In response to the 2014 review, the Australian Government introduced a redesigned program with a renewed focus on achieving tobacco control outcomes. As part of this redesign the Australian Government committed $116.8 million over three years to the program with a substantial proportion ($93.4m) allocated to regional grants.
During this funding period, the TIS program’s objectives were to:
The revised program was guided by the following key principles focuse on flexibility, collaboration, and measurable outcomes:
The Quitline Indigenous enhancement project, Quitskills training and the National Coordinator role all continued during this period. Read more about the 2010–2015 program elements.
Funding for regional teams also remained in place, but with a renewed focus. Healthy lifestyle activities were no longer funded, and direct support for smoking cessation was phased out.
Through the Regional Tobacco Control Grants (RTCG), 37 organisations across Australia received support to deliver evidence-based tobacco control activities aimed at reducing smoking rates. Each organisation was able to tailor its approach to local needs and community strengths.
New components added during this period include the National Best Practice Unit Tackling Indigenous Smoking (NBPU TIS), Innovation grants and the National process and implementation evaluation. Detailed activities for the RTCG, NBPU TIS and Innovation grants can be found below.
Explore TIS activities across all funding periods
Key performance indicators for the Regional Tobacco Control Grants (RTCG) were developed in consultation with grant recipients and the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisory Group.
Regional teams collected data and information on their TIS activities which was used to track progress through six monthly TIS performance reports submitted through the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme (IAHP).
These reports helped show what was being achieved by grant recipients through five national TIS Performance Indicators:
In addition to analysing the routine data from six monthly performance reports, CIRCA conducted site visits and interviews with program stakeholders including RTCG funded teams, NBPU TIS, the National Coordinator TIS and the Australian Government Department of Health.
Their evaluation report, completed at the end of the funding period in 2018, confirmed the program’s relevance to Indigenous tobacco control in Australia and included recommendations for improving program implementation.
CIRCA also highlighted success stories from the program and called for continued, longer term funding for the program (at least 4 years) to sustain progress. Key recommendations for future iterations of the TIS program included:
For this period, tobacco control efforts were strongly influenced by national and state strategies that supported Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.
Although ‘Closing the Gap’ did not include a specific target on smoking, reducing tobacco use remained essential to improving life expectancy and addressing preventable illness.
National frameworks such as the The National Drug Strategy 2017–2026 and The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Drug Strategy 2014–2019 guided harm-minimisation approaches focused on reducing drug and tobacco use through culturally appropriate, community-driven action.
In New South Wales, The ATRAC Framework: A Strategic Framework for Aboriginal Tobacco Resistance and Control in NSW 2015 provided a state-based strategy to strengthen planning, implementation and evaluation of Aboriginal tobacco control activities.
Together, these frameworks shaped the direction of tobacco control policy and practice during this period, ensuring efforts were aligned with broader goals to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Tackling Indigenous Smoking
info@tacklingindigenoussmoking.com.au
1800 662 447 (1800 NO CIGS) – Toll free
