Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory: Implementation
approach for Remote Engagement Teams
The Australian Government is publishing this Implementation Plan (IP) as part of its
commitment to working with Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory, their representatives
and leaders to effectively implement the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory measures.
The Australian Government has made a 10 year commitment to work with Aboriginal people in
the Northern Territory to build strong, independent lives, where communities, families and
children are safe and healthy. Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory is a $3.4 billion
investment and responds directly to what Aboriginal people told the Government is important
to them.
The Australian Government will work with Aboriginal people in both large and small
communities to support local jobs, tackle alcohol abuse and encourage children to go to
school, as well as provide basic services, including health, education and police. The
Australian Government will talk to Aboriginal people in each community about how best to
deliver services under Stronger Futures, providing Aboriginal people with more responsibility
for services within their own community.
The Australian Government will support Aboriginal organisations to deliver services under
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory and all services will be expected to employ
Aboriginal people wherever possible.
Building on current levels of remote staff, Remote Engagement Teams are part of the
Government’s commitment to work differently, and more closely, with Aboriginal people in the
Northern Territory. This plan outlines how this may be achieved through the Remote
Engagement Teams.
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory: Remote Engagement Teams
Remote Engagement Teams will help build stronger relationships between government and
Aboriginal communities and homelands in the Northern Territory and help to improve
government engagement, service accessibility and coordination with remote communities.
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
Why are Remote Engagement Teams included in the Stronger Futures package?
During consultations with Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory about developing the
Stronger Futures package, many Aboriginal people said they wanted government to talk to
them about policies and they wanted government to listen to them, that there needed to be
better coordination of government services, and respect for community governance
arrangements. There were also requests for more Indigenous Engagement Officers and for
Government Business Managers to more actively convey community decisions and views to
government.
It was clear there is a strong desire for face-to-face relationships between government and
community and to develop better ways of working together. Remote Engagement Teams
respond directly to these concerns and will build relationships with Aboriginal people based on
effective consultation, engagement and lasting partnership. Government Business Managers
will also now be called Government Engagement Coordinators to reflect an increased focus
on engaging with local people and their new role in the teams.
What are the objectives of the Remote Engagement Teams?
The objectives of Remote Engagement Teams, as part of the Indigenous Coordination
Centres, are to:
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
improve engagement with communities by establishing an on-the-ground
presence of remote engagement officers (consisting of Indigenous Engagement
Officers and Government Engagement Coordinators) to provide an overview of
the effectiveness of the local service system and coordination of regional and
local planning processes; and
provide a skilled and stable workforce that lives and works in remote
communities.
They will also:
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support community involvement in local planning processes and the delivery of
programs and services in their community;
help service providers to meet the needs of local Aboriginal families and communities;
facilitate improved government understanding of local community issues and
increased community awareness of government programs and services;
be the primary point of contact for government working with communities and support
improved coordination; and
provide feedback between government and community about effectiveness of
programs and services.
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
What are the expected outcomes and outputs of the Remote Engagement Teams?
The Remote Engagement Teams will employ Government Engagement Coordinators and
local Aboriginal people as Indigenous Engagement Officers to ensure there is better
connection between government and communities and improved coordination at the local
levels.
Remote Engagement Teams will contribute to the following outputs:

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
regional and remote engagement;
coordination of government effort; and
increased local employment across all levels of the workforce by the expiration of the
National Partnership Agreement.
Remote Engagement Teams will contribute to outcomes such as:


improved government engagement, service accessibility and coordination in remote
communities by:
- providing better engagement on and regional coordination of government services
- ensuring community feedback is heard and directed to the appropriate service
delivery agency/agencies; and
- ongoing monitoring of local service delivery.
improved economic participation, including employment and enterprise development
through:
- local jobs for local people; and
- increased participation in enhanced community planning processes, addressing
gaps and issues in local service delivery.
The Government commits to:


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establish Remote Engagement Teams throughout the Northern Territory over a two
year transition period (July 2012 to June 2014);
increase the number of communities with Indigenous Engagement Officers from 30 to
54 by July 2014;
provide full and part-time job opportunities for up to 60 additional Indigenous
Engagement Officers;
recruit 32 Government Engagement Coordinators by June 2014;
an Aboriginal Employment Target of 100 per cent of Indigenous Engagement Officer
positions being filled by local Aboriginal people; and
an Aboriginal Employment Target of 20 per cent by 2016-17 and 50 per cent by 202122 of Government Engagement Coordinator positions being filled by Aboriginal people.
Who is part of a Remote Engagement Team?
The Remote Engagement Teams will consist of Government Engagement Coordinators
(GECs) and Indigenous Engagement Officers (IEOs). They will live and work in remote
communities as well as in Darwin and Alice Springs. They will work closely with community
members where they reside, as well as nearby communities and homelands.
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
The Teams will form part of and be managed by the Indigenous Coordination Centre for their
region. Indigenous Coordination Centres in the Northern Territory are located in Alice Springs,
Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy. They operate as whole-of-government
centres and engage with Indigenous communities, other levels of government and service
providers to support initiatives, such as Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory.
What will Remote Engagement Teams do?
Remote Engagement Teams will:
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identify and utilise the best method/s to effectively engage with local Aboriginal
residents and organisations;
explain government policies and provide comment and concerns from the community
back to government;
regularly report to the community on the roll out of Stronger Futures in the Northern
Territory commitments and other relevant initiatives;
work collaboratively with Australian and Northern Territory Governments, local
government service providers and NGOs to coordinate service delivery and to identify
opportunities for improvement;
report to the Indigenous Coordination Centres on the implementation of Australian
Government initiatives within the community and help to identify any issues or barriers;
identify resources and opportunities to assist ongoing capacity development of local
Aboriginal people–individuals, groups and organisations; and
if located in a Remote Service Delivery site, oversight associated reporting and the
delivery of commitments, including supporting Local Reference Groups.
The Indigenous Coordination Centre will:
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coordinate training and development for both the Indigenous Engagement Officers and
Government Engagement Coordinators;
provide logistic and administrative support;
support collaboration on government priorities and service delivery issues; and
facilitate access to whole of government resources to support solution brokering for the
community.
Where will Remote Engagement Teams work?
Remote Engagement Teams will be responsible for a number of communities in their region,
not just the one they live in. The services of Government Engagement Coordinators and
Indigenous Engagement Officers will extend to homelands, including clusters such as those of
Utopia in Central Australia.
The location of Remote Engagement Teams may vary over time based on community
discussions, government priorities and recruitment of Government Engagement Coordinators
and Indigenous Engagement Officers.
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
A map showing suggested locations of the teams is at Attachment A.
Existing remote-based staff will continue to support communities while arrangements to
establish Remote Engagement Teams are finalised.
How will people be selected for the Remote Engagement Teams?
It is essential that the right people are recruited to work with communities and that they
receive appropriate levels of support to do their job. The majority of positions will be
permanent, with some contract positions available where needed.
The Government will talk to communities about who will be part of the Remote Engagement
Team before the team begins work.
Indigenous Engagement Officers
Indigenous Engagement Officers will be recruited to the Australian Public Service Grade 4 to 6
level depending on the Work Level Standards of the positions. Senior Indigenous Engagement
Officer positions will be created with increased responsibilities. Indigenous Engagement
Officers will have career pathways in the Indigenous Coordination Centres, as Government
Engagement Officers and in other areas of FaHCSIA.
Advertising for recruitment of Indigenous Engagement Officers will commence immediately
and continue over the next year until teams reach their full capacity. Indigenous Engagement
Officers are expected to be a member of the community where they work, or accepted by that
community, and must be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. They will be
assessed on their understanding of government business, ability to engage with the
community and whether they are able to perform the duties and take on the responsibility of
the position.
Government Engagement Coordinators
Government Engagement Coordinators will be primarily at the Australian Public Service
Executive Level 1 level. There may be some opportunities for temporary performance
allowance for more complex duties.
Government Engagement Coordinator positions will be advertised nationally.
A rigorous recruitment and assessment process will test four priority skills: cultural
competence; community engagement; leadership and team work; and the ability to develop
and support others.
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
Stronger Futures commitment to Aboriginal employment
The Australian Government is committed to developing the capacity of Aboriginal service
delivery organisations and people and increasing the employment opportunities available to
them. Aboriginal employment targets are being set for all Stronger Futures measures,
including the Remote Engagement and Coordination measure.
The target is that by 2017, 20 per cent of the Government Engagement Coordinator positions
will be filled by Aboriginal people, increasing to 50 per cent by 2022. It is expected that 100
per cent of the Indigenous Engagement Officers will be local Aboriginal people.
Stronger Futures commitment to Engagement with Aboriginal people
The Australian Government is also strongly committed to changing the way it engages with
Aboriginal people. All Stronger Futures measures are required to ensure services are
responsive, effectively meet community needs and that agreed mechanisms are in place to
provide for their ongoing feedback.
The Remote Engagement Teams will have an ongoing role in monitoring the effectiveness of
services and will provide to and receive from the community regular updates about the
effectiveness of the implementation of Stronger Futures.
Links to other programs
The Remote Engagement Teams element has strong links to all elements of the Stronger
Futures package that involve engagement with and/or service delivery to Aboriginal people in
the NT including the:
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Health Implementation Plan
Schooling Implementation Plan
Community Safety and Justice Implementation Plan
Tackling Alcohol Abuse Implementation Plan
Child, Youth, Family and Community Wellbeing Implementation Plan
Housing Implementation Plan
The Remote Engagement Teams also have strong connections to the National Partnership
Agreement on Remote Service Delivery which provides support to 15 priority communities in
the NT to:
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improve Indigenous families' access to a range of government services;
raise these services to the standard provided to other Australians living in communities of
similar size and location;
improve governance and leadership within the communities, including among Indigenous
community organisations;
achieve better coordinated government services; and
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
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increase economic and social participation wherever possible and promote personal
responsibility and positive behaviours.
Funding and governance arrangements
The Remote Engagement and Coordination measure provides $427.4 million over 10 years to
improve the way governments and communities in the Northern Territory work together. The
Remote Engagement Teams element comprises a significant portion of these funds for the
increasing number of staff on the ground. The funds are allocated to the Department of
Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs under Outcome 7.5: Stronger
Futures in the Northern Territory.
Remote
Engagement
Teams
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
Total
GEC and
IEOs
staffing
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
8.7
10.2
12.8
12.9
13.0
13.1
13.3
13.4
13.5
13.7
124.6
Other elements of the Remote Engagement and Coordination measure are outlined in the
Remote Engagement and Coordination Implementation Plan, which has been developed with
the Northern Territory Government as part of the National Partnership Agreement on Stronger
Futures in the Northern Territory. It can be found on the Federal Financial Relations website.
Evaluation, monitoring and review
Transparency and accountability is important for all Stronger Futures measures.
As outlined in the National Partnership Agreement on Stronger Futures in the Northern
Territory, the Government will publish six monthly public reports on progress in implementing
the package. Achievement against the Remote Engagement Team outcomes and outputs will
be reported in the monitoring report. A mid-term and final evaluation of the Remote
Engagement Teams will be undertaken in 2016-17 and 2019-20.
Each Remote Engagement Team will report regularly on what they have achieved for the
information of communities and local organisations in their region. The Teams will meet with
communities and organisations in their region at least every two months to discuss what they
have been doing and what their priorities will be for the future.
Other activities, such as consultations with communities and feedback from stakeholders, will
help to assess progress of the Remote Engagement Team outcomes. The Department will
engage regularly with Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT and other interested Indigenous
stakeholders in the Northern Territory to review the activities and effectiveness of the Remote
Engagement Teams.
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
Term of Implementation Plan
The Implementation Plan is for 10 years. It will be reviewed every three years by the
Australian Government in consultation with stakeholders and communities.
Lead agency
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is the lead
agency on the implementation of Remote Engagement Teams.
Contact and questions
If you have any questions about this plan please contact the FaHCSIA Northern Territory
Office on:
Ph: 08 8928 6100/ 1800 079 098
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
Attachment A
Proposed locations for Remote Engagement Teams from 1 July 2013
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Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
Regional teams and clusters
Proposed locations for GECs & IEOs under Stronger Futures – Northern Region
GEC locations
Darwin: GEC
Mentor
Total communities in
cluster
IEO locations
Darwin: IEO Mentor
Gunbalanya
Minjilang
Warruwi
Maningrida
Bagot
Gurdoorka
Belyuen
Amangal
Milgarri
Acacia Larrakia
Minmarama
Kulaluk
One Mile Dam
Gunbalanya
Minjilang
Warruwi
Maningrida
Nauiyu
Palumpa
Peppimenarti
Wadeye
Nauiyu
Palumpa
Peppimenarti
Wadeye
Wurrumiyanga
Pirlangimpi
Milikapiti
Borroloola
Robinson River
Bulla
Darwin X 3
Darwin
Gunbalanya (RSD)
Maningrida (RSD)
Nauiyu (Daly River)
Wadeye (RSD)
Numbulwar (RSD)
Numbulwar
Wugularr (Beswick)
Bulman
Wugularr/Barunga
Angurugu (RSD)
Angurugu
Wurrumiyanga
Pirlangimpi
Milikapiti
Borroloola
Robinson River
Bulla
Amanbidgi
Timber Creek town camps
Jilkminggan
Minyerri
Daguragu
Kalkarindji
Yarralin
Pigeon Hole
Ngukurr
Rittarangu
Numbulwar
Bulman
Weemol
Barunga
Manyallaluk
Wugularr (Beswick)
Angurugu
Galiwin’ku (RSD)
Milingimbi (RSD)
Galiwin’ku
Milingimbi
Galiwin’ku
Milingimbi
Gapuwiyak (RSD)
Gapuwiyak
Gapuwiyak
Ramingining
Ramingining
Ramingining
Umbakumba
Milyakburra
Yirrkala
Umbakumba
Milyakburra
Yirrkala
Gunyangara
Wurrumiyanga
(RSD)
Borroloola
Bulla
Jilkminggan
Kalkarindji
Ngukurr (RSD)
Umbakumba (RSD)
Yirrkala (RSD)
ICC regions
Jilkminggan/Minyerri
Kalkarindji/Daguragu
Yarralin
Ngukurr
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Darwin
Katherine
Nhulunbuy
Draft Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
Proposed locations for GECs & IEOs under Stronger Futures – Southern Region
GEC
locations
IEO locations
Total communities in
cluster
Alice Springs:
GEC Mentor
Alice Springs: IEO
Mentor
Alice Springs
Alice Springs X 2
Imanpa
Mutitjulu
Kaltukatjara (Docker
River)
Alice Springs Town Camps
Amoonguna
Mutitjulu
Kaltukatjara (Docker River)
Imanpa
Lajamanu
(RSD)
Lajamanu
Lajamanu
Ntaria (RSD)
(Hermannsburg)
Ntaria
Areyonga
Papunya
Papunya
Kintore
Santa Teresa
Santa Teresa
Titjikala
Apatula (Finke)
Ti Tree
Willowra
Yuelamu
Laramba
Yuendumu
(RSD)
Yuendumu
Ali Curung
Engawala
Nil GEC – TNC
ICC to manage
Ali Curung
Utopia Homelands
Alpurrurulam
Elliott
Ntaria (Hermannsburg)
Areyonga
Wallace Rockhole
Papunya
Kintore
Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff)
Mt Liebig
Santa Teresa
Titjikala
Apatula (Finke)
Willowra
Yuelamu
Laramba
Ti Tree
Pmara Jutunta
Nturiya
Yuendumu
Nyirripi
Ali Curung
Tara
Imangara
Utopia Homelands
Ampilatwatja
Alpurrurulam
Engawala
Atitjere (Harts Range)
Elliott
Owairtilla (Canteen Creek)
Wutunugurra (Epenarra)
ICC
Tennant
Creek
NOTE:
1. Total number of GEC positions: 32 (including 2 mentor positions)
2. Total number of IEO locations: 54 (including 2 mentor positions)
3.
The following communities will not have a GEC or IEO presence and will be managed by the Katherine
ICC:
Binjari
Kybrook Farm
Katherine town camps
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Proposed Implementation Plan draft for public consultation
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