As part of the Com­mon­wealth’s Attor­ney Gen­er­al’s Depart­ment, the IOTHS offers a broad range of acute and com­mu­ni­ty based health pro­grams through a Pri­ma­ry Health Care mod­el sit­u­at­ed at both loca­tions, with an 8 bed hos­pi­tal on Christ­mas Island and two remote clin­ic set­tings in the Cocos (Keel­ing) Islands. Christ­mas Island is locat­ed some 3800 kms from Perth and the Cocos (Keel­ing) Islands are 900 kms to the west of Christ­mas Island.

Cul­tur­al­ly the two island set­tings have strong and vibrant links with South East Asia and defin­i­tive pop­u­la­tion groups reflec­tive of his­to­ry and con­tem­po­rary aspects of island life. The Christ­mas Island pop­u­la­tion reflects a 60% Chi­nese and a 20% Malay her­itage with the remain­der cau­casian in make-up and Cocos (Keel­ing) has a well estab­lished 80% Coco Malay pop­u­la­tion with the remain­ing 20% cau­casian. Such a rich her­itage is main­tained through many diverse aspects such as reli­gion (Mus­lim, Bud­dhism, Taoist, Chris­t­ian), fes­ti­vals, tem­ples, places of wor­ship, food, friend­li­ness and a wel­come extend­ed to new­com­ers and tourists. In recent times refugees from through­out the Indi­an Ocean region have been brought to Christ­mas Island for assess­ment and care as required. The IOTHS is part of that process and looks to expand­ing its role as required.

Final­ly, the islands pos­sess sig­nif­i­cant beau­ty, unique flo­ra and fau­na, fan­tas­tic snorkelling and div­ing and a lifestyle sec­ond to none with ample oppor­tu­ni­ty to vis­it south­east Asia and beyond through reg­u­lar jet air ser­vices to and from Malaysia and Sin­ga­pore. The main­land ​‘gate­way’ is via Perth and again reg­u­lar ser­vices through the inter­na­tion­al ter­mi­nal, ensure access 4 times a week.

Why would you want to be any­where else?