In Australia, new research has found that medical checks on Aboriginal children as part of the federal intervention will have little or no benefit unless follow-up care is provided.

The intervention was introduced last year by the federal government in response to endemic levels of child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory. It includes health checks for Aboriginal children.

The research paper - by the Menzies School of Health Research - says federal intervention into Northern Territory Aboriginal communities has focused on primary health checks, rather than follow-ups.

One of the authors, Jonathan Carpetis, says many children present with complex issues that can not be fully treated in one session.

"There're actually doing quite well in terms of dealing with those acute problems which is a very important thing to note," he said.

"But the problems they are facing is the ability to follow up, when they identify a child with a health issue, to institute something that will then deal with that in the longer term."

Produced by Radio Australia and Australia Network