The ACT Government has commenced the process of transitioning the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm towards Community control, in partnership with Yeddung Mura.
The Healing Farm was intended to operate as a culturally grounded, residential healing environment, with early plans recognising the importance of strengthening families, supporting young people, fostering self-determination, and sustaining Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, spirituality and culture.
After more than two decades of advocacy, cultural leadership and persistence, this milestone of Community-led transition honours the vision first held by Ngunnawal Elders, who championed a place of healing grounded in connections to culture, family, Community and Country.
These Elders, alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community members from Canberra and the region, led the call for a residential healing place where First Nations people could strengthen identity and heal alongside Community.
The vision for the Healing Farm was always for something more than a service - it was for a place on Country where healing could happen in the right way.
In 2002, they asked the ACT Government to walk alongside them to bring this vision to life. While the Miowera property was purchased in 2008 and significant investment followed, the full vision of the Healing Farm has not yet been realised.
The Government committed to transition the Healing Farm to Community control at the 2024 Election and is delivering on this commitment.
The ACT Government will continue to manage current day-program operations at the Farm in the short‑term, while working collaboratively with Yeddung Mura on a dedicated pathway forward that best serves First Nations people as it transitions to Community control.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health, Rachel Stephen-Smith:
"For 24 years, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community has carried this vision with resilience and persistence.
"The Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm recognises what Community has always known - healing works best when it is led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, grounded in culture, guided by Elders and shaped by Community.
"This is about self-determination. It is about returning decision-making to Community and ensuring the Healing Farm brings the vision of a holistic and culturally grounded residential healing facility on Ngunnawal Country to life."
Quotes attributable to Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Suzanne Orr:
"With the right support and resourcing, this transition provides an opportunity to realise the original vision - comprehensive, wraparound, and Community-led healing that responds to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT and surrounding regions."
