National Strategy to Address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Disadvantage

This strategy aims for a society where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples enjoy comparable standards of social and economic well-being to those of the wider community, especially in the areas of education, health, employment, housing, and law and justice, while maintaining their unique cultural identities.

This is a near final draft of what the final national strategy might look like. It draws on the feedback the Council received to its draft Document for Reconciliation and the draft framework for this national strategy, which was circulated for comment on 1 December 1999. The strategy is attached for your information.

The Council is currently looking to finalise this Strategy at its 10-12 March 2000 meeting and then provide it to governments prior to Corroboree 2000 to enable them to consider it and announce their commitments to implementation.

For more information please telephone:
Marcus Cahill on 02-6271-5234
Bryan Palmer on 02-6271-5449

Or write to:
Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
Locked Bag 14
Kingston ACT 2604
(fax: 02-6271-5168)

Or e-mail:
bryan.palmer@pmc.gov.au

Or visit our web site:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/car/

Prepared by the Partnerships in
Reconciliation Committee of the
Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
23 February 2000

National Strategy to Address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Disadvantage

Setting the Scene

In a just society, it is unacceptable if one part of the society continues to experience significant disadvantage. Yet, in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a whole fall far behind the level of well-being enjoyed by the wider community. They do not experience the same levels of health, education, employment and economic independence as those enjoyed by most Australians.

For reconciliation to grow in the life of the nation, this difference in experience must be addressed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the right to share in Australia’s land, wealth and resources and to contribute equitably to the nation’s economic, social and cultural life.

This is why the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation now asks individuals and organisations across the nation to commit to implement this national strategy. If we all work together - individuals, families, local communities, businesses, faith communities, Indigenous organisations, voluntary and philanthropic organisations and governments - we can address the levels of disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Communities, businesses, organisations and governments can give effect to this strategy through their regular corporate and business planning processes. They can develop their own plans and identify activities for implementing the recommended actions in this strategy. When developing their plans and activities, they should consider the range of example actions listed in Appendix 1. All should also take both immediate and ongoing actions that contribute towards addressing the causes and consequences of disadvantage.

Understanding disadvantage

The history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage began with the dispossession of land and the displacement of people. Discrimination, the intergenerational effects of poverty and the loss of autonomy have fuelled it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples often face prejudice when trying to rent a home, finding employment, getting service in shops and banks, and doing the simple everyday things that most Australians take for granted.

Disadvantage in one area increases the likelihood of disadvantage in other areas. For example, without study facilities at home, even with parental encouragement, learning for many will be hard. Similarly, children with hearing loss from middle ear troubles or undernourished children will find education difficult. Poor sanitation affects health, as does poor or inappropriate housing. Career progression to middle and senior levels often requires tertiary education. Being poor and unemployed statistically lowers self-esteem and increases illness, death and the likelihood of arrest and imprisonment, just as poor health and limited educational achievement affects employability.

Ultimately, all Australians benefit from a united effort to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage. As Indigenous disadvantage is overcome, the economy grows and the need for government expenditure is decreased. At the same time, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will be better placed to fulfil their cultural, social and economic aspirations.

Working together and shared responsibilities

There are no simple "quick fix" solutions to turning around the levels of disadvantage that have been many generations in the making. To go forward we must learn from the past and build on good practice, recognising that there are successful public, private and community sector programs and initiatives that have made substantial inroads.

Key elements of these successful initiatives are leadership and benchmarking. While it has not performed as well as expected, we should build on the promise of the Council of Australian Governments’ 1992 National Commitment to Improved Outcomes in the Delivery of Programs and Services for Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. This strategy builds on the national benchmarking and accountability work that has commenced in some sectors (for example, in the health sector, there are agreed national indicators and targets). The strategy seeks to extend such benchmarking and accountability frameworks to all sectors.

Addressing disadvantage places responsibilities on those providing support and assistance and on those receiving it. For those who provide support there is a duty to those being assisted. For example, it means that service providers should: work in partnership with local Indigenous people and communities; recognise the cultures and histories of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the consequences of past policies and practices; and build the capacity of local Indigenous communities to help themselves.

For those being assisted, there is the responsibility to help themselves as best as they can. This may involve seeking out information about available services, helping service providers to improve delivery outcomes, and recognising and tackling personal barriers to improvement. Some Indigenous communities have identified that taking responsibility in education and employment is an essential part of the way forward.

Local, Territory, State and Federal governments and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) have collective social responsibilities to their constituents. Governments are responsible for ensuring that citizens have access to the resources and the opportunities needed to take their place in society, through (for example) health and education services. Governments have the responsibility to ensure that their programs and services do not produce welfare dependency or other unintended consequences. They are responsible to their taxpayers for delivering services that provide value for money. Finally, Australian governments have responsibilities under the international treaties that Australia has entered into.

What we can achieve

This strategy aims for a society where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples enjoy comparable standards of social and economic well-being to those of the wider community, especially in the areas of education, health, employment, housing, and law and justice, while maintaining their unique cultural identities.

The following objectives build on this aim. The objectives provide a guide for people and organisations as they put this strategy into practice. They provide specific issues for consideration when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples establish agreed benchmarks with governments and service providers. They also serve as national performance indicators. Ultimately, the effectiveness of this strategy should be evaluated against the scale of improvements and reductions achieved.

Education

1. An increase in the attendance, retention and academic achievement rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students.
2. An increase in the literacy and numeracy proficiency of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in years 3 and 5.
3. An increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school-leavers with the skills and abilities to participate in and contribute to the community in which they live.
4. An increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with vocational education and training qualifications and higher education qualifications.

Health and well-being

5. An increase in the life expectancy and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
6. A reduction in the levels of heart disease and stroke, diabetes, respiratory diseases, cancer, injury and infection among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
7. A reduction in the incidence and prevalence of smoking, obesity, excess alcohol consumption and other substance misuse among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
8. An increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have ready access to health care services and providers.
9. An increase in the availability and affordability of nutritious food in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Employment

10. An increase in the employment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
11. An increase in private sector employment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
12. An increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people employed in all occupations.
13. An increase in the progression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons from CDEP programs to paid employment in the labour market.

Housing

14. An increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live in functioning houses, especially in regional and remote areas.
15. An increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who own their own home, especially in metropolitan areas.
16. A reduction in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and especially young people who live in crowded houses with insufficient space and facilities for the number of occupants.
17. An increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who successfully gain and maintain public housing and private rental accommodation.
18. A reduction in the barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living on their country, according to their culture.

Law and justice

19. A reduction in arrest and incarceration rates due to practices in law and justice that have a discriminatory outcome.
20. A reduction in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration and re-offending rates for both juvenile offenders and adults.
21. A reduction in the rate of crime, including family and community violence, experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Communities

22. A reduction in the cost of living disparity for goods and services in regional and remote communities.
23. An increase in the proportion of programs and services developed, delivered and evaluated in partnership with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
24. An increase in the proportion of community-controlled services.
25. An increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders communities with essential infrastructure which supports their economic and social well-being.
26. An increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ community well-being and safety, especially for children, families and older persons.

Some have argued that several of the above desired outcomes are based on Western assumptions about disadvantage and that they may have limited cultural relevance to Indigenous peoples. Where this is the case, it may be unrealistic to expect full statistical equality to be achieved with the wider community, even in the long term. However, it would be wrong to describe as disadvantage those specific statistical differences that arise directly from cultural obligations and self-determination.

To deal with the potential for cultural bias in the setting of benchmarks and to provide regional flexibility, the Council is looking to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to agree national, regional and local benchmarks with governments and service providers. Regional and local benchmarks are more responsive to the cultural choices and local circumstances, while at the same time creating a positive climate for continual improvement.

This strategy will be successful only if the agreed outcome targets are achieved. Where the performance has been less than desired, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, service providers and governments should sit down together, review what they have done and ask why they have not achieved the desired result. These discussions should lead to an agreement on new or improved actions to address disadvantage.

The actions we can take

The Council has identified five critical areas where actions are necessary to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage:

1. leadership at all levels;
2. building stronger communities and equal partnerships;
3. better service delivery;
4. accountability and benchmarking; and
5. appropriate funding arrangements.

1. Leadership at all levels

Leadership at all levels is necessary to address disadvantage. Indigenous people are one source of leadership. The Council of Australian Governments is another. The members of the Council of Australian Governments are the Prime Minister, State Premiers, Territory Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association. Peak organisations in the corporate and community sectors also have a leadership role. These bodies include the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Council of Social Service, the Real Estate Institute of Australia, and faith groups, to name a few. Ongoing leadership and commitments are particularly required in respect of deaths in custody, the forced removal of children from their families, and observance of Australia’s international treaty obligations.

Actions – what needs to be done and who will do it

2. Building stronger communities and equal partnerships

While national leadership is important, disadvantage must be addressed through regional and local actions. It will involve the business sector and local service providers working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as equal partners. Actions to address disadvantage build upon and reinforce the network of relationships and the resources of the local community. They are selected to respond to the unique opportunities and threats in each community, recognising that what works in one place may not work in another.

Actions – what needs to be done and who will do it

1. Indigenous communities, families and individuals take greater responsibility for addressing the causes and consequences of disadvantage within their control.
2. Private sector organisations and businesses improve access to their goods and services and improve employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
3. Service providers, ATSIC, and local, Territory, State and Federal governments involve Indigenous communities and peoples as partners in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of policies, programs and services.
4. Service providers, ATSIC, and local, Territory, State and Federal governments design and deliver their programs and services in a way that is driven by local Indigenous peoples, strengthens local communities, forges coalitions, makes linkages with the corporate sector and draws on the resources within the community to achieve agreed outcomes.
5. Service providers, ATSIC, and local, Territory, State and Federal governments build the skills base of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples so that they are able to sustain the infrastructure and deliver the services to their communities.
6. To ensure equal partnerships, local, Territory, State and Federal governments support and fund Indigenous community organisations to participate in policy development, planning, service delivery and monitoring processes.

3. Better service delivery

Governments have a central position in service delivery. However, they are not the only providers of services. This strategy uses the term "service providers" to include the traditional government and community service providers such as hospitals, meals on wheels and schools, and Indigenous organisations, whether they are provided directly by governments or they are contracted out. It also refers to private sector service providers in the education, health, employment, housing, and law and justice sectors, such as real estate agents and chemists.

Public, private and community sector service providers should re-examine their services and approaches to ensure that they are culturally appropriate and do not, even unintentionally, discourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. In looking to address disadvantage, services should be innovative, adopt best practice models, coordinated at the delivery level and, where necessary, agree to approaches that are otherwise outside the usual style of service delivery in the wider community.

Actions – what needs to be done and who will do it

1. Public, private and community sector service providers, ATSIC, and local, territory, state and federal governments identify and eliminate systemic discrimination and institutional racism, beginning with an audit of their own policies, programs and the way in which services are delivered.
2. Public, private and community sector service providers, and local, Territory, State and Federal governments ensure that their mainstream programs and services are accessible, culturally sensitive, appropriate and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
3. Mainstream service providers collaborate, support and share experitse with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service providers to facilitate their empowerment.
4. Public, private and community sector service providers, ATSIC and other Indigenous organisations, and local, Territory, State and Federal governments regularly and publicly review their legislation, policies, practices and programs to ensure that they are the best approach to achieve agreed outcomes.
5. Public, private and community sector service providers, ATSIC, and local, Territory, State and Federal governments develop a joint agency approach to better coordinate services and programs between and within the three levels of government, local and regional organisations, and service delivery agencies.
6. Local, Territory, State and Federal governments develop a framework that integrates their planning processes with the regional plans of representative Indigenous organisations and communities.
7. Territory, State and Federal governments improve access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Ombudsmen and Parliamentary Commissioners for Administrative Investigations by, for example:

• establishing an Ombudsmen’s office with special responsibilities to investigate complaints from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; or
• employing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander liaison officers and investigators.

4. Accountability and benchmarking

Governments at all levels have a responsibility to ensure that their citizens have the opportunities they need to achieve their potential. Without reliable information about the level of need, the money spent and the services delivered, citizens cannot hold their governments accountable for this responsibility.

Benchmarking systems are one way to achieve this. These systems require governments to say upfront and publicly what they plan to achieve, and later to report openly on their actual performance against the original plans. By benchmarking their results, government organisations are able to identify those areas where greater effort is required. Public reporting allows Australian citizens to apply appropriate political pressure where performance is lacking. All accountability and benchmarking systems require accurate data and a measure of independence and honesty in data collection and analysis.

Actions – what needs to be done and who will do it

5. Appropriate funding arrangements

Having the right "rules" to govern the funding of services and programs to address disadvantage is a critical factor for success. Insufficient, inflexible and poorly applied funding are all contributory factors to past program failures. The strategy recommends that governments adopt more effective, whole-of-government approaches to funding. The funding for education, health, employment, housing, and law and justice programs should focus on people and places rather than government programs. It must be transparent, consciously coordinated and integrated within governments, between governments and at the service delivery level. The role and responsibility of governments at all levels and ATSIC needs to be agreed. Actions developed under this area must also be linked to the accountability and benchmarking measures.

No person should be disadvantaged by the inability of governments and service providers to communicate and cooperate in the delivery of services. It is no longer acceptable for an education department, a health department, an employment department, a housing department, a community services department, a police department, a justice department or a corrections department to say something is not their responsibility, if the matter affects the achievement of the desired outcomes for that agency. This means, for example, that education departments and schools must work with health and welfare departments, local service providers and local communities on the nutrition and hearing of students if this is affecting educational outcomes.

Actions – what needs to be done and who will do it

Examples - what this strategy could mean in practice

Example 1 – reducing crime by helping families

Governments have traditionally responded to Indigenous youth crime by imposing punishment-based measures through the criminal justice system. In many ways, this approach has failed. It does little to reduce youth crime and it is expensive (up to

$175 000 per year to keep a young person in detention, not to mention police, court and legal costs).

Under this National Strategy, governments can choose to take a more effective approach to addressing the problem that is freed from the confines of narrow program thinking and funding restrictions. For example, in addition to traditional punishment approaches, governments could seek to help families whose children may be more likely to experience incarceration, especially "stolen generations" families. This might involve governments placing Indigenous social workers into troubled communities and among families at risk. Alternatively, it might involve the establishment of community support programs for new parents. In other countries, such parenting programs have been shown to significantly reduce juvenile incarceration rates years after the program has ceased.

The benefits of such approaches are clear. For governments, the cost savings would be considerable. These programs only have to keep a small number out of prison to pay for themselves. For Indigenous communities, they reduce the rate of youth incarceration and encourage the development of stable families and stronger communities.

Example 2 – addressing systemic discrimination

A large Indigenous community lives in the region surrounding a small country town. The town has a community centre which provides a number of services and facilities to the community, including vocational courses, computer facilities and business support, meeting venue, and children’s activities (including child care). However, the local Indigenous community feels that their needs are not met by the community centre. Hence, they do not use the services provided by the centre.

The first step in resolving this problem is undertaking an audit to identify what can be done to meet the needs of the local Indigenous community. This would involve the funding agencies and managers of the community centre coming together with the local Indigenous community and discussing the options and constraints, such as building a new centre for the Indigenous community, and making better use of the existing centre and the available resources. Better use of the existing centre could involve:

• mechanisms which ensure that the centre provides services in a culturally appropriate manner, with ongoing consultation with the Indigenous community;
• recruiting Indigenous staff and volunteers for the community centre, as well as involving Indigenous people in the management structure of the centre; and
• using local Indigenous trainers for courses that they offer.

Appendix 1

Example actions to address disadvantage

A number of important issues and ideas for action were raised during the Council’s consultation process on this National Strategy. Ideas for action have also been identified in a range of past reports and reviews. While some of these issues and ideas may have national application, the Council recognises that others only have State, Territory or local application. Therefore, rather than prescribing these actions for the nation, the Council asks that governments, service provider agencies and Indigenous organisations consider the applicability of the following as they develop their action plans to give effect to this National Strategy.

Education

Possible actions include:

Health

Possible actions include:

• ensure that public health programs address known health risk factors and environmental factors;
• increase access to community-controlled primary health services;
• coordinate the activities of mainstream and community-controlled services to avoid duplication and competition;
• develop uniform health care standards, addressing the scope of services provided, staff levels and accommodation, facilities, patient transport, clinic structures and specialist care;
• reduce infrastructure problems that contribute to health problems, particularly poor housing, unemployment and inadequate education;
• promote cross-cultural understanding by funding the placement of trainee health professionals in community-controlled medical services;
• increase the number of nurses and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers for day-to-day care in remote communities and provide the facilities for doctors to support these services;
• allow appropriately qualified nurses to deal with a greater range of issues in regions where no doctors are available;
• include Indigenous identification in the Medicare benefits and the pharmaceutical benefits databases;
• encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to introduce by-laws to manage the purchase of alcohol;
• implement comprehensive immunisation programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children;
• establish culturally appropriate trauma counselling for intergenerational effects of colonialism; and
• improve education for Indigenous people on health and hygiene, nutrition, pregnancy, childcare and the consequences of lifestyle decisions.

Employment

Possible actions include:

• provide greater rewards for Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) service providers who obtain successful open labour market placement;
• ensure that CDEP service providers are at least funded at the same level as other work-for-the-dole schemes;
• continue and further develop national forums comprising of Indigenous and business leaders to encourage greater cooperation between mainstream and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities;
• recognise the cultural obligations of Indigenous staff and implement guidelines for appropriate responses to these, including leave of absence for Indigenous staff to attend culturally significant events (for example, sorry business);
• develop networks among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and between Indigenous businesses and mainstream companies;
• establish regional business programs that engage all groups within Indigenous communities, including youths, women and residents of remote regions;
• promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses within the broader community, both regionally and nationally;
• identify mainstream businesses willing to enter into joint ventures and match these with suitable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses;
• create a hard copy and online national Indigenous business directory that includes the product, service and contact details of Indigenous businesses;
• continue financial assistance for the training and placement of Indigenous people in private sector enterprises;
• continue vocational training and school-to-work programs in schools to promote vocational options to students;
• ensure that Indigenous job seekers and employers are aware of their rights and responsibilities;
• encourage peak businesses and trade unions to adopt specific policy measures that increase Indigenous participation in all levels of industry; and
• continue, further develop and expand the Commonwealth’s Indigenous Employment Program.
• <CDEPs - real jobs>

Housing

Possible actions include:

• develop benchmarks and monitor performance in respect of the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in functional houses with taps with potable water, hot water facilities, shower facilities, laundry facilities, toilet facilities, waste removal and drainage, food storage, preparation and cooking facilities, and safe electrical power;
• housing design should take into account the way in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons use their houses. For example, the design of a backyard in a remote area should consider the need for outside cooking, shade areas, fencing, dust control, and landscaping preferred in these locations;
• inform all eligible tenants about the Department of Family and Community Services’ rent assistance programs;
• ensure that decisions regarding significant State water and power grants are weighted in favour of those areas with the greatest need;
• combine all Indigenous specific housing funds into a single, streamlined program to enable housing providers to have easy access to funds and avoid the duplication of administrative functions;
• provide funding to Indigenous housing providers on the basis of regional need and their ability to identify and meet tenants’ needs;
• improve access to urban State housing by assisting Indigenous persons in completing applications and understanding program requirements;
• develop linkages between Indigenous housing providers and the mainstream housing sector to facilitate greater access to information, experience and training;
• amalgamate regional Indigenous housing providers and require a separation of asset and tenancy management;
• establish a benchmark practice for rent collection to ensure that non-payment of rents is identified and resolved;
• ensure that a sustainable source of management and maintenance funding can be identified prior to the construction of housing;
• facilitate the performance of basic maintenance in remote communities by establishing a common pool of hand tools; and
• minimise seasonal overcrowding in remote communities by constructing visitors’ accommodation;

Law and justice

Possible actions include:

• develop a program to encourage the recruitment, training and progression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons within all law and justice agencies;
• facilitate the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons on relevant tribunals and boards;
• repeal summary offences legislation for drunkenness and offensive language;
• develop and adopt alternatives to incarceration in sentencing offenders;
• adopt culturally appropriate prison practices;
• develop coordinated regional justice strategies that involve local Indigenous communities and promote closer ties between these communities and justice officers;
• provide free and adequate interpreting services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who do not speak English as a first language;
• introduce a mandatory cultural studies strand in the pre-vocational training syllabus for the legal profession to ensure that all new entrants to the legal profession receive an appropriate level of understanding of Indigenous issues;
• introduce mandatory cross-cultural awareness training for police, custodial and judicial officers;
• develop pre- and post-release education programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in custody to provide prisoners with the skills, experience and knowledge to participate in society;
• provide information to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that clearly explains the general and Indigenous-specific legal services available to them;
• expand intensive support and supervision programs for juvenile offenders;
• establish drug and alcohol education programs specifically targeted at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youths;
• provide separate funding for legal advice and representation for Indigenous women (particularly those subject to domestic violence);
• incorporate the appropriate elements of this national strategy into the Commonwealth’s new National Action Plan for Human Rights;
• support the appointment of respected elders as Justices of the Peace;
• perpetrator programs for perpetrators of family violence;
• remove unrealistic bail conditions;
• <more on family violence>
• < positive role models, mentoring, prison programs, diversion, Elders, safety, location, holistic approaches>

All sectors

Possible actions include:

• train all staff in anti-racism strategies and provide new staff with regionally specific Indigenous cultural education/training;
• employ more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff at all levels;
• continue programs to combat racism so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not discouraged from gaining access to services;
• improve data collection systems and Indigenous client identification in data collections to improve needs-based planning and benchmarking;
• apply needs-based funding approaches, with additional funding being provided with clear specification of additional benefits and on an agreement basis specifying the additional services and outcomes to be provided in terms of price, volume and quality.
• adopt an outcomes-based approach to programs and service delivery that compares actual progress with agreed benchmarks;
• monitor staff turnover rates and implement benchmarks to ensure that improvements are made in those regions with excessive turnover;
• coordinate the services of the Federal and State governments to minimise duplication and ensure that, for each issue, a responsible agency can be identified;
• reduce staff turnover in remote locations by providing staff accommodation;
• actively involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the service they receive;
• give priority in contracting and out-sourcing to Indigenous businesses;
• encourage non-Indigenous staff to pass on their skills to Indigenous co-workers and members of the local Indigenous community;
• develop adequate communication channels between government and non-government agencies and Indigenous communities to enable the exchange of policy and program information on a regular basis;

Appendix 2

Indicators of social and economic well-being

Indicator

Comparison populations

NSW

Vic

Qld

SA

WA

Tas

NT

ACT

Aust

Life expectancy at birth (Males 1991-96)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males (years)

56.9

All Australian males (years)

75.2

Comparison ratio

0.76

Life expectancy at birth (Females 1991-96)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females (years)

61.7

All Australian females (years)

81.1

Comparison ratio

0.76

Hospital separations –age standardised rate per 1,000 (Males 1996-97)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

489.5

312.1

452.2

644.0

637.7

32.5

587.8

412.7

488.6

Other people

260.1

269.3

279.0

281.1

246.9

262.7

195.2

194.9

266.0

Comparison ratio

1.88

1.16

1.62

2.29

2.58

0.12

3.01

2.12

1.84

Hospital separations –age standardised rate per 1,000 (Females 1996-97)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

493.6

331.6

524.4

825.8

773.1

32.3

797.4

444.5

572.8

Other people

290.7

303.1

305.8

314.2

275.9

300.6

228.7

220.6

296.5

Comparison ratio

1.70

1.09

1.71

2.63

2.80

0.11

3.49

2.01

1.93

Perinatal mortality – rate per 1,000 births (1994-96)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mortality

16.3

16.8

24.3

25.6

20.1

27.0

21.7

Other mortality

8.4

10.8

10.6

10.2

9.4

11.5

9.7

Comparison ratio

1.94

1.56

2.29

2.51

2.14

2.35

2.24

Hospital separations –homicide/injury purposely inflicted – age standardised rate per 100,000 population (females 1997-98)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

198.23

1035.8

1972.9

3135.8

2138.1

677.1

Other Australians

22.1

28.5

44.2

40.6

36.3

28.6

Comparison ratio

8.98

36.32

44.66

77.21

58.83

23.68

Imprisonment rate per 100,000 adults (1998-99)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

1919.7

917.9

1785.7

2030.4

2856.7

379.6

1488.6

839.6

1827.2

Other Australians

120.6

76.0

153.7

100.6

133.1

86.0

152.4

64.3

112.5

Comparison ratio

15.92

12.08

11.62

20.18

21.46

4.41

9.77

13.06

16.24

Death rates per 100 prison years (1998-99)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

0.34

0.00

0.37

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.21

0.00

0.22

Other Australians

0.38

0.33

0.38

0.18

0.34

0.34

0.00

0.00

0.35

Comparison ratio

0.89

0.97

0.63

Care and protection orders per 1,000 children aged 0-17 years (June 1999)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

22.3

28.5

16.5

15.3

8.1

4.6

3.1

31.2

14.6

Other children

3.1

3.5

3.1

2.7

1.7

4.2

2.4

3.2

3.3

Comparison ratio

7.19

8.14

5.32

5.67

4.76

1.10

1.29

9.75

4.42

Unemployment rate (1996 Census)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (%)

28.7

21.8

35.4

36.7

40.3

20.1

52.7

17.6

34.2

Other Australians

8.6

9.4

9.4

10.2

7.9

10.8

5.8

7.2

9.0

Comparison ratio

3.33

2.33

3.75

3.59

5.13

1.86

9.12

2.45

3.80

Clients of the Supported Accommodation and Assistance Program (SAAP 1998-99)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients as a proportion of all SAAP clients (%)

13.2

4.5

13.8

13.1

28.6

8.8

42.9

8.0

12.7

Indigenous Adults as a proportion of total adult population (%)

1.3

0.4

2.3

1.1

2.3

2.4

22.9

0.8

1.5

Comparison ratio

10.15

11.25

6.00

11.90

12.43

3.67

1.87

10.00

8.47

People in dwellings with 10 or more people (1996 Census)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (%)

0.92

0.76

5.38

3.91

8.15

0.32

29.17

0.00

6.63

Other people (%)

0.17

0.16

0.13

0.08

0.09

0.10

0.17

0.09

0.14

Comparison ratio

5.41

4.75

41.38

48.88

90.56

3.20

171.59

47.36

Year 12 retention rate (1998)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (%)

31.4

42.2

50.3

18.4

19.8

35.6

11.4

100.0

32.1

Other students (%)

67.9

76.1

78.4

67.7

73.5

63.2

60.2

90.9

72.7

Comparison ratio

0.46

0.55

0.64

0.27

0.27

0.56

0.19

1.10

0.44

Has post secondary school qualification (1996 Census)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (%)

16.68

20.07

12.87

14.47

10.42

19.06

6.10

26.95

13.58

Other people (%)

36.91

33.88

31.92

32.00

35.61

30.18

39.69

46.02

34.72

Comparison ratio

0.45

0.59

0.40

0.45

0.29

0.63

0.15

0.59

0.39

Median weekly family income (1996 Census)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families ($)

500

545

523

480

492

559

425

777

502

Other families ($)

758

743

693

667

771

633

978

1029

736

Comparison ratio

0.66

0.73

0.75

0.72

0.64

0.88

0.43

0.76

0.68

Attendees at child care services (1997-98)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (%)

1.4

0.5

2.4

1.2

2.7

0.8

14.5

0.8

1.6

Indigenous children as a proportion of all children(%)

3.3

0.9

5.5

2.8

5.3

5.4

35.9

1.9

3.7

Comparison ratio

0.42

0.56

0.44

0.43

0.51

0.15

0.40

0.42

0.43

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