Tag Archives: Indigenous Advancement Strategy

NACCHO IAS $ Funding News: Indigenous sector outrage at funding for government departments and sport

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“Seeing the majority of grants going to non-Indigenous organisations, including government departments, had led him to believe Scullion and the department did not have “any clear policy or framework” when making the decisions.

“My understand in talking with the senior staff within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet was there was going to be a large focus on funding of Aboriginal community controlled organisations, or on seeking genuine partnerships with Aboriginal communities where non-Indigenous NGOs would be funded,”

“If one of the focuses of this government is getting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people employed and staying within the workforce then one would have thought we’d have seen a larger outcome of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations funded under this strategy. That’s clearly not the case.”

Matthew Cooke, Chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)

From the Guardian 25 March in Darwin @heldavidson

The inclusion of government departments and sporting organisations among recipients of federal Indigenous funds has sparked concern and anger among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sector workers.

It comes as a swath of legal organisations and non-government organisations publicly plead with the prime minister to reverse multimillion dollar cuts to Indigenous legal services.

Published list of all successful organisations includes various state departments of education, health and ageing and sport and recreation

DOWNLOAD THE FULL LIST HERE 2014 IAS Funding List

On Tuesday afternoon a list of all 964 organisations which had been granted funding under the controversial Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) was published on the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website, but it did not include a breakdown of individual programs or amounts offered.

The IAS consolidates more than 150 Indigenous affairs programs and policies into five broad areas, and is the result of more than half a billion dollars in cuts in the 2014 budget.

The federal minister for Indigenous affairs, Nigel Scullion, said more information on the IAS grants would be released once negotiations between the department and recipients had been finalised.

The list of recipients included several state government departments, the Northern Territory, universities, churches and a number of sporting organisations, including Australian Rugby Union, the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys NRL clubs, Swimming Australia and Athletics Australia.

The success of corporate entities in receiving federal funding for Indigenous-focused programs while some Indigenous-specific frontline services were rejected has sparked a backlash in the sector.

Aboriginal advocate Tauto Sansbury told National Indigenous Radio the strategy was not about Indigenous people or their advancement.

“When the salary is going to many non-Aboriginal organisations … there’s got to be a time when they step aside and say: we would like to work more closely with you and put the funding together and make a stronger organisation to achieve all the outcomes that we’ve been trying to achieve since day one,” he said.

Dameyon Bonson, founder of Black Rainbow, a fledgling advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) Indigenous youth, said the IAS results were “confusing.”

“The IAS only really seems to be advancing mainstream departments and organisations,” Bonson told Guardian Australia.

“When you look at some of these entities that have been funded, working with Aboriginal people is already part of their remit.”

At least one organisation – the Barkly regional council – has successfully negotiated a 12-month continuation of funding which was initially rejected.

A spokeswoman for Scullion told Guardian Australia the money for the council’s sport and recreation program was sourced from “unallocated funds within the [IAS]” and did not impact on any other service.

On 13 March 2015, the minister approved spending of $20.5m for a range of youth services across the Northern Territory, in addition to the $860m announced through the funding round the week earlier,” she said.

“The structure of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy allows the Australian government to address service delivery gaps that are identified and we will continue to methodically work through any gaps which are identified, in consultation with providers and communities.”

The Barkly council was among a number of long-standing organisations whose grant applications were rejected, among them the peak body for Indigenous legal services, which has said it will be now be forced to close in June.

The national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services (Natsils) has been cut by both the IAS and the Department of the Attorney General.

An open letter signed by 26 organisations including Amnesty International, the Australian Bar Association and Reconciliation Australia, on Wednesday pleaded with the prime minister, Tony Abbott, to reverse $43m in cuts to legal services, including $13m to Indigenous legal services.

The letter expressed concern over the cuts’ effect on “the delivery of frontline legal services to society’s most vulnerable members, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women and children.”

“We note that these organisations have already made difficult decisions to withdraw, or reduce, key services due to the proposed funding cuts and accompanying uncertainty,” read the letter.

“We are further concerned that these cuts come at a time when there are crisis levels of Aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples’ imprisonment, high rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system and growing rates of family violence.”

The North Australian Aboriginal justice agency (Naaja) earlier this month told a Senate inquiry budget cuts of about $1.6m would cost 10 to 15 jobs.

From the end of this month Naaja would cease all criminal legal services in Darwin and Katherine for Aboriginal adults, other than those currently in custody and, as well as cut back on civil services, it was further reported on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Scullion hit back at criticisms of the list by Greens senator Rachel Siewert.

Siewert had described the list as “completely opaque” and accused the government of failing to admit which organisations did not receive funding.

Senate inquiry to target contentious Indigenous funding strategy

Senate committee to investigate an Indigenous advancement strategy funding process described as confusing, fractured and systemically racist

Read more HERE about submissions

“Contrary to Senator Siewert’s claims, the grant funding round has been conducted appropriately, in keeping with the commonwealth grant rules and guidelines and funding outcomes will provide the best possible services to First Australians,” said Scullion on Wednesday.

“I decided it was appropriate to release the full list of successful organisations given that members and senators from all parties had received a list of successful organisations based on their electorate, including state-wide electorates for senators.”

Scullion said all information would be available within 14 days after negotiations with the grant recipients had been finalised.

 

NACCHO $ funding update : #IAS Indigenous Advancement Strategy funding list revealed

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“Large sporting umbrella bodies including Swimming Australia, Athletics Australia, the Australian Rugby Union and the Australian Football League have all received indigenous funds. A host of universities around the nation are also on the list.

The inclusion of major organisations, governments, shire councils and large well-funded non-government organisations has sparked anger from Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, with many driven to the wall by the new funding regime and forced to lay off staff or close their doors.”

INDIGENOUS Affairs minister Nigel Scullion has bowed to pressure to provide transparency under the contentious Indigenous Advancement Strategy, today releasing a full list of organisations that have received grant funding.

But details of the amounts of the grants have not yet been released, with the Federal government still locked in negotations with organisations.

DOWNLOAD FULL LIST HERE 2014 IAS Funding List

The tendering process under the IAS will be examined by the Commonwealth Senate’s finance and public administration references committee following complaints from indigenous organisations that the process was chaotic and deeply unfair.

Two-thirds of the organisations that have been funded under the IAS are non-indigenous organisations, and the publication of today’s list of those funded confirms that the Northern Territory Government is among the bodies that have received indigenous-earmarked dollars.

The IAS is a policy instituted last year by Mr Scullion which streamlines thousands of grants worth billions of dollars into five broad funding streams. The revamped grant funding process means that thousands of organisations who once received small grants will no longer be funded, and those funded have received a lesser chunk of the money they previously received.

Today’s list confirms that Federal government departments including the departments of Health and Ageing, Education and Training, Sport and Recreation, Justice and Attorney-General, and the Department of Correctional Services have all been funded under the IAS.

Shire councils around the country are also on the list.

Large sporting umbrella bodies including Swimming Australia, Athletics Australia, the Australian Rugby Union and the Australian Football League have all received indigenous funds. A host of universities around the nation are also on the list.

The inclusion of major organisations, governments, shire councils and large well-funded non-government organisations has sparked anger from Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, with many driven to the wall by the new funding regime and forced to lay off staff or close their doors.

Mr Scullion’s office released a statement today saying the full list of grants would be eventually published.

“My department is still working through contract negotiations with providers and the funding amounts will be published when those negotiations are complete,” Mr Scullion said.

“I made the decision to conduct negotiations in March to give my department the necessary time to make sure the funding agreements and projects deliver the long-term, sustainable results Indigenous communities want and deserve.

“I have made a commitment that there will be no service delivery gaps as a result of this process. Where gaps are identified, my department will work closely with providers and communities to address those issues as a matter of urgency.”

 

 

 

NACCHO $ Funding updates : Indigenous-controlled sector the clear loser of Indigenous Reform Agenda

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“The IAS has offered us nothing in terms of new imaginings of and engagement with Aboriginal people, communities and capabilities

One would think, given the inability of mainstream services to close the gap in indigenous disadvantage to date, that all funding for indigenous advancement outcomes would require “high standards of governance and accountability.Yet in reading between the lines, it is primarily the indigenous community-controlled sector that requires additional scrutiny and surveillance.These special measures of surveillance and exemption in indigenous affairs are all too familiar to indigenous Australians who have lived under the protectionist and assimilationist policies of the last century and beyond.”

Dr Chelsea Bond, a senior lecturer in the Oodgeroo Unit at Queensland University of Technology.

“Maningrida has not had a youth suicide in the past 3 years, has seen a decrease in youth crime, teen pregnancies and STI rates which can be attributed to the support given by the youth centre to the young people of the community. In addition, the youth centre through its weekly Mooditj program offers disengaged and referred youth the opportunity to learn about sexual health, safe sex, life skills and much more”

Story 2 Below:  Malabam Health Board Aboriginal Corporation (Maningrida NT ) oversees the “GREATS” Youth Services (GYS) which has been hit hard with an 80% cut to its annual $400k budget under the IAS cuts!

Picture above :The Inala Wangarra Sport and Recreation Program aims to provide sporting and recreational opportunities for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. (see story Below)

According to the federal government, the Indigenous Advancement Strategy represents a“new relationship of engagement” with indigenous Australia. Yet it was just under a decade ago that we were inflicted with a “new paternalism” by our Prime Minister, then the federal health minister, in justifying a raft of indigenous social policy measures including the Northern Territory Emergency Response (the Intervention), the introduction of alcohol management plans in Aboriginal communities in Queensland and the mainstreaming of indigenous services in urban and regional centres, which was continued under successive Labor governments.

Perhaps the only new thing about this strategy is the $534 million funding cut from the Indigenous Affairs portfolio. This is despite what the PM deems the “profoundly disappointing” results outlined in the government’s own Closing the Gap report last month. The PM’s chief indigenous adviser, Warren Mundine, did warn us that the reform agenda would produce “winners” and “losers”, and certainly from the coverage over the past few weeks, many indigenous communities are feeling as though they are on the losing side. While a full list of the winners and losers has yet to be released, we can see that the indigenous community-controlled sector has been hit particularly hard — be they peak bodies or local grassroots organisations, from Tennant Creek to Inala (the community in which I live), a wide range of front-line services will no longer exist as a result of the IAS announcement.

The other less reported “new reform“ under the IAS introduced last year has been the requirement for indigenous organisations receiving “grants of $500,000 or more in a single financial year from funding administered by the Indigenous Affairs portfolio to incorporate under Commonwealth legislation under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006”.

Organisations may be exempt from this requirement if they don’t primarily service indigenous people, or alternatively indigenous organisations may be exempt if they “can demonstrate that they are well-governed and high-performing”. This strategy we are told is to “ensure organisations receiving Australian Government funding to deliver Indigenous programmes have high standards of governance and accountability”.

One would think, given the inability of mainstream services to close the gap in indigenous disadvantage to date, that all funding for indigenous advancement outcomes would require “high standards of governance and accountability”. Yet in reading between the lines, it is primarily the indigenous community-controlled sector that requires additional scrutiny and surveillance. These special measures of surveillance and exemption in indigenous affairs are all too familiar to indigenous Australians who have lived under the protectionist and assimilationist policies of the last century and beyond.

Ironically, the indigenous community-controlled sector already meets high standards of accountability —  accountability for outcomes within our own communities. These organisations are governed and largely staffed by local indigenous community members who are held accountable to our communities for delivering on outcomes, often well beyond what we are funded to deliver and beyond the usual hours of business. This is not in lieu of financial accountability requirements to funding providers, but rather in addition to — an additional burden not often faced by large NGOs staffed by people from outside of our community.

Take, for instance, the community organisation I’m a board member of: InalaWangarra, which was one of the losers under the IAS.

Recently our organisation was funded around $50,000 to deliver an outcome of 20 indigenous people into careers as security guards, which was well shy of the actual costs of the program. Just this week 20 local indigenous people in Inala graduated from the program with a certificate II in security, certificate III in hospitality, and received their blue cards, police checks and security licences and now are all embarking on careers with a security company in our region. For that small investment, the CEO is dealing with three different state and federal funding providers and writing grant applications and acquittals for each one, on top of regular visits and phone calls from funding providers just to check on how we are doing, with another requiring written monthly reports. Part of the funds for this program was provided after completion to ensure we delivered on the outcomes, thus requiring the organisation to resource program implementation from other funds.

This isn’t good governance surely? And this is despite our previous achievement under a federal government pilot program that placed 88 local indigenous community members into jobs, most of whom were long-term unemployed, and retained employment beyond 13 weeks. Despite demonstrating competency, indigenous community-controlled organisations are still deemed “too risky” to funding providers, and it is this “relationship of engagement” that demands reform.

The “new reforms” in indigenous social policy must include equal, if not greater scrutiny over the inability of mainstream services to deliver the outcomes they are funded to deliver in our communities. Their governance structure doesn’t enable local communities to hold them accountable, and every year we are surprised at the new NGO that has rolled into our suburb or received funding to service our community, despite having demonstrated little engagement with our community.

One such example is the federal funding in 2012 for indigenous men’s sheds across the country as a men’s health initiative. Within our local community, the Inala Police Citizens Youth Centre was funded to establish a men’s shed. Yet, one year later The Satellite newspaper reported: “The one-year-old building at the back of the Inala Police Citizens Youth Centre (PCYC) has every tool imaginable on its shelves, walls and benches and a pile of wood just waiting to be crafted.” There is, however, one problem. The shed is predominately empty due to a lack of members. Yet Inala Wangarra’s indigenous men’s group has never struggled with engaging local men in its activities — it has simply struggled to engage financial investment from state or federal funding providers. This is not an isolated case, and examples of poor engagement and poor service delivery can be found across critical areas of health, education, housing, employment and training, which explains much of the gap of inequality that our people suffer. It is often left to the under-resourced local indigenous community controlled organisation to fill the gaps of mainstream service delivery models.

This is the site where genuinely “new reform” could be demonstrated — ensuring that all funding (both indigenous-specific and mainstream) advances the interests of the indigenous community it services, both in terms of process and outcomes.

Indigenous people are more than consumers of social services; we have the skills and capabilities to drive the services within our community. Our model of service delivery requires us to employ local indigenous people and build the capacity of the workforce within our community and this is what makes the indigenous community controlled sector so critical to achieving the Closing the Gap targets.

Our model of service delivery doesn’t trade off old imaginings of indigenous incompetence, dysfunction or despair.

“New reform” in indigenous social policy will only be realised through new imaginings of and engagement with Aboriginal people, communities and capabilities. Unfortunately the IAS has offered us nothing new in this regard.

Malabam Health Board Aboriginal Corporation (Maningrida) oversees the “GREATS” Youth Services (GYS) which has been hit hard with an 80% cut to its annual $400k budget under the IAS cuts!

Maningrida has not had a youth suicide in the past 3 years, has seen a decrease in youth crime, teen pregnancies and STI rates which can be attributed to the support given by the youth centre to the young people of the community. In addition, the youth centre through its weekly Mooditj program offers disengaged and referred youth the opportunity to learn about sexual health, safe sex, life skills and much more

Media Release Malabam Health Board Aboriginal Corporation

“GREATS” Youth Services

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Another frontline community driven organisation has been hit hard by the recent release of the funding cuts made to Aboriginal community controlled organisations under the Federal Governments Indigenous Advancement Strategy.Malabam Health Board Aboriginal Corporation (Maningrida) oversees the “GREATS” Youth Services (GYS) which has been hit hard with an 80% cut to its annual $400k budget under the IAS cuts!

The Federal government has offered the youth services in Maningrida an annual budget of $80,000 to be involved in a children and schooling program which has little relevance to the extensive suite of services that it has been providing to the community over the past five years ; it currently services a youth population of 1500! Half of the population in Maningrida is under the age of 25 years and it is the biggest community in Arnhem Land with a population of 3500 people and 38 outstations.

GYS is the youth service that operates in Maningrida and offers a suite of activities, workshops, projects and community events and has done so since 2005. GYS currently employs 7 local indigenous staff and has a nightly head count of 75 youth at its drop-ins. GYS hosts a weekly community movie night and attracts an audience of 150 community families to enjoy social connections.

The monthly Friday night discos attract an audience of approx. 250 people and offer an alternative to boredom that can lead to crime, suicide and assaults.

Maningrida has not had a youth suicide in the past 3 years, has seen a decrease in youth crime, teen pregnancies and STI rates which can be attributed to the support given by the youth centre to the young people of the community. In addition, the youth centre through its weekly Mooditj program offers disengaged and referred youth the opportunity to learn about sexual health, safe sex, life skills and much more. GYS offers a weekly back to country bush trip with elders to re-engage the youth with culture! GYS also coordinates the NT police youth diversion program and focuses on restorative justice to keep youth out of jail!

The cuts through the IAS will force the seven local staff out of work and the youth centre to shut its doors 30th June, 2015. The youth centre will not be in a position to contiue its worthwhile service delivery primarily because the $80k on offer from the federal government has no connection with the services that have been on offer for the past nine years.

This will see the 1500 youth in the community without a service and a safe place to be at night. The community of Maningrida is in disbelief at the governments decision to cut its only youth service and are concerned with the impact of not having a reliable youth service beyond June

Youth Manager Noeletta McKenzie said “If GYS is to close I am concerned about the impact on the community and the probable rise in youth suicides and crime rates”, “We as a team at GYS have worked extremely hard to overcome the youth gang mentality and extended our hands out to the youth to ensure that suicide is not a thought”!. “I feel that youth services across the board through the IAS have been overlooked”!. “We are creating strong young leaders and all youth services play a vital role in the early lives of youth, especially in our communities”!

GYS was a community driven project when Mr. Millren (Dec) wrote a letter to the government 10 years ago seeking support as the youth were out of control and had no future! GYS is Mr. Millren’s legacy and it is now under threat, the decision by the government in relation to IAS funding for Maningrida is regrettable and has disheartened the many people who have travelled the journey since the innception of youth services in 2005 and observed the positive change that the service has had on the youth of

 

Having trouble with your IAS application ?

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The Minister Nigel Scullion advises that hotline has been setup to deal with funding inquiries 1 800 088 323 

 

NACCHO Media Release: Long-term funding certainty needed to close the gap

Six-month funding extensions for programs under the Federal Government’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) announced this week by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet are welcome but long term certainty is needed for the success of front line Aboriginal health programs said the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).

NACCHO Chairperson Matthew Cooke said proven programs relating to mental health, drug and alcohol addiction, social and emotional wellbeing and child and maternal health now fall under the Federal Government’s new IAS.

“These critical programs, many of which are run by Aboriginal community controlled health services across Australia have a proven track record in improving the health of Aboriginal people,” Mr Cooke said.

“We are seeing baby birth weights increasing and better health of Aboriginal mums which can be attributed at least in part to the good work of our programs.

“Given the terrifyingly high suicide rates we are seeing amongst young Aboriginal people in our communities, the programs tackling mental health, drug and alcohol are more vital than ever.

“While the interim funding arrangements mean these programs can remain functioning into early 2015, their clients still don’t know if they will be able to access the services they rely on beyond the next six months.

“This ongoing uncertainty is also impacting on the ability of program managers to recruit and retain quality staff as the workforce continues to live with the uncertainty that they may be unemployed in the new year.

“Many have already left or are actively looking for more secure employment.

“Continuity of care to clients and community is essential to close the gap and improving the client journey.

 “Moving 150 programs into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is a huge task and more resources are clearly needed to ensure funding applications are considered and continuity provided for these programs that are making a difference.

“We won’t close the gap overnight.

“Generational change will take a sustained effort, requiring ongoing, coordinated commitment to the programs that are working and delivering outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.”