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Closing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health gap is an urgent national priority. This commentary provides both an overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional well being and mental health and some of the promising initiatives for restoring wellbeing. Solutions for addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander mental health issues require a “best of both worlds” approach which acknowledges the impact of social and cultural determinants on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing.

Elder, Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group 26 Consultant to the Commonwealth Department of Health, Indigenous tobacco control advocate, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia Contributors All authors have contributed substantially to conception, drafting and finalisation of this fundamentally important open letter. Competing interests None declared. patient consent for publicatiopn Not required. provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.