Sixth Report into Remote Indigenous Service Delivery

The Australian Government today released the latest report from the Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services, Mr Brian Gleeson, on progress in delivering government services to people living in the 29 priority Indigenous locations across Australia.

The report details the performance of governments in implementing the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Service Delivery.

The Coordinator General reports that to date “measurable and significant results have been delivered in all Remote Service Delivery communities”.

The report highlights the following progress in the priority Indigenous locations:

• all communities are benefitting from Regional Indigenous Health Project Officers and Indigenous Outreach Workers, and most from the Medical Specialist Outreach Assistance Program under the Indigenous Chronic Disease Package;

• five of the nine Children and Family Centres are now operational and providing integrated services ranging from early childhood education, sport and recreation programs and physical and mental health services;

• eighteen of the communities will benefit from access to Trade Training Centres in the community or regionally to increase the focus on vocational training and assist the transition from school to employment;

• twenty-four communities have a permanent police presence, and 21 communities have night patrols; and

• there is a strong focus on schooling in Local Implementation Plans, with good results from programs such as the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy and the Wilcannia Disengaged Students Learning Centre.

Under the Remote Service Delivery National Partnership Agreement, governments have provided $291.2 million over six years to improve access to services for Indigenous Australians in remote areas.

The Coordinator General has the authority to coordinate across agencies and cut through bureaucratic red tape to make sure services are delivered effectively.

While this report shows that progress is being made in the priority Indigenous locations, we know there is more work to be done.

The Australian Government is committed to delivering change at the community level and will continue to drive a whole of government approach to delivering on the National Partnership Agreement.

The assistance of the Coordinator General, the states and Northern Territory, and community leaders is helping the Australian Government achieve improvements on the ground.

The report is available at www.cgris.gov.au