Priority Reform Three
What is Priority Reform Three?
Ensuring mainstream government agencies and institutions that deliver services and programs to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people undertake systemic and structural transformation to contribute to Closing the Gap.
Outcome – Improving mainstream institutions: Governments, their organisations, and their institutions are accountable for Closing the Gap and are culturally safe and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including through the services they fund.
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Priority Reform Three is focused on making sure government agencies and institutions undertake changes to transform the way they work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and are held publicly accountable for their actions and contribution to Closing the Gap.
Mainstream organisations include hospitals, police, universities, courts, prisons, and government agencies like Services Australia. They receive substantial funding to deliver services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and need to do much more to improve our life outcomes.
We want to see governments putting more effort in to tackle systemic racism and promote cultural safety, transfer power and resources to communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, and ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people play a key role in decision-making in these organisations.
The target and indicators for Priority Reform Three can be found in the National Agreement.
There was widespread support from the Coalition of Peaks led engagements for Priority Reform Three being included in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
How is Priority Reform Three being implemented?
The Parties to the National Agreement commit to systemic and structural transformation of mainstream government organisations to improve accountability and respond to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Priority Reform Three was strongly supported by the 2019 engagement process.
Work needs to accelerate on Priority Reform Three. Government Parties need to be bold and break down the systems, structures, and beliefs of the past to implement and achieve Priority Reform Three.
The Government Parties commit to implement the following transformation elements within government mainstream institutions and agencies to:
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Identify and call out institutional racism, discrimination and unconscious bias in order to address these experiences. Undertake system-focused efforts to address disproportionate outcomes and over representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by addressing features of systems that cultivate institutionalised racism. The feedback from the engagements included that more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be employed in mainstream institutions and agencies, including through more identified positions, more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in senior positions, and appointments to boards.
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Embed high-quality, meaningful approaches to promoting cultural safety, recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s strength in their identity as a critical protective factor. This applies to all levels of staff within government organisations. Feedback from the engagements included making cultural awareness training courses ongoing for all boards and staff. Another strategy could be to strengthen the role of internal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander units in promoting and monitoring cultural safety.
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Develop genuine relationships between government organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, organisations and/or businesses to enhance the quality and cultural safety of mainstream service delivery. Feedback from the engagements included supporting agreements between hospitals and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health organisations to deliver outpatient services.
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Improve transparency of resource allocation to, and distribution by, mainstream institutions in relation to dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service-delivery. Feedback from the engagements included requiring key performance indicators in funding arrangements. Other suggestions included for Auditors-General to include in their audits of mainstream agencies information about expenditure and the quality of service delivery to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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Ensure government organisations identify their history with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and facilitate truth-telling to enable reconciliation and active, ongoing healing. Feedback from the engagements included government organisations building relationships with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations to enable them to understand and reflect the history and culture of local communities.
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Ensure when governments are undertaking significant changes to policy and programs that primarily impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, they engage fully and transparently. Engagements should be done in a way where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: have a leadership role in the design and conduct of engagements; know the purpose and fully understand what is being proposed; know what feedback is provided and how that is being taken account of by governments in making decisions; and are able to assess whether the engagements have been fair, transparent and open. The engagements on the National Agreement, led by the Coalition of Peaks in partnership with Government parties, demonstrated the benefit of this approach.
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Priority Reform One
Formal partnerships and shared decision-making
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Priority Reform Two
Building the community-controlled sector
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Priority Reform Three
Transforming government organisations
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Priority Reform Four
Shared access to data and information at a regional level
