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Frequently Asked Questions

 

Where will the work start?
 The following locations have been identified as priority locations for initial investment:
 

• NT: Angurugu, Galiwin’ku, Gapuwiyak, Gunbalanya, Hermannsburg, Lajamanu, Maningrida, Milingimbi,  Nguiu, Ngukurr, Numbulwar, Umbakumba, Wadeye, Yirrkala and Yuendumu
• Qld: Mornington Island, Doomadgee, Hope Vale, Aurukun, Mossman Gorge and Coen
• NSW: Walgett and Wilcannia
• SA: Amata and Mimili
• WA: Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Ardyaloon and Beagle Bay
 

A common set of investment principles will provide the basis for decisions on expansion of the Remote Service Delivery strategy to other remote communities. The principles are set out in Schedules A and B to the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery.
 

 

Why were these communities selected and not others?
 In identifying where to concentrate initial investment, the Remote Service Delivery investment principles were considered, including the following criteria:
 

• significant concentration of population;
• anticipated demographic trends and pressures;
• the potential for economic development and employment;
• the extent of pre-existing shortfalls in government investment in infrastructure and services; and
• where possible, investment will also build on other significant investment already in progress.


 

What does this mean for those communities not included?
 Those communities not covered by the Remote Service Delivery strategy will continue to receive existing levels of government support and services. This will include access to the range of funding arrangements across the whole of government, including access to new housing construction and upgrades, employment programs and CDEP, and the range of normal funding arrangements across the whole of government.
 

 

What are Local Implementation plans?
 Future government investment in the priority communities will be guided by Local Implementation Plans developed in partnership with local Indigenous communities and, where relevant, non-government and private sector organisations. They will set out agreed targets, actions and associated milestones and timelines and be publicly available documents. Joint reports on progress against the measures in the Local Implementation Plans will be published annually.


 

How will the service and infrastructure gaps in communities be identified?
In each of the priority locations, baseline mapping of social and economic indicators, government investments, services and gaps in services, have been conducted. Audits of infrastructure gaps were conducted at the same time.

The information collected from the baseline mapping and infrastructure audits, has informed the Local Implementation Plans, and helped to decide where improvements need to be made, and gaps filled, in order to bring the level of services and infrastructure up to a standard comparable with a non-Indigenous community of similar size, location and need. The information collected also forms a crucial evidence base from which improvements can be measured, and progress towards Closing the Gap can be gauged.
 

 

What are Regional Operation Centres?
To implement the new Remote Service Delivery arrangements in each jurisdiction, the Australian and State/Northern Territory Governments have established Regional Operations Centres. Working in these centres are government workers from the Australian and the relevant State/Territory governments. The locations of the Regional Operations Centres are:
 

• Broome
• Darwin
• Mount Isa
• Cairns
• Dubbo
• Adelaide
 

Each Regional Operations Centre provides support to locally based government staff, who live in and work with the community. One of their main functions is to work across government with local Indigenous peoples and other stakeholders to develop the Local Implementation Plans and ensure they are implemented in a timely way.
 

 

What staff will be living and working in remote Indigenous communities?
 Locally based government workers have been employed in all priority communities. Their roles are to provide a single point of government contact for the community, to coordinate the service delivery commitments made by governments and to make sure that governments are engaging with Indigenous community members effectively.

There will be two types of officers. Firstly there will be at least one government worker who will be mostly responsible for coordination. These might be called something like “Government Business Managers (GBMs)” or “Government Engagement and Coordination Officers (GECOs)”. Their work will be supported by an Indigenous person recruited from within the local area who will be responsible to ensuring that community members actively participate in the implementation of the Remote Service Delivery strategy. They will probably be called “Indigenous Engagement Officers (IEOs)”.
 

 

What is a Board of Management (State Operations Committee/State Management Committee)?
 A Remote Service Delivery Board of Management (or similar) to oversight implementation of the Remote Service Delivery strategy has been created for each State/Territory. In New South Wales it is called the State Management Committee and in Western Australia, the State Operations Committee.
The Boards of Management (or similar) will comprise senior officers and be jointly convened by the Australian Government and the relevant State/Northern Territory government.
The Board of Management (or similar) will support the work of the Regional Operations Centres and locally based government staff. It will meet every four weeks to monitor progress and expedite urgent service delivery issues as necessary. Where an Indigenous advisory body or bodies exist in a jurisdiction, the Board of Management (or similar) will ensure they are kept informed of progress in implementing the Remote Service Delivery strategy.
 

 

What is Closing the Gap?
Since late 2007 the Australian Government and the States and Territories have been working together through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to develop fundamental reforms to close the gap in life outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

COAG has agreed to six targets and associated timelines for Closing the Gap:
 

1. Close the life expectancy gap within a generation;
2. Halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade;
3. Ensure access to early childhood education for all Indigenous four years olds in remote communities within five years;
4. Halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for children within a decade;
5. Halve the gap for Indigenous students in year 12 attainment or equivalent attainment rates by 2020, and 6. Halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade.
 

To achieve this, COAG has committed to a long-term approach across seven strategic building blocks – early childhood; schooling, health; economic participation; healthy homes; safe communities; and governance and leadership.
 

The COAG National Indigenous Reform Agreement, agreed in November 2008:
 

• Commits all jurisdictions to achieving the Closing the Gap targets;
• Defines responsibilities and promotes accountability among governments;
• Provides a roadmap for future action, and;
• Provides the strategic framework for the significant funding committed through National Partnership Agreements to assist in meeting the targets.
 

To accelerate progress in closing the gap, the Australian Government is providing an additional $3.6 billion and the States and Territories an additional $1 billion over ten years to drive fundamental reforms in remote housing, health, early childhood development, jobs and improvements in remote service delivery for Indigenous Australians.

 

Copyright 2012
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