It is recommended that:
1.1 urgent and ongoing priority be given by all parties – Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs as lead Australian Government agency, State and Northern Territory lead agencies, Boards of Management and Regional Operations Centres – to tracking progress on meeting commitments in the Local Implementation Plans and priority issues as they emerge;
1.2 the system for tracking progress be complemented by effective project and program management by responsible agencies to drive the delivery of commitments in Local Implementation Plans; and
1.3 by the end of 2011, the Australian, State and Northern Territory governments publish an agreed statement of Remote Service Delivery expenditure to ensure transparency for the $291 million provided under the National Partnership Agreement.
It is recommended that:
2.1 Boards of Management (or similar) better coordinate the approach to cultural training of government staff, including the use and training of interpreters, through a lead agency; and
2.2 cultural competency training be mandated for all government staff working with Remote Service Delivery communities (consistent with the requirements of the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery) and all other staff working in Indigenous-related areas.
It is recommended that Youth Action Plans identify joint lead agencies; gaps in service provision; focus on wellbeing, early intervention and prevention; set clear strategies and goals; and are inclusive of the needs of young women; and where possible, concrete commitments with identified funding.
It is recommended that changes to land tenure better reflect the range of issues, including service delivery, land use planning and economic opportunities, as well as ensuring effective property and asset management into the future. Work currently being done by State and Northern Territory governments to reform land tenure and planning systems and ensure application and enforcement of relevant standards should give priority to Remote Service Delivery communities and aim to be completed by the term of the National Partnership in 2014.
It is recommended that all governments through relevant inter- and intragovernmental forums:
5.1 agree and implement an overarching policy approach to support the safe community Local Implementation Plan commitments and the broader achievement of Closing the Gap targets; and
5.2 review legislation relating to liquor licensing, juvenile justice and violence to ensure that they support improvements in community safety in the priority communities.
It is recommended that Boards of Management (or similar):
5.3 work with key agencies in each jurisdiction to identify and implement initiatives consistent with the recommendations in the Doing time – Time for doing report; and
5.4 actively identify opportunities to better direct resources to support initiatives in local communities which are ready and willing to show leadership on community safety.
It is recommended that programs that are place based and have been shown to improve outcomes for children at risk, such as a remote model of the Communities for Children Plus program, be rolled out to additional priority communities by the middle of 2012.
It is recommended that work commence on developing better incentives for whole-of-government collaboration and driving funding reforms for remote Indigenous service providers to better align and streamline funding agreements and, where possible, extend funding periods. At the Australian Government level, this work should be led by the Executive Coordination Forum on Indigenous Affairs and at the jurisdictional level, by State and Northern Territory chief executive forums on Indigenous affairs.
It is recommended that the Indigenous Remote Service Delivery Special Account tripartite governance group (the departments of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Health and Ageing and Education, Employment and Workplace Relations) work actively and collaboratively with Boards of Management (or equivalent) and Regional Operations Centres to ensure that:
8.1 opportunities are identified to prioritise initiatives that contribute to meeting the Closing the Gap targets;
8.2 funding decisions are informed by local needs and the allocation of funds is expedited, using effective project management procedures; and
8.3 State and Northern Territory governments make contributions to the account to leverage better outcomes wherever possible.
It is recommended that by the end of 2011, governments commence consideration on the future of the Remote Service Delivery strategy after the completion of the existing National Partnership Agreement in 2014.