More Than a Laundry documentary short film

Media release: Friday 10 July, 2026

More than a Laundry: Fighting heart disease and creating jobs one wash at a time

New AIG film highlights how remote laundries are helping prevent heart disease in the Northern Territory

A new short film, More Than a Laundry, is shining a light on an unlikely frontline in the fight against preventable heart disease in the Northern Territory: Clean clothes.

Set in Gunbalanya, a remote community of just over 1,000 people about 300km east of Darwin, the documentary highlights the impact of Aboriginal Investment Group’s (AIG) Remote Laundry Project in fighting acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD).

RHD, a largely preventable condition, continues to drive serious illness and premature death in many remote communities.

While mostly eliminated across wider Australia, RHD disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. RHD stems from a Strep A infection which, if left untreated, can lead to ARF and permanent heart damage.

Nearly 12,000 people in Australia are currently living with ARF or RHD, with over 90 per cent of ARF cases affecting First Nations Australians, most aged between five and 14.

AIG’s Remote Laundries Project, which is supported by the Heart Foundation, is tackling the issue head-on by providing communities with free, reliable access to washing and drying facilities. Clean clothes and bedding help reduce scabies and lice, which can lead to Strep A skin infections and trigger ARF.

AIG CEO Elizabeth Morgan-Brett urged people to watch the film and said it highlighted the simple, but powerful solution.

We traced it back to overcrowded housing and limited access to proper washing facilities. Those repeated infections can lead to acute rheumatic fever and, ultimately, rheumatic heart disease.

Elizabeth Morgan-Brett

AIG CEO

“It sounds simple, but hot washes with the right products can kill the bacteria that cause these diseases,” Morgan-Brett explains in the documentary.

“The one thing that’s difficult to quantify, is that our laundries deliver dignity. This is about dignity, human dignity. Every person in the world deserves the right to clean clothes and clean bedding.

“We’re reducing disease, creating jobs and strengthening communities — one wash at a time.”

The Gunbalanya remote laundry site, one of seven AIG laundries across remote Northern Territory, opened in August 2024 and employs five local First Nations people.

RHD in global spotlight at upcoming World Congress

The Heart Foundation will put RHD in the spotlight again later this year when it hosts the World Heart Federation's World Congress on RHD.

The Congress, which is only the second of its kind, will be held in Perth to unite global researchers, practitioners, patients, advocates and community leaders to explore practical and effective solutions to end RHD.

We can be the generation that ends rheumatic heart disease in Australia. Eradicating RHD means addressing the conditions that drive it. Through partnerships with organisations like AIG, we’re seeing simple, community-led solutions deliver real health outcomes. RHD should not exist in Australia.

Le Smith

National Manager Health & Wellbeing

Lee Smith adds: "We have the knowledge, the solutions and the opportunity to end it. What is needed now is the collective commitment, investment and partnership to turn ambition into action."

Watch and share the short film: More than a Laundry