Chapter 3First Nations people and communities
A lot of us have inherited poverty. We have been born into this economic status, and that is an inheritance that is incredibly difficult to shake. It's incredibly difficult to break and rise above, because with the flaws in the economic state that we live in here in Australia it is very difficult. It's almost like it's designed to keep you down. Then add on that First Nations people have been in a space of disadvantage for 250 years, since Europeans first arrived on this landmass, and designed systems to hold them down and to keep them at a disadvantaged status.
3.1The committee heard that First Nations people are disproportionately impacted by poverty when compared to other Australians. This chapter explores the impacts of poverty experienced by First Nations people and communities, and the factors that contribute to their ongoing disadvantage and deprivation. It then examines existing policies and programs for First Nations people, and proposals raised throughout the inquiry on how to improve outcomes for First Nations people.
Structural disadvantage
3.2Evidence from many First Nations inquiry participants was that poverty experienced by First Nations people is primarily a result of the history and ‘enduring process’ of colonisation, dispossession, trauma, racism, and policy-driven disadvantage and social exclusion. For example, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APO NT) explained that the:
… multifaceted and ongoing impact of colonisation has had a devastating impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for over 200 years, driven by policies that saw wholesale dispossession from their lands, being moved off Country to reserves and missions, and the loss of language and culture.
3.3Similarly, the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) emphasised:
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples in Australia, one of the direct results of colonisation was the disruption and denial of the traditional economies and trade practices. Aboriginal peoples’ access to economic security, land and culture were historically denied, wages were stolen, and economic freedoms and cultural norms and structures were interrupted.
3.4The committee heard that for First Nations people, this history of ‘dispossession, marginalisation, racism, and the impact of Government policies since colonisation’ continues to drive inequality and the disproportionately high rates of poverty for First Nations people, persistent loss of ‘culture, land, and language’, and intergenerational trauma.
3.5The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) emphasised that ‘poverty is not cultural’ and that it is not the result of ‘laziness or ineptitude, individual action or inaction’. NACCHO submitted that rather, it is the ‘direct and deliberate result of systemic racism experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over generations’. It added:
The way out of poverty is rooted in culture, in community and in Country. It lies in dignity – in recognition and in self-determination.
3.6The Department of Social Services (the department) acknowledged that poverty is ‘deeply entrenched due to historical and prevalent rates of discrimination and intergenerational trauma in combination with other complex factors’. It cited that:
…the 2002–04 parliamentary inquiry into poverty among First Nations people noted that a distinguishing feature of Indigenous poverty is the depth of poverty experienced across a range of indicators.
3.7Mr Carl Binning from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, highlighted the Closing the Gap framework and targets and said:
First Nations face a whole range of challenges. Those challenges are across the board and particularly acute in remote areas. They range right from disconnection and removal from country through to a lack of services and infrastructure, access to housing, economic opportunity, employment and constrained business opportunities.
Indicators of disadvantage for First Nations people
3.8First Nations people are overrepresented in various statistics that demonstrate structural disadvantage.
Poverty rates and economic participation
3.9Whilst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent 3.8 per cent of the Australian population at the 2021 Census, the committee heard that 29.0 per cent of First Nations people reported living in households with incomes below the poverty line (as measured by 50 per cent of median equivalised income before housing) compared to 13.3 per cent for non-First Nations people.
3.10The committee also heard that poverty rates are much greater for First Nations people who live in remote Australia, with extremely high rates seen in remote areas (41 per cent) and further still in very remote areas (57 per cent).
3.11Evidence to the committee also indicated that economic participation of First Nations people is lower than non-First Nations people and driven by complex factors relating to location and opportunity. The department outlined that between 2007–08 and 2018–19, overall employment rates for First Nations people dropped from 54 per cent to 49percent, while the rate for non-First Nations people remained at around 76per cent.
3.12Further, the department reported that First Nations people make up 11 per cent of all working age payment recipients and 28 per cent of all Youth Allowance recipients.
3.13Additionally, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS)outlined that in 2018–19, 45 per cent of working age First Nations people relied on a government pension or allowance as their main source of income, while NACCHO reported that as at December 2020, 53 per cent of First Nations people aged 16 and over received some form of income support, highlighting that this is almost twice the proportion of other Australians.
3.14For First Nations people in paid employment, NACCHO pointed out that they are ‘predominantly employed in low or unskilled jobs with limited opportunity for progression’. NACCHO added that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be overrepresented in labouring, community, and personal services, and underrepresented in professional jobs and management.
Education
3.15Inquiry participants highlighted that First Nations people experience greater barriers to education and poorer educational outcomes than other Australians.
3.16Several submitters noted that rates of school-readiness are disproportionately low for First Nations people. APO NT explained that this is because ‘lower education levels of low-income families make it difficult to support school readiness at an earlier age’. The Australian Human Rights Commission observed that ‘First Nations children are more likely to begin school at a lower level – up to three years behind for very remote students’.
3.17The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) explained the long-term and intergenerational impact that educational outcomes can have in terms of entrenching disadvantage:
Children who have low school-readiness are more likely to have poor academic outcomes throughout their education, resulting in fewer opportunities to escape poverty through educational success.
3.18The committee heard that a lack of access to educational resources is also a key factor impacting First Nations educational outcomes and experiences of poverty. VACCA remarked that the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that the impact of financial strain on families is ‘far-reaching’ and can result in an ‘inability to provide school required items or pay for school activities, and difficulty providing consistent digital and internet access’.
3.19The Australian Human Rights Commission also highlighted this issue, reporting that 21 per cent of First Nations school children lack internet access at home, as opposed to 5 per cent of all public-school students.
3.20Additionally, some submitters noted there is a ‘lack of culturally safe or appropriate early childhood, school environments and curriculums’ for First Nations people. The committee also received evidence that racial discrimination towards First Nations school-goers is common. VACCA submitted that ‘unsafe experiences for children … have contributed to a feeling of a lack of safety at school and a reluctance to attend’.
3.21Acknowledging this context, the committee also heard concerns regarding education attendance rates for First Nations children. APO NT reported that the 2020 Closing the Gap report and Northern Territory Government statistics indicate that from 2014 to 2019, there was no improvement in education attendance rates nationally.
3.22Evidence to the committee also indicated that First Nations people have lower educational attainment compared to non-Indigenous Australians. According to NACCHO, First Nations people complete year 12 at a rate of 34 per cent, compared to 61 per cent for other Australians, and have disproportionately low English literacy and numeracy.
Health
3.23NACCHO explained that entrenched cycles of poverty, exacerbated by poor education and employment outcomes and increased interaction with the justice system contribute significantly to poorer health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It noted that the consequent disparity in health outcomes between First Nations people and other Australians, which is well documented, remains significant.
3.24The burden of disease (or the impacts of premature death or living with illness or injury) is 2.3 times higher for First Nations people than that for other Australians. Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease almost exclusively impact First Nations people in Australia, being 92 per cent of the people impacted.
3.25Poorer health outcomes contribute to the lower overall life expectancy for First Nations people, which is 9 years less for males and 8 years less for females compared to non-First Nations people, while infant mortality rates are twice as high.
Housing and homelessness
3.26It was highlighted to the committee that First Nations people experience disproportionate rates of overcrowding – and are ‘more than twice as likely to live in a house with six, seven or eight people than the general Australian population’. 17.9 per cent of First Nations people live in ‘severely overcrowded dwellings’ – dwellings needing four or more additional bedrooms – compared to 4.9 per cent of non-First Nations people.
3.27In the Northern Territory and Western Australia, overcrowding is ‘particularly acute’, with First Nations households experiencing overcrowding at up to ten times the rate of other Australians. Over half (56.6 per cent) of First Nations people in the Northern Territory live in overcrowded housing.
3.28The committee received significant amount of evidence about the detrimental impacts of overcrowding on First Nations health. For example, NACCHO pointed out that:
Living in overcrowded housing with poor sanitary conditions increases the likelihood of several chronic health conditions. For example, Australia remains the only developed country in the world where trachoma still exists in endemic proportions, primarily in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Overcrowding also makes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children more susceptible to acute or chronic ear infections such as otitis media. … Similarly, skin infections such as scabies can quickly spread through crowded households …
3.29Further, many First Nations people live in poor quality housing which fails to provide adequate comfort and amenity. According to AH&MRC:
Approximately 33 per cent of Aboriginal dwellings have been found to have at least 1 major structural issue such as damp and mildew. Some households have also been found to have inadequate facilities for cooking, cleaning, washing and bedding.
3.30ANTAR indicated that substandard housing is particularly prevalent in remote First Nations communities where:
… basic amenities required to engage in healthy living practices including, but not limited to, flushing toilets, bathing facilities, washers or goods to help prepare and store food adequately, have been found missing or non-functional in a substantial proportion of those households …
3.31First Nations people are also overrepresented in homelessness rates – in the Northern Territory, for instance, the rate of First Nations homelessness is ‘12 times the national average’.
Incarceration rates
3.32NACCHO reported that in 2021, First Nations people were imprisoned at a rate 14 times higher than other Australians.
3.33The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) noted that the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which concluded in 1991, found that ‘the most significant contributing factor in the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system was disadvantage and their unequal position in wider society’.
3.34VACCA also noted that other research shows strong links between intergenerational disadvantage, poverty and incarceration, and also explained that whilst experiences of poverty can contribute to justice involvement for Aboriginal people, those who leave custody also often do so into poverty and financial stress.
3.35At a hearing, Mr Gerry Georgatos, a former national coordinator of the National Indigenous Critical Response Service, explained to the committee:
There are 550,000 Australians—one in 52 of the population—who have been to prison. For First Nations people, it's a tragedy; it's a national indictment on Australia. One in six First Nations brothers and sisters have been to prison, 140,000-plus.
Domestic and family violence
3.36According to VACCA, ‘economic exclusion and poverty … contribute to the high rates of family violence among Aboriginal communities’. It highlighted a Victorian Health Population Survey in 2017 that found First Nations women were 2.5 times more likely to report experiencing family violence than their non-First Nations peers. Even so, VACCA noted that rates of family violence may be underreported in First Nations communities.
3.37Some inquiry participants underlined that the housing insecurity and unaffordability issues commonly experienced by First Nations people can prevent victim-survivors from leaving violent situations as they are unable to secure alternative housing.
3.38APO NT also highlighted that ‘complex layering of pervasive disadvantage’, including family violence, has detrimental impacts on First Nations children, resulting in ‘shockingly high rates of out-of-home care and youth detention’.
Factors contributing to First Nations poverty and deprivation
3.39This section discusses key factors that contribute to ongoing First Nations poverty, including historical factors, geographic remoteness, employment opportunities, and other intersectional issues.
Historical factors
3.40Inquiry participants highlighted the importance of not separating the current experience of First Nations poverty from historical legacies and government policies. For example, Mr Damian Griffis from First Peoples Disability Network said:
Since colonisation, institutionalisation, incarceration, stolen wages, removal of children and institutionalised ableism and racism in policies, programs and services across the life course and across all sectors and systems contribute to this ongoing poverty. For example, our kids are labelled as the 'naughty black kid' from an early age. They experience high expulsion rates in schools, rather than our children being acknowledged as having learning or other disabilities, which can then lead to engagement with the justice system, which then leads to challenges in future employment opportunities. These experiences exist across the life course and sectors, from early childhood, housing, health, education, justice and aged care.
3.41NACCHO’s submission outlined how poverty for First Nations people today is a direct consequence of how Australia was founded on the concept of terra nullius, the ‘denial of the very existence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’, and the ongoing lack of recognition as the Traditional Custodians in the Australian Constitution. NACCHO underscored the pernicious effects of laws that ostensibly aimed to ‘protect’ First Nations people but in fact led to a ‘slow genocide’, including the removal of children and dispossession from land and culture.
3.42VACCA also described the importance of recognising the historical denial of economic security, stolen wages from the early 1800s to the 1930s, and ongoing restrictions and barriers for First Nations people to access appropriate wages and income support until the 1960s.
3.43As mentioned earlier in this chapter, NACCHO outlined that First Nations communities do not view poverty as inevitable, cultural, or the ‘result of laziness or ineptitude, individual action or inaction’, but rather the direct result of historical and enduring structural barriers for First Nations people in Australia.
Geographic remoteness
3.44There is a spatial element to the inequalities faced by First Nations people. As pointed out by the Department of Social Services, geographic remoteness increases the risk of poverty due to factors such as poor service accessibility, lack of infrastructure, and limited employment opportunities.
3.45According to Dr Francis Markham from the Australian National University’s Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, ‘poverty rates [among First Nations people] follow the remoteness gradient’ where rates are lowest in major cities and increase consistently with remoteness, reaching over 50 per cent in very remote areas. Dr Markham noted that this effect is deepening – from the period 2011 to 2021, very remote First Nations poverty rates escalated by over 10 per cent.
Figure 3.1Indigenous income poverty rates by Indigenous Region in the 2021 Census
Source: Dr Francis Markham, Submission 251, p. 6.
3.46Due to severe housing shortages, reliance on social housing, and lack of adequate infrastructure in remote First Nations communities, approximately 42per cent of First Nations people in remote regions live in overcrowded or severely overcrowded dwellings.
3.47Basic living costs are also higher in remote communities, as evidenced by reports of prices in remote community stores being on average 39 per cent higher than major supermarkets elsewhere. According to Ms Krakouer, Director at the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, she had observed throughout her travels to remote communities across the country that ‘even buying a punnet of strawberries or a corned beef in these shops costs $13, $14 or $15’. This was supported by Dr Kelly from NTCOSS who said:
There's also the cost of purchasing food and groceries in remote communities as compared to the cost in urban areas. It just builds and builds and cycles. Organisations like Foodbank are struggling to keep up with demand.
Lack of employment opportunities
3.48As described in the interim report, poor employment outcomes and low economic participation are both causes and effects of poverty. Dr Francis Markham provided evidence which outlined that a lack of employment opportunities in remote First Nations communities is a major challenge:
A significant cause of escalating remote Indigenous poverty is the near absence of private-sector jobs in remote regions, constraining Indigenous communities to the limited number of suitable publicly funded jobs available and to social security.
3.49Dr Stephanie Kelly from the Northern Territory Council of Social Services (NTCOSS) noted that a ‘longstanding issue in the [Northern] Territory is the failure to close the employment gap from urban to remote and having those opportunities for meaningful employment’.
Poor health and lack of education as drivers of poverty
3.50As described in the above section, First Nations people experience a gap in health and education outcomes compared to non-First Nations people. These outcomes can contribute to a cycle of poverty and disadvantage.
Poor health
3.51Submitters highlighted the impact of poor health and lack of access to healthcare as a driver of poverty for First Nations people.
3.52For example, the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW’s submission discussed the ‘health-poverty trap’ – a linear relationship between poverty and ill-health. They explained this is where ‘individuals cannot afford to access the things that support their health including quality healthcare and basic necessities’. The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW suggested that ‘many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people forgo healthcare because they simply cannot afford it’.
3.53The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW also discussed the challenges in accessing affordable and culturally appropriate healthcare, pointing out there has been a reduction in the number of General Practitioners who bulkbill. Similarly, NACCHO explained that First Nations people experience significant difficulties ‘navigating complex health, care, legal, and welfare systems’, and highlighted that:
A lack of culturally appropriate care can lead to unequal, sub-optimal or inappropriate health-service provision. It can lead to misdiagnosis and the dismissal of symptoms. This can mean Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are less likely to seek care and it can contribute to higher rates of early discharge from services.
3.54NACCHO and the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW both stressed the critical importance of Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisations (ACCHOs) that are the preferred providers for many First Nations people but are in short supply.
3.55The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW explained that the poor health outcomes experienced by First Nations people entrench the cycle of poverty:
Ill health can … lead to poverty, particularly when individuals must spend significant amounts of their disposable income on healthcare. … Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who are more likely to experience intergenerational poverty and episodes of ill-health in their lifetimes are a stark example of this.
Access to education
3.56Inquiry participants provided evidence about how the lack of adequate educational opportunities and attainment for some First Nations people is a key driver of poverty and disadvantage. VACCA, for example, said that ‘poverty is both a contributing factor to and also an outcome of a lack of access to quality, culturally appropriate educational opportunities’.
3.57Additionally, NACCHO highlighted the wide-ranging effects of low English literacy and numeracy on some First Nations people’s lives:
… low English literacy and numeracy could be implicated in many of the areas of relative disadvantage. Low literacy makes it difficult for a person to find and access education, training and employment opportunities. It makes it harder to navigate the health system to understand what your medication is for or how much to take, to ask questions of your doctors, to provide informed consent if you need an operation. To access and navigate support services like Centrelink, NDIS or aged care. It increases the risk of substance abuse. And all of this has profound impacts on the mental health and the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3.58Likewise, the Australian Human Right Commission pointed out the challenges faced by First Nations people in navigating a complex social security system due to ‘difficulties in language, literacy … [and] low educational attainment’.
3.59VACCHO pointed out that ‘education can break the poverty cycle’, yet First Nations people have disproportionately low levels of educational attainment.
Intersectional challenges
3.60First Nations people frequently face multiple, intersecting layers of disadvantage. For example, the Australian Human Right Commission submitted that ‘higher rates of disability, unemployment, and socio-economic disadvantage for First Nations people in Australia’ create ‘intersectional inequalities’ that must be addressed by any poverty reduction strategies.
3.61Mr Damian Griffis, CEO of the First Nations Disability Network Australia, said:
First Peoples with disability experience intersectional inequality, which is the compounding of inequality that affects those people who are members of two marginalised groups—that is, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with disability.
3.62He elaborated that First Nations poverty is exacerbated by challenges such as the unaffordability and inaccessibility of NDIS supports; the ‘lack of allied health professionals in remote areas and long waiting lists in other areas for families to get appropriate supports’; the lack of ‘fair and equitable access to Disability Support Pension’; and the ‘disproportionate impact’ of environmental and climate crisis including on food security.
Existing policies and programs
3.63This section outlines the Australian Government’s approach to policies and programs that aim to address First Nations poverty, including the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and various payments and services targeted at First Nations people.
National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement)
3.64The broad policy framework for First Nations people is the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. It has 19 national socio-economic targets across 17 socio‑economic outcome areas that have an impact on life outcomes for First Nations people. It includes initiatives such as the Housing Policy Partnership, programs for digital inclusion, and the Disability Sector Strengthening Plan.
3.65Organisations such as NACCHO, APO NT and NTCOSS supported the ongoing implementation of the National Agreement’s principles, particularly the realisation of its four Priority Reforms:
formal partnerships and shared decision making;
building the community-controlled sector;
transformation of government organisations; and
shared access to data and information at a regional level.
3.66NACCHO stated that ‘the four Priority Reforms offer a roadmap to meaningfully impact structural drivers of poverty and poor outcomes’.
3.67However, the committee heard that there has been minimal progress on achieving the National Agreement’s targets in a range of areas, including housing and health. Ms Krakouer, Director of the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, observed that ‘many [National Agreement targets] aren’t getting better and two are getting extremely worse—that is, incarceration and suicide’. Accordingly, she stated:
They [government] can't keep running the same thing, because it is not working; it's not having an impact on the Closing the Gap strategies. Our people need government to step up.
Support for remote areas
3.68The Australian Government provides a regular extra payment for income support recipients who live in a remote area. Known as the Remote Area Allowance (RAA), this payment acknowledges the additional costs associated with living in remote Australia and is currently set at an additional $18.20 per fortnight. While this payment is available to all Australians, it has a significant impact on First Nations people on income support payments, including those on payments like JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY.
3.69APO NT noted that the RAA ‘has remained at the same level since 1990’ and has failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living. ACOSS supported a review of the adequacy of income support for people living in remote areas, including the RAA.
3.70Several submitters supported increasing the RAA to a ‘meaningful level based on input from experts’. For example, Dr Francis Markham recommended an increased rate ‘commensurate to the higher cost of living in remote communities for basic commodities such as food, fuel and energy’ and indexation based on the prices of these basic goods.
3.71The department also provides housing support in remote Indigenous communities, including a $200 million allocation from the Housing Australia Future Fund for repair, maintenance, and improvements, and the Housing Policy Partnership that will work toward the goals in the Closing the Gap National Agreement.
Employment services
Community Development Program (CDP) reforms
3.72Administered by NIAA, the Community Development Program (CDP) is a remote employment and community development service, which aims to support job seekers in remote Australia to build skills, address barriers to employment and contribute to their communities through activities and training. CDP covered 75 per cent of Australia’s land mass including over 1000 communities. The Department of Social Services advised the committee that the CDP will be replaced with ‘a new program with real jobs, proper wages and decent conditions – developed in partnership with First Nations people’.
3.73Currently, the Australian Government is working to replace the CDP with a new program developed with First Nations people, including a New Jobs Program Trial funded at the 2023–24 Budget. The new trial will subsidise wages at a minimum wage rate, superannuation, and other condition for up to 200 CDP participants to work in community jobs. It will test multiple approaches and incentivise existing CDP providers to try new ways to support jobs in local communities.
3.74Some submitters highlighted their views on the shortcomings of the long-running CDP program, including its reliance on mutual obligations and systems of penalties and suspensions for those that failed to comply, high cost of administration and poor outcomes, and how it became a driver of disengagement and deterrence to employment altogether due to the lack of employment opportunities in remote areas.
3.75At a hearing, Dr Francis Markham broadly welcomed the CDP reforms but noted the lack of details currently available on the extent and nature of the reforms:
In the short term, it's pleasing that the government has committed to reforming the CDP, the Community Development Program. There's very little information available about what that will look like, but, if there were a proper root-and-branch overhaul of that program to provide the sorts of jobs that people are able and willing to do in remote communities—jobs that are flexible to the needs of people in their particular circumstances—that's probably the single most important thing.
3.76Dr Markham also highlighted the importance of community control at the local level in the employment space, including the need for employment and job providers that are locally controlled by the community and that fit with cultural preferences.
Other employment services
3.77The National Indigenous Australians Agency also provides training and employment related services, including the Indigenous Skills and Employment Program that connects First Nations people to jobs, career advancement opportunities, and job-ready training activities. VACCA outlined its support for an expansion of this program.
Income management schemes
3.78In 2007, the Northern Territory Emergency Response initiative introduced income management (IM). Its primary mechanism was to quarantine proportions of income support payments for some recipients in some locations, with aims including reducing hardship, improving individual budgeting, reducing discretionary income available for alcohol and gambling, and promoting socially responsible behaviour.
3.79According to NTCOSS, most people subject to compulsory IM schemes such as the Cashless Debit Card and Basics Card are First Nation people. Similarly, DrShelley Bielefeld from Griffith Law School wrote that numerous FirstNations people in the Northern Territory objected to compulsory IM as a ‘racially discriminatory measure’ and how the ‘cashless welfare cards can intensify the vulnerability of people on social security payments’.
3.80Dr Elise Klein from the Accountable Income Management Network (AIMN) submitted that experiences of poverty are linked to compulsory income management and ‘cannot be separated from the punitive nature of social security’ and the ‘inadequacy of payments’. She contended:
regarding people who are long-term unemployed and their ability to manage money, compulsory income management often makes the management of money harder, deepening experiences of poverty.
3.81Through interviews with users of income management, another submitter highlighted most people were ‘weary of the program and the impact it had on them and their families’, citing interview comments such as:
It’s been horrible… it’s been hard… it has caused lots of drama… we want cash in the hand… hard to work with a card that is weighing you down.
3.82Antipoverty Centre recommend people should have the freedom to exit IM immediately and advocated for strong protections to protect against future income control and further coercion. Economic Justice Australia supported this view and suggested changes to exemption and exit policies to address systemic barriers for First Nations people in remote communities.
3.83Mrs Jessica Stevens, Member of AIMN and Advocacy Project Officer at Uniting Communities emphasised that AIMN would like to see ‘extensive consultation’ with communities who are transitioning away from compulsory income management. She also advised that there should be transitional arrangements in place to support the communities impacted, particularly for those who have been part of compulsory income management over 15 years.
3.84First Nations Disability Network Australia referred to income management as ‘not just institutionally racist’ but also ‘institutionally ableist’. Dr Shelley Bielefeld recommended removing all punitive mandatory measures pertaining to social security for First Nations people and for bottom-up policy design in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
3.85Ms Krakouer from the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, focused on IM’s mandatory nature and its negative impacts on First Nations people:
it's had a very draconian, disastrous impact on a lot of the families that are forced to use it. The way forward is not about penalising the family. It's not about demonising the families. It's about providing that support, that love, that kindness, that respect and giving opportunities that every single Australian brother and sister is entitled to. Not by any means do I support income management, because I know that there are other ways—and it's called kindness.
3.86On 4 September 2023, an ‘Enhanced income management and SmartCard’ program came into effect. According to the Department of Social Services, the new program provides access to modern banking technologies and operating in specific regions including the entire Northern Territory and select areas of NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Victoria.
3.87Many submitters remain opposed to compulsory income management. One submitter, AIMN maintained their concern that these latest changes ‘effectively entrench compulsory income management in Australia’ and how the program continues to exhibit ‘very opaque processes’.
Advocacy for change
3.88Many inquiry participants argued for change to improve outcomes for First Nations people and communities who experience poverty.
3.89Highlighting the critical need for change, Ms Megan Krakouer from the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project observed:
It is not right that we are the 12th-richest economy in the world yet we have the worst statistics in relation to incarceration and child removals. It is not right. I am seeing the disconnect not only between Aboriginal people and the government but also between Aboriginal people themselves in terms of some of the services that are being rolled out. If you want the same, fund the same. In terms of Closing the Gap targets: of the 19, 15 are worsening; and, of the 15, two are worsening even further. What I'm suggesting is that we need to do a lot of things. We need to shift the thinking. If we don't shift the thinking, and if we don't shift the funding cycles and so forth, we're going to get the same.
3.90Submitters expressed various views on how to improve outcomes for First Nations people, including First Nations control of services, increased government investment, and changes to existing programs.
First Nations controlled services and solutions
3.91Several submitters stressed the importance of First Nations co-design and control over policy and programs that aim to improve outcomes for First Nations communities.
3.92For example, NACCHO emphasised the importance, and success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, self-determination, and community control. It asserted:
If we hope to see real and sustained improvements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities - improvements in their ability to participate fully in the education of their children, to contribute to the well-being of their communities, to experience better health outcomes and improved social and emotional wellbeing, and to escape cycles of poverty - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and control must be at the core of systemic, seismic shifts in the way government seeks to address poverty and health outcomes for our people.
3.93Mr Daniel Morrison-Bird, Chief Executive Officer of the Wungening Aboriginal Corporation also stressed the need for self-determined solutions to address First Nations people’s experiences of poverty:
The missing piece is clear to everyone that I talk to from my community, and that is that we know what works best for our children, our families and our communities. Doing things on our behalf doesn't work. We must see self-determination if we want to see change.
3.94Similarly, Ms Damiya Hayden, Policy Lead at Change the Record told the committee that social policy is almost always something ‘done to and for First Nations peoples, not by and with First Nations people. Ms Hayden observed that changing this would take ‘political and economic empowerment of mob’ including genuine self-determination, reparations and rights to land and resources.
3.95NACCHO also outlined the critical importance of First Nations self-determination and ‘building the capacity of the community-controlled sector’.
3.96NACCHO emphasised the need for, an importance of, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and community control ‘in the development, design and implementation of meaningful approaches to address poverty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities’.It stated:
There is also a clear preference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to access community-controlled services. Indeed, many will bypass mainstream services to access one where they are confident their cultural safety is guaranteed. Rooted in self-determination,ACCHOs help overcome many of the barriers to access experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3.97Several other organisations also pointed out the preference for First Nations-led and controlled services, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs). For example, VACCA, a state-wide ACCO, stated ‘our Aboriginality distinguishes us from mainstream services and enables us to deliver the positive outcomes we achieve for our people’.
3.98The submission highlighted the value of First Nations-led services in delivering positive outcomes for First Nations people through a case study:
… a staff member … noticed James was sleeping rough in a local park. James was not local and had no family or friends living nearby. With no available crisis accommodation, the staff provided James with some camping equipment and provision to see through the night.
Early the next morning two VACCA staff went out to look for James and spent time with him learning more about his situation. James had recently separated from his family due to an incident. He had been left stranded, without any means of contacting family. James is a resilient Aboriginal man proud of his culture and people. James spoke of his previous struggles with addiction but had been 14 years sober. Staff were able to bring James back to the VACCA office where he had a meal, charged his phone and provided phone credit. VACCA staff spent the day with James and organised crisis accommodation and support through our Emergency Relief program. The next day James felt more rested, safe and able to travel by train so he could be with family. He thanked our staff for their help and staff have kept in touch with James. He was surprised, but grateful to come across multiple people he’d never met that were willing to help him out.
3.99The Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council specifically called for funding to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations infrastructure and ‘co-design and leadership from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take care of the population as they know their own needs’.
3.100VACCA recommended that ACCOs lead many of its policy recommendations in delivering housing, childcare, employment and workforce programs, and early education.
Increased investment
3.101Submitters highlighted the need for greater investment by the Australian Government to reduce poverty for First Nations communities. For example, submitters highlighted the need for increased investment in the Northern Territory, as well as amendments to agreements between the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government, and land councils to guide that investment.
3.102Several organisations singled out First Nations-specific housing as a focal point for priority investment, including a new long-term agreement between governments, councils, and First Nations housing organisations. APO NT also highlighted that priority funding is needed for housing repairs and maintenance, with a focus on addressing overcrowding.
3.103APO NT also made several recommendations regarding investment in education, increasing flexibility in educational programs, bilingual learning, adult literacy and other evidence-based education programs for First Nations people, and the reintroduction of secondary schooling in remote communities.
3.104The Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC) recommended increased investment in financial counselling services designed by and for First Nations people, culturally safe primary healthcare, and health prevention strategies.
3.105NACCHO agreed with increasing health expenditure on First Nations people to a ‘level commensurate with the burden of disease’.
3.106The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW focused on increased investment into the ACCO sector to deliver culturally safe health services, and broader funding changes to Medicare and other programs to ensure First Nations people have access to the healthcare and assistance they need.
Employment
3.107Several organisations supported the view that employment is a key lever to addressing poverty for First Nations people. For example, Dr Francis Markham suggested the key to tackling First Nations poverty is providing employment opportunities, including community control at the local level of employment services, that fit cultural preferences, long-term funding commitments, and locally determined key performance indicators. He argued that the new CDP should consider ‘a guaranteed job program which would provide state-funded part time work to all who want it’ and an adequately funded poverty alleviation objective.
3.108VACCA recommended targeted employment and workforce programs designed and led by First Nations controlled community organisations, and expanding the Indigenous Skills and Employment Program that connects First Nations people to jobs, career advancement, and training services.
3.109The First Nations Employment Alliance recommended better data collection to tailor employment services for First Nations people; investigation into workplace racial discrimination by the Fair Work Commission; training and national standards for addressing racism against First Nations people in workplaces; and permanent and meaningful employment opportunities for First Nations people such as through the new CDP.
Income support payments
3.110In parallel to the calls from many inquiry participants to increase income support payments to address poverty across Australia, a similar argument was pursued in the First Nations context in relation to various payments and supplements and their accessibility.
3.111For example, Dr Francis Markham recommended ‘a better social safety net be introduced for those who are unable to work’, including increased rates of social security payments across the board, increased RAA in line with higher cost of living and for the allowance to be indexed, and a ‘serious return to face-to-face servicing of remote communities’.
3.112Other submitters supported this view and recommended a priority examination of the adequacy of income support for people in remote areas including the Remote Area Allowance.
3.113Some inquiry participants specifically mentioned ABSTUDY – a group of payments targeted at First Nations students to costs for school, boarding, travel and other costs – as another payment that should be increased alongside mainstream income support payments and for eligibility to be broadened.
3.114In addition to the issues of income payment levels, inquiry participants also referenced the accessibility of various income support payments for First Nations people. For example, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (VACCHO) recommended earlier access for First Nations people to the Age Pension.
3.115Dr Francis Markham argued for tailored assistance for First Nations people living in remote areas to access the Disability Support Pension, for which demonstrating eligibility can be challenging for First Nations people.
3.116In support of increasing accessibility, the Central Land Council recommended increased practical focus and outreach to ensure First Nations people receive the income support payments they are eligible for, including expansions of access to face-to-face Centrelink services to enable this.
Income management
3.117As discussed earlier in the chapter, several submitters and witnesses were of the view that all IM schemes are discriminatory for First Nations people and recommended they be abolished and replaced with ‘voluntary’ or ‘opt-in models that empower families and communities’.
3.118A voluntary model would be in place of the ongoing IM program, including the Enhanced Income Management program that began in September 2023. Transitional arrangements would be required to support communities, especially for those who have been part of compulsory IM for many years.
3.119The committee understands that the Australian Government is committed to consulting with affected communities on the future of IM. According to the Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, ‘the government is committed to consulting with affected communities on the future of IM and it will not make changes to the operation of IM until meaningful consultation has occurred’.
Committee view
3.120Whilst the committee acknowledges that not all First Nations Australians share a universal experience, there is a disproportionate experience of poverty and unacceptable levels of disadvantage in living standards, life-expectancy, education, health, and employment among First Nations people.
3.121The committee notes that a range of interrelated factors contribute to First Nations experiences of poverty, including historical factors; intergenerational trauma; institutional racism; poor health, educational and employment outcomes; and housing insecurity.
3.122For First Nations people living in remote Australia, these factors can be compounded by geographic remoteness, lack of services, and higher cost of living.
3.123The committee is acutely aware that self-determination and First Nations-led solutions must be central to the development and delivery of policies and programs that address outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experiencing poverty.
3.124The committee emphasises that Commonwealth, State, Territory, local governments, and the private sector alike, must all continue to listen to, and collaborate with First Nations communities, organisations and peak bodies to develop First Nations-led solutions to poverty that are sustainable, strengths-based and self-determined.
Employment services
3.125The evidence clearly demonstrates the importance of employment opportunities to address poverty. Currently, employment opportunities in remote communities are too often scarce.
3.126The committee recognises the shortcomings of the long-standing Community Development Program, and the need for reform to improve the employment opportunities for First Nations people in remote areas.
3.127The committee agrees with inquiry participants that First Nations self‑determination is key to driving better outcomes for First Nations people. In line with this principle, the committee considers that it is critically important for any employment services to be co-designed with First Nations communities.
3.128The committee recommends the Australian Government commit to the principles of First Nations-led co-design of all First Nations employment services, and accelerate the Community Development Program reforms.
Remote areas
3.129The committee received compelling evidence on the unique challenges for remote First Nations communities, including severe overcrowding and poor-quality housing, high cost of living, and lack of services.
3.130The committee strongly believes that extra support is needed for First Nations people living in remote areas. This may include increasing the Remote Area Allowance to provide further targeted support for First Nations people in remote areas across the country.
3.131The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider asking the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee to review the adequacy of the Remote Area Allowance with the view to set an adequate rate of payment to address the higher costs of living in remote Australia; and to consider appropriate indexation arrangements.
Income management
3.132The committee received extensive evidence regarding the negative impacts of compulsory income management schemes on First Nations communities. The committee heard that these schemes have the effect of disincentivising employment seeking altogether. The committee is concerned about the ongoing effects of these quarantining programs that detract from the self-determination of First Nations people.
3.133The committee recommends the Australian Government continue to reform income management with the view to replace compulsory income management with voluntary models that empower families and communities.