Priority Reform One: Formal partnerships and shared decision-making

Outcome:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are empowered to share decision-making authority with governments to accelerate policy and place-based progress on Closing the Gap through formal partnership arrangements.

Target:

There will be formal partnership arrangements to support Closing the Gap in place between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments in each state and territory enshrining agreed joint decision-making roles and responsibilities and where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have chosen their own representatives.

Minister responsible

The Prime Minister and the Minister for Indigenous Australians

With agreement from all Ministers to maximise opportunities for achievement of Closing the Gap outcomes in their portfolios, with a specific focus on addressing Priority Reforms.

The path forward

Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to enact self-determination in formal partnership and shared decision-making with all levels of government is key to delivering outcomes under the National Agreement. The Commonwealth recognises that this change will lead to improved design and delivery of all policies, programs and services that have an impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and ultimately improve socio-economic outcomes.

The Commonwealth commits to working in formal partnership and sharing decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to move beyond the ad-hoc engagement processes to genuine partnership based on a shared objective and the strong partnership elements. The Commonwealth has focused on establishing the policy and place-based partnerships to support shared decision-making between the Coalition of Peaks members and all levels of government.

The Commonwealth commits to:

• Implementing and embedding the Strong Partnership Elements in Clauses 32 and 33 under the National Agreement into its frameworks to support the Australian Public Service to deliver on its responsibility
• Working in partnership with all levels of government and the Coalition of Peaks to strengthen and develop all forms of partnerships, and to develop an evaluation methodology for the Policy Partnerships
• Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interests in the broader Australian Public Service Reform Agenda and the development of a Charter of Partnerships and Engagement.

Priority actions

Joint national action

The Partnership Priorities Committee, established in 2023, is convened as a sub-committee of the Commonwealth Secretaries Board. The Committee will be co-chaired by Ray Griggs AO CSC, Secretary of the Department of Social Services, and Jody Broun, Chief Executive Officer of the National Indigenous Australians Agency.

The Committee will work to further embed partnership culture and behaviour within the public service to improve policy and delivery outcomes for all Australians. The Committee will be established for a three-year term and deliver a forward work plan which will consider joint national actions that can further support implementation of Closing the Gap and each of the Priority Reforms in alignment with the Australian Public Service Reform Agenda, which includes development of a Charter of Partnerships and Engagement.

Taking stock of our new and existing partnerships

The 2022 Partnership Stocktake identified 31 Partnerships across the Commonwealth that met the Strong Partnership Elements at Clauses 32 and 33 of the National Agreement.

Strong Partnership Elements

• Strong partnerships – between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives and up to three levels of government, and others (where agreed).
• Formal agreements – signed by all parties, structured well, accessible for the public and protected by law (where needed).
• Shared decision-making – where:
• voices are diverse and hold equal weight
• decisions are transparent and well-understood
• self-determination is supported
• everyone has equal access to data and information.
• Adequate funding – to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parties to be partners with governments.

A key finding of the Partnership Stocktake was that the Strong Partnership Elements need to be better understood and reflected in current practice across the Commonwealth. To support this, the National Indigenous Australians Agency, with direction from the Coalition of Peaks, continue to develop a Commonwealth Engagement and Partnership Framework and seek to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interests in the broader Australian Public Service Reform Agenda and development of a Charter of Partnerships and Engagement.

The 2023 Partnership Stocktake will provide an opportunity to assess the existing and new partnerships against the baseline stocktake of 2022, to understand how and if arrangements have been strengthened to meet the strong partnership elements, key gaps in the partnership arrangements, and what further work is needed to support the Commonwealth to develop and strengthen partnerships.

Partnering with First Nations peoples on policy development

The Commonwealth contributes to Policy Partnerships through co-chairing, funding and sharing decision-making to influence policy reforms.

The Commonwealth, in partnership with the Coalition of Peaks and all levels of government, is looking at opportunities, including undertaking a gap analysis, to establish further Policy Partnerships, building on those already established (the Justice Policy Partnership; the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (Mental Health) Policy Partnership; the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy Partnership; the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Policy Partnership; and the Housing Policy Partnership). An outcome of the Jobs and Skills Summit was to examine an economic participation Policy Partnership.

The Commonwealth is committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country to design and deliver options that will strengthen self-determination and build the community-controlled sector. The National Partnership Agreement on Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment, which provides supplementary funding to the Northern Territory Government for programs and services including Aboriginal interpreters, women’s safe houses, remote policing, alcohol management programs and educational programs, is due to end in June 2024.

The Commonwealth is working in partnership with the Aboriginal Peak Organisation Northern Territory (APO NT) and the Northern Territory Government to design options to improve service delivery in remote Northern Territory communities. Options will aim to increase access to services that are high-quality, culturally safe, appropriate and meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote Northern Territory, to embed the Closing the Gap Priority Reforms.

In 2023, the Commonwealth will develop an evaluation framework in partnership with the Coalition of Peaks and all levels of government, to ensure Policy Partnerships meet their full potential. The evaluation approach will be applied to the Justice Policy Partnership in the first instance, with evaluation of further Policy Partnerships to occur in 2024.

First Nations foreign policy

The Commonwealth is delivering on its commitment to embed Indigenous perspectives, experiences and interests into our foreign policy by appointing an Ambassador for First Nations peoples and establishing an Office of First Nations Engagement within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. These actions will help grow First Nations trade and investment, contribute to Australia’s effort to progress First Nations rights globally, and enhance Australia’s regional engagement by fostering cooperation on shared interests.

Summary of new actions

*A full appendix of new and existing measures being undertaken by the Commonwealth to support Closing the Gap efforts is on the NIAA website, at Closing the Gap implementation measures.

The list of 31 partnerships is available in Appendix 1 of the 2022 Commonwealth Closing the Gap Annual Report