunities available to individuals or organisations contributing to improved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes. Funding entries provide details on eligibility, scope, purpose, and the administering organisation.

Jobs highlight employment opportunities across the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector. These may include roles in clinical care, community services, research, policy, administration, and leadership, offered by reputable organisations and service providers.

Page Types

Portals

Portals are key areas of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet designed to bring together the essential information needed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce for major health topics. They offer a consolidated view of facts, evidence, programs, policies, and workforce materials so users can quickly locate credible, culturally safe information that supports professional practice, policy development, education, and service delivery. Portals provide a comprehensive overview of significant health domains and guide users to the most relevant content available. Other sections or topics on the website serve a different purpose. They tend to focus on specific issues, sub-topics, or emerging priorities and do not provide the full breadth of material contained within Portals. These areas help users access more targeted or specialised information but are not intended to act as the primary entry point for a major health topic. In essence, Portals present the broad landscape for important health areas, while other sections and topics address individual components or more specialised aspects within that broader field.

Special Topic Pages

Special Topic pages provide focused information on emerging, complex, or high-priority issues that sit outside the scope of the main Portals. These pages bring together key evidence, resources, and recent developments to help the workforce quickly understand and engage with specific areas such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Professionals,  Cultural Ways, or Closing the Gap.

Topics

Topics are organised areas of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet that bring together key information, evidence, and resources on a specific health issue or theme. They help the workforce navigate subject-specific material by providing streamlined access to relevant publications, programs, data, and tools. While Topics support focused exploration of particular aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, they do not offer the broader, multi-layered coverage provided by the Portals.