Irene Fisher

Irene Fisher is the Chief Executive Officer of Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (SHSAC).

Primary health care services are provided by SHSAC to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the Jawoyn region, located east of Katherine in the Northern Territory.

Formerly the manager of health programs with the Jawoyn Association, Irene was involved in establishing the SHSAC from the ground up in 2000, after becoming frustrated with the "tremendous gaps in health service delivery."

"We realised great potential for developing Sunrise and getting an holistic approach to health. We're not just looking at the immediate care of illness but the broader sustainable and preventative programs," says Irene.

Originally SHSAC was a Coordinated Care Trial funded by the Australian Commonwealth and State/Territory Governments. The Jawoyn Association competed nationally and was one of five successful proposals from a field of more than 80 applicants.

SHSAC became a full fledged service in mid 2005 and the organisation has grown to employ more than 100 staff - of whom 40% are Indigenous. Funding continues to be provided by the Australian Commonwealth and State/Territory Governments.

Irene has spent much of her life working to improve the health of Indigenous people. She began her career as a Registered Nurse in Melbourne and after returning to the Northern Territory in 1989, she soon developed a passion for her work after seeing first-hand the inequality being faced by Indigenous people.

"I was truly stunned when I came here. I could not believe that such places existed in this rich country of ours....there's such inequality that exists. Until those things are addressed, to me there cannot be proper reconciliation."

After nursing in Katherine for six years, Irene moved to gain experience in education by lecturing to health workers. Then, as her grandmother's health declined, Irene returned to the Jawoyn region of the Northern Territory in the mid 1990s to be with her grandmother and to learn more about her culture.

In 1997, Irene was involved in the National Forum for Development of Strategies which aimed to help increase the number of Indigenous people in the nursing profession.           

In 2000, Irene spoke at the People's Health Assembly in Bangladesh, where she raised issues about the underlying state of Indigenous health in Australia: "The legacy of ill health experienced by our [people is a stark reminder of a continuing history," Irene said in the presentation.