Report on Indigenous participation in employment and business is presented

THE Indigenous Affairs Committee has today presented its report on Indigenous participation in employment and business.

The report makes recommendations to enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the Australian economy.

Chair of the committee, Julian Leeser MP, said, "One of Australia’s most important economic and social policy goals is to improve the economic participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Having a job or running a business can be life changing.

"Witnesses told the committee during the inquiry that owning a business gives people greater freedom, choice and independence. It can provide pride, purpose, a legacy, and a sense of achievement. Many of those sentiments are also true about having a job," Mr Leeser said.

The report notes the great success of the Federal Government’s Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) but that improvements could still be made. These include performance measures that go beyond just the number and value of awarded contracts to include employment outcomes and skills transfers for Indigenous people, the use of company profits and the ability of business to attract commercial contracts.

Mr Leeser said, "As the IPP becomes an established part of the culture of Commonwealth agencies, it is important to ensure the policy continues to serve its purpose of driving economic development and employment."

The other central theme of this inquiry was the sustainable employment pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including a lack of access to relevant training, lack of culturally safe workplaces, a low availability of mentoring for young Indigenous job seekers, having a police record, and few long-term job opportunities.

The Federal Government currently has two major employment services available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jobseekers: Jobactive which covers most of the Australian population and the Community Development Program (CDP) in remote areas. In addition, Vocation Training and Employment Centres (VTEC) work with Jobactive and CDP providers to help match, mentor, and place longer-term unemployed jobseekers.

The committee noted that the government was changing its employment services policy for all Australian jobseekers with the New Employment Services Model to commence in July 2022. At the same time the government has announced a new remote jobs program to replace CDP in 2023, to be codesigned with Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander communities.

The committee has made recommendations in relation to these new programs, including a national Indigenous Jobactive provider; greater collaboration and integration between Jobactive and VTEC; more incentives to place people into jobs long term; and better alignment with Jobactive and CDP activity requirements.

Mr Leeser emphasised the committee’s views in the report: "There should be more community leadership in the design of activities under CDP; and a focus not on welfare, but on part-time work for part-time pay given the realities of the thin labour markets in remote Australia. There should also be a focus on the development of locally generated entrepreneurial activity."

The report makes 17 recommendations to government and can be accessed and downloaded from the inquiry website.

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