Welfare Reform: The Australian Government announced in October 2008 that it will continue compulsory income management for a further 12 months.
The Government will be consulting with Indigenous communities about redesigning income management so that it is more clearly a special measure under the RDA. (Amendment Bills lifting the RDA suspension in the current NTER Acts will be introduced in the Spring 2009 Sittings of Parliament.)
The Australian Government is providing $89.2 million to enable comprehensive and compulsory income management to continuein all prescribed areas. This funding includes service delivery costsfor Centrelink and operation of the BasicsCard until 30June 2010. $11.8 million has been allocated for the development of a new point-of-sale delivery mechanism to replace the BasicsCard from 1 July 2010.
The Government introduced legislation into Parliament on 18 March 2009 to ensure people subject to income management have access to the full range of appeal rights, including through the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
To help people build their money management and budgeting skills, $4.9 million will be provided in 2009-10 to continue financial management support services started in 2008-09 in Darwin, Alice Springs and Katherine town camps, Hermannsburg, GrooteEylandt, Wadeye, Central Desert Shire, Barkly Shire, Roper Gulf Shire, Laynhapuy Homelands and Maningrida. These services provide outreach to prescribed communities across the Northern Territory.
Community stores: The Australian Government is providing $18.3million to build on the current licensing framework for community stores. This is designed to improve the financial, retail management and governance of remote community stores and to ensure that a range of good quality food is available for sale. Future arrangements will be redesigned to conform with the RDA.
The Government has funded Outback Stores to take on the management of some community stores, including less viable stores in the Northern Territory.Outback Stores is a government-backed company with a brief to improve retailing in remote Indigenous communities. The company provides sound retail management, vertical integration of supply, bulk purchasing power, centralised back-office processing and standardisation of management practices, helping to minimise prices for community people.
Employment: In December 2008 the Australian Government announced significant reforms to the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) program and associated Indigenous Employment Program (IEP), aimed at improving employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians.
Reformed CDEP will commence on 1 July 2009, including in many communities in the Northern Territory. A strong focus on job readiness and community development will be underpinned by reforms aimed at creating sustainable jobs and providing greater access to training and other opportunities.
The Australian Government is providing $201.9 million over three years to continue more than 1600 jobs in areas of government funded service delivery already created in the Northern Territory. These jobs provide proper wages and conditions for community members and remove the need for CDEP to subsidise delivery of Australian Government services.
In the Northern Territory, CDEP participants and other community residents will also benefit from the Australian Government’s new Indigenous remote workforce strategy.
The Government is also providing $190.6 million over five years for the reformed and expanded IEP across Australia, to make it more responsive to the specific needs of Indigenous job seekers, Indigenous businesses and employers. Funding of $21.6million over four years will also be provided for places under the Workplace English Language Literacy Program to support the IEP reforms.
Remote community residents will also benefit from increased access to training and employment services through the reformed mainstream employment service, Job Services Australia, which commences on 1 July 2009. Each person will have an individualised employment plan. With improved employment services, the AustralianGovernmentis ceasing the Community Employment Broker positions in the Northern Territory on 30 June 2009.
$3.0 million over three years will continue the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program using community-based delivery. This program helps Indigenous job‑seekers to build basic skills for employment.