The Aboriginal Investment Group has congratulated Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his announcement Monday of funding for 12 remote laundries in the Northern Territory and Central Australia, as part of his Closing the Gap speech in Parliament.

The Investment Group and the Heart Foundation hailed the funding as "a vital initiative that will help reduce the prevalence of scabies infections that contribute to a form of heart disease, Rheumatic Heart Disease, that can be fatal to young people in First Nations communities if left untreated".

Funding for a rollout of Remote Laundries was a key ask in the Aboriginal Investment Group and the Heart Foundation's joint 2025-26 Federal Budget submission.

RHD is entirely preventable yet remains a significant cause of illness and death among First Nations people. Scabies infections are a key trigger for rheumatic fever, which can lead to RHD.

Scabies forms and is easily spread in close-quartered, low-hygiene living conditions. A working laundry allows bedding and clothing to be regularly washed, thereby preventing scabies infections. Access to working laundries, taken for granted in most cities, is no guarantee in remote communities.

Aboriginal Investment Group chief executive Elizabeth Morgan-Brett said the Group's Remote Laundries Project welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement committing to fund the build of 12 new or refurbished Remote Community Laundries in the Northern Territory.

"The Aboriginal Investment Group in conjunction with our key partner, the Heart Foundation has a shared vision of eradicating the diseases that lead to acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in remote Aboriginal communities," she said.

"Our AIG Remote Laundries Project is an Indigenous led, proven solution to improving the health of Aboriginal Australians, whilst driving employment, and we look forward to expanding our Remote Laundries Project across the NT."

Heart Foundation chief executive David Lloyd said the Foundaton "is thrilled that more First Nations communities will be able to access a Remote Laundry to significantly drive down scabies infections that lead to Rheumatic Heart Disease".

"Ensuring that First Nations communities have access to clean clothes and bedding is a simple yet powerful step in breaking the cycle of infection and reducing the burden of RHD," he said.

"This funding commitment is an important recognition that social determinants of health—like hygiene and housing—are directly linked to life-threatening heart disease."

More information on Rheumatic Heart Disease is available on the Heart Foundation site.

For more details on AIG's Remote Laundries Project can be found online.