Day Two RMA25 Plenary
| Friday, October 24, 2025 |
| 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM |
| Crown Ballroom 1 & 2 |
Speaker
Dr Tracy Westerman AM
We are failing our most vulnerable communities: why Close The Gap is fundamentally flawed
Abstract Overview
Indigenous suicides continue to escalate each year to the point our highest risk regions have been in crisis for decades. So, why has ‘good intent’ not managed to make traction on the heartbreaking reality of Indigenous child suicides four times that of non-Indigenous children? Dr Westerman, with over two decades of track record in Indigenous suicide prevention calls for an urgent rethink on what is a business-as-usual approach to this issue. Where output is favoured over outcome. Where subjectivity is favoured over science. The significant and unacceptable gaps to addressing this escalation will be explained and a clear, measurable solution to addressing them provided. Dr Westerman will argue that our approaches should be data driven and measurable; because the stakes are too high for ambiguity about what works. She will conclude with providing an overview of her unique suicide prevention programs, assessment tools and Indigenous workforce development initiatives based on 25 years of work with high-risk Aboriginal communities. A road map that has been articulated through peer reviewed publications for over two decades all of which has been achieved without any government funding or support. The question remains: can we truly close the gap when we exclude the very few examples of culturally informed, scientifically determined work?
Biography
Dr. Tracy Westerman AM is a pioneering psychologist and Nyamal woman from Western Australia's Pilbara region and a trailblazer in Aboriginal mental health and suicide prevention. As the first Aboriginal person to earn a master's and PhD in Clinical Psychology, she founded Indigenous Psychological Services in 1998 without any government funding and has built her career independently while transforming the field.
She has delivered 80+ keynotes nationally and internationally, and trained more than 50,000 practitioners in her culturally informed assessments and treatment programs.
Her groundbreaking research has led to multiple Australian firsts including the development of the Westerman Aboriginal Symptom Checklist, the only culturally and clinically validated tests for at-risk Indigenous youth and adults; published Australia's first national database of Indigenous mental health and suicide behaviours prevalence; created the country's first cultural competency tests and whole-of-community suicide prevention programs that achieved risk reduction across multiple communities, recognised by the Canadian Government as best practice.
Following 13 Aboriginal youth suicides in the Kimberley in 2018, Dr. Westerman established the Dr Tracy Westerman Indigenous psychology scholarship program with a $50,000 donation and launched her name charity in 2020; The Westerman Jilya Institute for Indigenous Mental Health, which has supported 64, Indigenous psychology students to graduation; has a dedicated research arm and last year launched the first National Indigenous Psychology Treatment Arm. She volunteers in Jilya and has raised over $8 million in funding. Her annual Jilya Concert has raised over $600,000, attracting celebrity support and generating significant media attention.
Recognised with an Order of Australia (AM) in 2021 and named the 2018 Australian of the Year (WA), she recently published her award winning memoir, "Jilya," documenting her transformative work in psychology.
