National stewardship for health has been defined as ‘the careful and responsible management of the wellbeing of the population’ and is the responsibility of government, usually through a ministry of health. In broad terms, governance can be defined as ‘the actions and means adopted by a society to promote collective action and deliver collective solutions in pursuit of common goals'.

This paper focuses on stewardship and governance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health as each is found or supported in Australia’s laws. It examines whether the configuration of Australian laws allocating responsibility for health and for the affairs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is adequate to establish a structure in which system-wide stewardship and good governance may be undertaken.

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