Our Story
Deadly Choices is Australia’s leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander preventative health program.
It aims to educate and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to take control of their health by making healthy choices for themselves and their families, such as eating healthy, being physically active, not smoking or vaping and connecting with their Community Controlled Health Services (CCHS) for an annual 715 Health Check.
2025 marks 15 years of Deadly Choices empowering community!
Our History
Deadly Choices was created in 2010 as an initiative of the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH).
IUIH is a regional not-for-profit CCHS that leads the planning, development, and delivery of health and family wellbeing services and employment pathways to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of South East Queensland.
Through the IUIH System of Care, IUIH empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing through the delivery of a comprehensive range of services.
Deadly Choices was developed from this as a preventative health program to build community health literacy and engagement tools to get more Mob into CCHSs to start their health journey.
Initially focused on South East Queensland, Deadly Choices has evolved into Australia’s leading preventative health program, expanding nationally across Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia.
Our Purpose
Deadly Choices is proudly by community, for community.
Our purpose is to educate and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, giving them the confidence and knowledge to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.
In Aboriginal slang, ‘deadly’ means ‘great.’ Therefore, a Deadly Choice is a great choice, and we encourage our communities to make Deadly Choices every day.
Our core values include promoting healthy lifestyle choices, strengthening cultural connections, fostering a sense of belonging, and empowering individuals to take ownership of their health.
We embed these values in all our activities. Find out more about the deadly work we do!
