Indigenous Coordination Centres facts for kids

The Indigenous Coordination Centres (ICCs) are special offices set up by the Australian Government. They help deliver important services to Indigenous Australians. Think of them as a link between Indigenous communities and the government.

As of 2021, there are 30 ICC offices all over Australia. Before ICCs, another group called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) handled Indigenous affairs from 1990 to 2005. ATSIC was eventually closed down because it wasn't fully achieving its main goals. After ATSIC, the ICCs took over the job of connecting Indigenous people with the Australian government.

How Indigenous Coordination Centres Started

ICCs are currently managed by the Australian Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. They actually began as small offices under ATSIC. Over time, they became more independent and important.

What Was ATSIC?

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was created in 1990. It was in charge of managing services and programs for Indigenous people from the Australian government. ATSIC also advised the government on issues affecting Indigenous communities.

ATSIC was run by Indigenous leaders who were directly elected by their communities. Its main aim was to give Indigenous people a bigger say in decisions that affected their lives. The ICCs worked as administrative offices under ATSIC. ATSIC operated for 15 years before it was closed in 2005.

Even though ATSIC had more Indigenous involvement than other government groups at the time, it faced challenges. One reason was that it was watched very closely by the government. This made it slow to get things done. Also, a government report showed that Indigenous Australians still faced many challenges with health and living standards. ATSIC was meant to fix these problems.

ATSIC also became a topic of political debate. Some people in parliament thought it was too expensive. So, ATSIC was closed down. The idea was to make Indigenous programs simpler. Each program would go directly to the right government department. After ATSIC closed, ICCs became the main way to connect these government departments with Indigenous communities.

New Ways of Working

After ATSIC was closed, new plans were put in place. These "New Arrangements" aimed to improve the lives of Indigenous people in Australia. This new approach was called a "whole-of-government approach." It meant that all parts of the government would work together.

These new plans created better ways for Indigenous Australian community leaders to work with different levels of the Australian government. The New Arrangements have three main parts: ICCs, Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs), and Regional Partnership Agreements (RPAs). These agreements help the government and Indigenous communities work together on Indigenous affairs. The ICCs also got more responsibilities under these new plans.

Where to Find ICC Offices

As of January 2022, ICC offices are located in 30 different regions across Australia. Here are some of them:

• Adelaide Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Alice Springs Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Bourke Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Brisbane Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Broome Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Cairns Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Cape York Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Ceduna Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Coffs Harbour Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Darwin Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Derby Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Geraldton Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Hobart Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Kalgoorlie Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Katherine Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Kununurra Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Melbourne Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Mount Isa Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Nhulunbuy Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Perth Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Port Augusta Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Queanbeyan Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Rockhampton Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Roma Indigenous Coordination Centre
• South Headland Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Sydney Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Tamworth Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Tennant Creek Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Townsville Indigenous Coordination Centre
• Wagga Wagga Indigenous Coordination Centre

What ICCs Aim to Achieve

ICCs help Indigenous Australians connect with different government groups. They also give Indigenous leaders a way to talk to various government agencies. Indigenous communities in Australia often face challenges like lower health standards and less government support.

ICCs receive funding to help with these issues. Their main goals are to improve how policies are made and put into action. They also support working together across different government levels and non-government groups.

How ICCs Put Policies into Action

ICCs are seen as a helpful and unique way to deal with the challenges Indigenous Australians face. They work by bringing together the different government departments that provide services to Indigenous people. Since ICCs also help create SRAs, they have been successful in making these agreements with local communities.

The government has given money for programs that support victims of family violence. They also fund projects to improve buildings and services for Indigenous communities. These projects are managed by ICCs. The centres have also helped solve local problems and increase understanding of Indigenous cultures.

Challenges Faced by ICCs

For ICCs to work well, their officers and managers need strong skills. These skills include being able to ask for policy changes and talk with different government levels. They also need to cooperate well with Indigenous communities.

However, ICC staff sometimes don't have enough power or the right skills for these tasks. They often rely on senior officials for help. But there aren't always enough senior officials available.

One big challenge for ICCs is that things can move very slowly. This "institutional slowness" makes it hard for ICCs to manage programs effectively. This slowness can also lead to money being wasted. This money could have gone directly to helping Indigenous communities.

Because of these slow processes, there can be a gap between the real lives of Indigenous Australians and the policies made for them. Communication between ICCs and the main government can also be difficult. This means that policies made by the government, which is far away, might not always solve Indigenous issues effectively.

It's also hard to keep track of who is responsible for what. This is because the plans for working together between government agencies and ICCs are sometimes unclear. ICC managers have to talk with many different government levels. This can cause confusion about how to put policies into action and when goals change.

ICCs often struggle to reach their goals because they don't have enough money. The money they do get often comes with strict rules. Indigenous communities sometimes find it hard to meet these rules. Funding for programs was supposed to be simpler under ICCs, but this hasn't fully happened. This is because it's complex to work with different government departments and get approval for programs. It's also hard to coordinate within each Indigenous community. Each government department needs its own report, which adds to the work. Programs that do get enough money are often short-lived, with funding only lasting for a year. Then, they need to ask for money again.

Some people also believe that the government has too much control over Indigenous Australians. Because ICCs handle administration, programs might not always be led by Indigenous people themselves. This can affect the independence of Indigenous Australians. Also, when state governments are responsible for Indigenous services, especially in remote areas, they might not be as involved. This means Indigenous programs in remote places might not get enough attention compared to bigger cities. Some people think that remote Indigenous areas are too hard to manage because they are far away and have different cultures.