In Australia's National Program of Action it was acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the worst health and infant mortality of any identifiable group in Australia, and that the health of their children is significantly worse than that of other Australian children. The fact that Aboriginal death rates are much higher than for the rest of the population means that the Aboriginal population is relatively young when compared with the non-Aboriginal population. At the 1991 Census the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was 265,459, almost 40 per cent of whom were children aged less than 15 years in comparison with 22 per cent of the total Australian population. Only 28 per cent of Aboriginal peoples live in capital cities with easy access to all mainstream health services. One in five reside in remote rural settings, away from cities with basic heath facilities.
Aboriginal mothers tend to have babies at a younger age than other mothers.
In 1991, more than a quarter of Aboriginal mothers were in their teens. Deaths directly attributable to obstetric complications were disproportionately high in Aboriginal mothers. In 1988 Aboriginal mothers accounted for almost 30 per cent of all maternal deaths but less than three per cent of all confinements. The strongest predictor of low child-survival rates was large family size. Various strategies are being implemented to address this issue.