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48
Aboriginal perspectives inform social indicators
That when social indicators are to be used to monitor and/or evaluate policies and programs concerning Aboriginal people, the informed views of Aboriginal people should be incorporated into the development, interpretation and use of the indicators, to ensure that they adequately reflect Aboriginal perceptions and aspirations. In particular, it is recommended that authorities considering information gathering activities concerning Aboriginal people should consult with ATSIC and other Aboriginal organisations, such as the National Aboriginal Islander Health Organisation or the National Aboriginal and Islander Legal Services Secretariat, as to the project.
From an Indigenous stakeholder point of view, the institutional understanding of Aboriginal and Torres interests, perspectives and life experiences still appear very limited… Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders need to be intimately involved in all aspects of planning, developing, designing, implementing and analysis of NATSISS; in terms of working directly on the survey within the ABS and in guiding its design, development, implementation and interpretation of results.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
The intent of Recommendation 48 was to ensure the views of Aboriginal stakeholders inform the development, interpretation and use of social indicators for policy and programs related to Aboriginal people.
Actions taken are of some relevance to the intent of the recommendation.
Commonwealth government initiatives were discussed, including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which consulted with stakeholders including Aboriginal community, peak bodies, research groups, government and academia.
In addition, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) developed Values and Ethics: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research which define principles for meaningful collaboration between researchers and Aboriginal communities. The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies also introduced Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies, which emphasises the importance of consultation with Aboriginal people.
There are many examples of Aboriginal involvement in policy, but that there are gaps in the evidence of outcomes relating to commitments made, usually as monitoring and evaluation was not undertaken. Therefore, the AJC determined there was evidence of output rather than outcome. In their assessment, the following frameworks were discussed:
- The AJC was involved in the development of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement 4 (AJA 4) Outcomes Framework, AJA4 Monitoring Evaluation & Learning Framework, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Matrix, Wirkara Kulpa Outcomes Framework and Performance Framework.
- Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework targets and indicators were developed with some Aboriginal input. But was originally reflective of the Council of Australian Governments Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage framework and indicators which implied Aboriginal communities wanted statistical equality with non-Aboriginal outcomes rather than allowing for Aboriginal aspirations for change.
- There was Aboriginal involvement in development of the Victorian Family Violence Outcomes Framework, Aboriginal Family Violence Primary Prevention Framework 2023, Dhelk Dja Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and Dhelk Dja Outcomes Framework.
- Some Closing the Gap targets and indicators were developed with Aboriginal perspectives. The Dhelk Dja Data Sub Working Group was instrumental in developing defined data, indicators and measures to track progress against the Closing the Gap Target 13.
- Aboriginal perspectives are incorporated (usually through partnership forums, or sub-working groups) into other outcome and monitoring and evaluation frameworks, or strategies include commitments to do this i.e. Korin Korin Balit-Djak.
Caucus noted that there are many initiatives across Victorian Government departments, with each strategy or program including frameworks, indicators and evaluation mechanisms. Yet the Yoorrook Justice Commission found that many policies are not monitored or evaluated as suggested.
Other major policy frameworks relating to Aboriginal people have also not been subject to any monitoring or evaluation, despite stated commitments to do so… Government representatives admitted that despite some of these strategies being more than half-way through delivery, the evaluation process had not yet been designed, let alone implemented.
Yoorrook noted two examples in Yoorrook for Justice. Firstly, that 5 years into the 10-year strategy, Balit Murrup: Aboriginal social emotional wellbeing framework 2017–2027, there had only been ‘ad hoc monitoring of parts of it’. Secondly, that in Wirkara Kulpa, outcomes were set at a high level, without specific measures to gauge progress. It committed to monitoring under the AJA 4 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. However, did not make any specific, data-based KPIs set, and there has been effectively no monitoring or evaluation implemented to date because the governance structure was only approved in June 2023.
Ultimately, the AJC endorses Yoorrook’s calls for greater accountability from government to implement these strategies, and greater accountability to Aboriginal communities to follow through on commitments.
Without evaluation and review, the risks of fragmented accountability rise dramatically… if everyone is responsible but no one is held to account, then it is likely that no agency or department will be accountable.
Monitoring and evaluation frameworks must be designed alongside the development of policies, so they are incorporated from the beginning, and the measurements focus on tangible outcomes. This must be in accordance with the AJA 4 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework and must have Aboriginal-led oversight and accountability through an Aboriginal Social Justice Commissioner.
This recommendation remains highly relevant and is therefore a high priority for further work. Better indicators and information available would contribute to progressing Aboriginal self-determination and more informed decision-making for Aboriginal people.
Priority for Further Work:
High
Relevance and potential impact | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low (0-2) | Moderate (3-4) | High (5-6) | |||
Extent of action taken and evidence of outcomes | High (5-6) | ||||
Moderate (3-4) | |||||
Low (0-2) | |||||
Potential Actions for Further Work
Open monitoring and evaluation underpinning accountability (Yoorrook for Justice, Recommendations 3 & 4)
To ensure State accountability for Aboriginal peoples related programs and policies by those responsible for their development and delivery:
a) government bodies must ensure that Aboriginal peoples related programs and policies are rigorously monitored and evaluated
b) monitoring and evaluation must be designed alongside the development of the program or policy so that it is built into the program or policy (and commences at the same time as implementation) with measurement focused on real outcomes
c) where programs or policies have existing commitments to monitoring and evaluation, but little or no progress has been made, these must be actioned within six months
d) where programs or policies do not have monitoring or evaluation included, the inclusion of these must be actioned urgently, and
e) these monitoring and evaluation processes must be in accordance with the Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja (AJA4) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework including:
i) being consistent with Aboriginal peoples values,
ii) reflecting Aboriginal peoples priorities for what is measured and how it is measured,
iii) having an approved regular reporting cycle, and
iv) having a commitment to the open reporting of results.
The Victorian Government must as an urgent priority, having regard to the right of Aboriginal peoples to self-determination, negotiate in good faith with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria:
a) the establishment of an independent and authoritative oversight and accountability commission for the monitoring and evaluation of Aboriginal peoples related policies and programs
b) the detailed functions and membership of the commission, and
c) to give the commission the necessary resources and authority to hold responsible government ministers, departments and entities to account for the success or failure of the programs they develop and deliver.
Background
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) highlighted issues with the production and use of social indicators related to Aboriginal communities. While recognising the value of social indicators for acquiring information on policy and program outcomes, they were often limiting when agendas focused too narrowly on specific social indicators rather than the overall improvement of the quality of life for Aboriginal people. The report gave an example of housing policies that often prioritise the number of homes available to Aboriginal people, with little attention paid to the quality and suitability of the housing and ongoing outcomes. In addition, the RCIADIC highlighted that such measures often neglected the essential aspect of engaging in authentic consultation with stakeholders most affected by the policy or program, which was considered critical to achieving meaningful outcomes.
Actions Taken Since Last Review
DPC, DFFH and DH were consulted on implementation of this recommendation in 2025 and provided the following responses.
Department of Premier and Cabinet
DPC agrees with the assessment of this recommendation as partially implemented. Ongoing commitment to the National Agreement’s strong partnership elements (Clause 32 and 33) will assist with implementation. The most recent Partnership Agreement Health Check found that more work is required across jurisdictions to move from a compliance relationship between parties to embedding a true partnership approach that enables self-determination of Aboriginal people.
DPC acknowledges that Aboriginal-led monitoring and accountability is critical to meet the intent of this recommendation.
Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework (VAAF)
The VAAF was developed through broad and inclusive statewide engagement with over 600 Aboriginal people across Victoria. The VAAF includes 20 goals and 111 measures to hold government accountable for performance in Aboriginal affairs which reflect the aspirations of Aboriginal people as reported through the engagement process. DPC prepares an annual Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report (VGAAR) which measures progress against the VAAF. DPC engages Aboriginal community stakeholders in VGAAR drafting.
National Agreement on Closing the Gap
Priority Reform One of the National Agreement (formal partnerships and shared decision-making) requires that Aboriginal people are equal partners in the design of policies and programs. Victoria’s Closing the Gap Partnership Forum is the formal body for shared decision-making between the Victorian Government and Aboriginal people on Closing the Gap implementation.
In partnership with Ngaweeyan Maar-oo (the Koorie Caucus of the Partnership Forum and Victorian Government’s formal partner for National Agreement implementation), DPC is developing a new Victorian Closing the Gap Implementation Plan. The new Implementation Plan will set out Victoria’s approach to achieving its commitments under the National Agreement, including actions to drive progress on the Priority Reforms and socio-economic targets in the National Agreement. The Implementation Plan is being developed in line with Clause 18 of the National Agreement which requires policy decisions that affect Aboriginal people be made through full and genuine partnership.
Aboriginal Governance Forums
DPC’s Aboriginal Governance Forum is the Partnership Forum. Most other departments have portfolio-based Aboriginal Governance Forums which develop and oversee relevant Victorian Government Aboriginal strategies. For example, the Aboriginal Justice Forum will develop the next phase of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement in 2025.
Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
Established in 2017, the Aboriginal Strategic Governance Forum (ASGF) is the department’s overarching Aboriginal-led decision-making forum to support commitments under Closing the Gap. It sets and oversees the strategic direction for system transformation across DFFH portfolios, aligned with relevant strategies including Korin Korin Balit-Djak.
In November 2024, DFFH and the ASGF agreed to transition activity under Korin Korin Balit-Djak to a collective focus on Closing the Gap and the Self-determination Reform Framework priorities. The ASGF Koorie Caucus endorsed the establishment of five DFFH Closing the Gap Priority Reform Working Groups to further deliver on this work:
- Priority Reform Working Group One: Formal Partnerships and Shared Decision Making.
- Priority Reform Working Group Two: Building the Community Controlled Sector – Aboriginal Sector Workforce Working Group (Established)
- Priority Reform Working Group Two: Building the Community Controlled Sector – Funding Reform (Established)
- Priority Reform Working Group Three: Transforming Government Organisations
- Priority Reform Working Group Four: Shared access to data and information at a regional level.
Department of Health
The Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework, developed in 2018, outlines key priorities and actions to address the social, economic, and cultural needs of Aboriginal communities in Victoria. The department provides health and wellbeing data to the Department of Premier and Cabinet for its annual Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report (VGAAR), the key statewide mechanism for monitoring against broader social, economic and cultural influences.
The Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Partnership (AHWP) Agreement 2023-2033, holds a vision for Victoria’s Aboriginal people to have access to a health system that is holistic, culturally safe, accessible and empowering. Endorsed by Cabinet in 2023, the Agreement reflects the priority outcomes of the Victorian Aboriginal Community under the following five domains.
- Prevention and early intervention.
- Culturally safe healthcare.
- A self-determined health system.
- Working from a shared evidence base.
- Building a sustainable health sector.
The department acknowledges the impact of social determinants as key risk factors for the health and wellbeing Aboriginal people and their communities. However, the emerging recognition of cultural determinants as protective factors in Aboriginal health and wellbeing is of greater importance to Community. In addition to broad social factors of poverty, unemployment housing and other negative social influences, the destruction of cultural traditions through past and current government policies and practices are known to have contributed to disparities in health and wellbeing outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
The biggest ongoing challenge for the department is the inequitable health outcomes for Aboriginal people in Victoria. This is an ongoing colonial legacy. The social, cultural and historical determinants of health mean broader health system underperformance has a disproportionate impact on Community. For example, Aboriginal Victorians are 2.7 times more likely than non-Aboriginal Victorians to present to an emergency department, and experience more than double the rate of preventable chronic conditions.
National Agreement on Closing the Gap Agreement
The objective of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is to enable Aboriginal people and governments to work together to overcome the inequality experienced by Aboriginal people and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.
For the first time, the National Agreement has been developed in genuine partnership between Australian governments and the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations. The expertise and experience of the Coalition of Peaks and its membership have been central to the commitments in this National Agreement. So too has the feedback from the extensive engagements in 2019 with Aboriginal people across Australia.
The views and expertise of Aboriginal people, including Elders, Traditional Owners and Native Title holders, communities and organisations will continue to provide central guidance to the Coalition of Peaks and Australian governments as the National Agreement is implemented.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) assisting in developing the National Agreement. The AIHW led several workshops to assist the Partnership Working Group to consider and develop the target framework, developed trajectories to inform decisions about the level of ambition for different target areas, and provided technical advice on the targets, indicators and data availability. The ABS provided data and technical advice for targets and indicators.
Priority Reforms
There are four Priority Reforms that focus on changing the way governments work with Aboriginal people. Priority Reform 4 relates to Aboriginal-led data:
Aboriginal people have access to, and the capability to use, locally relevant data and information to set and monitor the implementation of efforts to close the gap, their priorities and drive their own development.
It was agreed that data and information sharing practice elements between governments and Aboriginal communities and organisations contain the following features:
a) There are partnerships in place between Aboriginal representatives and government organisations to guide the improved collections, access, management and use of data to inform shared decision-making for the benefit of Aboriginal people.
b) Governments agree to provide Aboriginal communities and organisations access to the same data and information on which any decisions are made, subject to meeting privacy requirements, and ensuring data security and integrity.
c) Governments collect, handle and report data at sufficient levels of disaggregation, and in an accessible and timely way, to empower local Aboriginal communities to access, use and interpret data for local decision-making
d) Aboriginal communities and organisations are supported by governments to build capability and expertise in collecting, using and interpreting data in a meaningful way.
Targets
The National Agreement has 19 national socio-economic targets across areas that have an impact on life outcomes for Aboriginal people. Relevant to this recommendation is Target 17, which calls for Aboriginal people to have access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision-making regarding their own lives.
Victorian Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2021-2023
Under Priority Reform Four, the Victorian Government had a target to increase the number of regional data projects to support Aboriginal communities to make decisions about Closing the Gap and their development.
The Plan expands on how these commitments were to be fulfilled, confirming that government departments will:
- Develop sector-wide data access and data sharing agreements with and for Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations (ACCOs) and Traditional Owners in their sector (local, state-wide and peak) with advice and input from the appropriate Aboriginal governance mechanism.
- Prioritise additional investment in ACCO data management and analytics as a core function
- Collaboratively develop options to properly resource this function through allocations from departmental funding programs and through the annual budget process.
Productivity Commission, Closing the Gap Review
In the 2024 review, the Commission found that there has not yet been significant change relating to Priority Reform 4, noting:
- Most government actions have been about sharing data they already hold.
- Governments often do not value what Aboriginal people say about how data should be used and have not changed how data is used in policy making to reflect this.
- Governments are not doing enough to support Aboriginal people’s data capability.
- The six community data projects are progressing slowly, but it is not clear how they will be used to advance Priority Reform 4 more broadly.
- Some jurisdictions are taking steps to embed Indigenous Data Governance (IDG) to support Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS).
The Commission recommends amending the Agreement to explicitly include IDS as part of the outcome statement for Priority Reform 4. This should be accompanied by commitments to:
- partnering with Aboriginal organisations and communities to embed IDG, including through incorporating IDG into existing data systems
- strengthening the capabilities of government and ACCOs.
Impact
Outputs
Department of Premier and Cabinet
- Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report
- Victorian Closing the Gap Implementation Plan
Department of Health
The department recognises Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) as a key enabler of Aboriginal self-determination, a priority commitment of the Victorian government. In terms of data ownership, a key principle of IDS, community understands legislative and regulatory requirements can limit the transfer of ownership of public health data into Aboriginal hands, However, data governance, in terms of Community led data control and use remains a priority for the department and continues to work with Community to translate IDS principles into practice.
Implementation of the AHWP Action Plan (2023-2025) is progressing with completion of 7 actions of 38 total actions, with 20 on track, three delayed and another 8 not due to commence.
Wirkara Kulpa Outcomes Framework
This Strategy has been developed under the umbrella of Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja (AJA4), the Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement. Its success relies on the maintenance of strong relationships with Aboriginal Justice Caucus, Aboriginal people, community and organisations and young people, as well as other departments. All parties are critical to implementing the actions in this Strategy. The Aboriginal Justice Agreement governance groups will oversee the implementation of this Strategy.
Monitoring and evaluation of Wirkara Kulpa will progress through the Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja (AJA4) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. All monitoring and evaluation activities will be consistent with the standards listed in the AJA4 to ensure they are respectful of Aboriginal values as well as accepted guidelines for conducting ethical research.
Outcomes
Yoorrook for Justice
Yoorrook reported that:
Without evaluation and review, the risks of fragmented accountability rise dramatically. . . if everyone is responsible but no one is held to account, then it is likely that no agency or department will be accountable.
Some major policy frameworks relating to Aboriginal people were not subject to any monitoring or evaluation, despite stated commitments to do so. Government representatives admitted that despite some of these strategies being more than half-way through delivery, the evaluation process had not yet been designed, let alone implemented.
- For example, five years into the 10-year strategy, Balit Murrup: Aboriginal social emotional wellbeing framework 2017–2027, there had only been ‘ad hoc monitoring of parts of it’.
- In other examples, outcomes have been set at a high level, without specific measures to gauge progress. For example, the Aboriginal Youth Justice Strategy, Wirkara Kulpa (2022-2032), commits to monitoring under the Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja (Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement: Phase 4) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. This is welcome, but there were no specific, data-based KPIs set in the strategy, and a governance structure was only approved in June 2023. This effectively means that no monitoring or evaluation of this strategy has been implemented to date.
Community Views
Dr Maggie Walter
Dr Maggie Walter discussed the 2014 NATSISS and the lack of Aboriginal input, noting there were no Aboriginal people employed on the project.
From an Indigenous stakeholder point of view, the institutional understanding of Aboriginal and Torres interests, perspectives and life experiences still appear very limited… Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders need to be intimately involved in all aspects of planning, developing, designing, implementing and analysis of NATSISS; in terms of working directly on the survey within the ABS and in guiding its design, development, implementation and interpretation of results.
Maiam nayri Wingara
Data is a cultural, strategic, and economic asset for Indigenous peoples. Indigenous Australians have always been active in what is now known as ‘data’. Yet in modern times we have been isolated from the language, control and production of data at community, state and national levels. This has resulted in data that are overly focused on Indigenous peoples as the problem. Existing data and data infrastructure does not recognise or privilege our knowledges and worldviews nor meet our current and future needs.