Description

Guided by the National Agreement and the ACT Agreement, the ACT Government has collaborated with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to undertake a range of important projects. While the data shows that significant challenges remain in Closing the Gap, the ACT Government is pleased with the progress they are making in delivering new investments guided by the National Agreement. Some key highlights are listed below and are discussed in more detail throughout the document:

• The $20 million Healing and Reconciliation Fund, which supports community identified priorities, which has to date included early work on facilitated Treaty discussions;
• Implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Procurement Policy (ATSIPP). The ATSIPP aims to maximise opportunities for growth within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and community service organisations, driving economic participation and development;
• Implementation of key Our Booris, Our Way recommendations, including:
o funding in the 2021-22 Budget to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner;
o early work towards supporting the development of community controlled organisations to partner in the delivery of services for children, young people and families engaged with the child protection system;
o funding in the 2021-22 Budget to enable the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT to establish a Care and Protection Legal Advocacy Service, providing for two lawyer positions within the Family Violence Prevention Legal Service.
• As an initiative under Set up for Success: An Early Childhood Strategy for the ACT, up to 100 places are available at Koori Preschool for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander three year-olds. The Government is now undertaking a process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to co-design the evolution of Koori Preschool to ensure that it meets community needs now and into the future, particularly around cultural safety and integrity;
• The redevelopment of the Watson Health Precinct to support the construction and operation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander alcohol and other drug residential rehabilitation facility by Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services (Winnunga); and
• New funding in the 2021-22 Budget of more than $11 million to deliver a range of programs and initiatives focused on addressing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT criminal justice system. This work combines new initiatives that are expected to have a real and immediate impact, and the continuation of established programs that have been demonstrating positive results.
The initiatives and reforms highlighted in this report show the ACT Government’s commitment to implementing the National Agreement. The ACT Government is committed to building and strengthening structures that empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to practice self-determination and share decision-making with government, to progress together towards Closing the Gap.