‘Believe in me and I will believe in myself’, a rural Australian health service learns how to mangan dunguludja ngatan (build strong employment) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: a qualitative study

Background Australian Aboriginal people have higher rates of unemployment and poorer health than non-Aboriginal Australians. Historical segregation policies that spanned 60 years negatively impacted workforce inclusion. A Victorian regional health service recently developed an Aboriginal Employment Plan (AEP) targeted to reach 2% employment of Aboriginal people by 2020. This study aimed to identify strategies that will build strong Aboriginal employment.