An assessment tool suitable to use for small rural towns and remote communities was developed: the Healthy Community Assessment Tool. This tool is designed to be used by community members, service providers and administrators to support decision making, planning and coordinating health promoting actions across a range of social and physical environmental areas, including communities, non-government organisations and government funded services by community members to improve physical and social environmental health in their communities.

• The benefits of using measurable environmental health indicators in remote Indigenous communities include:
• The data collected can be used to support decision making, planning and coordinating health promoting actions across a range of social and physical environmental areas by community members and all levels of governments.
• The use of indicators will provide structure to enhance the role of Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) and Indigenous EHOs in remote communities.
• The data can contribute to identifying and addressing inequities in the social determinants of health within and between communities.
• The tool can provide a basis to develop a community continuous quality environmental health improvement program to work towards achieving healthier communities.
• The tool can provide an additional and a practical means to assist to close the gap in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.