Darwin Regional Indigenous Advancement & CDEP Inc. ABN: 36 ...

Darwin Regional Indigenous Advancement & CDEP Inc. ABN: 36 934 790 547
PO Box 2299 Palmerston NT 0831 P:(08) 89 351200 F:(08) 89 351222
9 th April 2010
The Hon Garry Gray, AO, MP
Parliamentary Secretary for Western Australia and Northern Territory
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Via Email: nrset.submissions@deewr.gov.au
Dear Minister Gray,
THE NATIONAL RESOURCES SECTOR EMPLOYMENT TASKFORCE
In response to the release of the discussion paper ‘Resourcing the Future’, on the 1 st of March 2010,
the Darwin Regional Indigenous Advancement & CDEP Inc. (DRIACDEP) provides the following
submission based our experiences in regard to Indigenous employment in our region.
DRIACDEP has been an employment and training conduit for Indigenous clients in urban, regional
and remote centres around Darwin since 2002. We are experienced in coordinating and delivering
community development activities, community services, training and a very successful employment
service to our clients.
As such, our attached submission reflects both our needs and aspirations as a service delivery
agency and those of our Indigenous clients.
DRIACDEP welcome the opportunity to discuss our submission further with you or any of your
Ministerial and/or Departmental staff members.
Please telephone me on 04393239933 if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely
KELVIN COSTELLO
Chief Executive Officer
14 Butler Place Holtze NT 0830 Toll Free Numbers – Phone 1800 170 011 Fax 1800 190 001

1. Introduction
Though physically based in Darwin, neither our service area nor our clientele fit a general
description of ‘urban’. Our region covers the Darwin metropolitan area, including Aboriginal urban
living areas and rural and remote Indigenous communities, such as Acacia Larrakia and Belyuen.
This area region is demographically diverse, covering approximately 12,000 Indigenous people
in communities and townships across an area of 10,620 square kilometres. Our clients, including
many of those in Darwin, are highly disadvantaged in regard to work and life skills and, in some
respects, are as culturally, socially and physically isolated as those Indigenous people living in more
geographically remote communities.
Darwin Regional Indigenous Advancement & CDEP Incorporated (DRIACDEP) was established
in June 2002 following extensive consultations with the Indigenous community in the Darwin
region. From these discussions, a unique governance model was developed with representation
and participation based on regional community organisations rather than individual members.
These arrangements include special acknowledgement of the Larrakia people and the Stolen
Generations within the constitution – in recognition of both traditional ownership of country and
our recent history which saw many Indigenous children removed from their families and placed
into institutions in Darwin and other communities.
DRIACDEP has grown markedly over the years, beginning with 50 participants (via the
Aboriginal Development Foundation), and progressing to be a major service provider to the
region for community and employment services. Until the Federal Government’s withdrawal of
CDEP from urban areas in July 2007, and its decision to cease the program altogether by June
2008, DRIACDEP administered CDEP and an award-winning Indigenous Employment Centre.
DRIACDEP has delivered a suite of training, employment and enterprise development services to
Indigenous job seekers in collaboration with a diverse cross-section of host employers and through
structured professional development activities, community based activities, accredited and non
accredited training, job placement, structured work experience and a tailored, highly personalised
mentoring program.
2. Current Services
With the removal of ‘urban CDEP’ in June 2007, DRIACDEP ‘lost’ 300 CDEP participants as a result
of the previous Coalition Government philosophy on urban CDEP. As a result of this decision our
very successful Indigenous Employment Centre (IEC) was also removed in this process. The
Indigenous Employment Centre won a Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership Award in
2005 and had consistently exceeded the national average for both Indigenous employment
outcomes and subsequent retention rates, translating into real outcomes with at least 100 CDEP
participants successfully transitioning to mainstream employment in 2006/2007.

Given the demographics of our region and the levels of disadvantage and disengagement affecting
our CDEP participants and their communities, the removal of CDEP had a devastating impact on the
resources of our organisation and a traumatic effect on the level of support available to our clients
and their communities, especially those living in ‘town camps’ (Aboriginal Urban Living Areas).
However, DRIACDEP continue to service 124 CDEP participants for our 16 communities and
members located in the rural/regional footprint surrounding Darwin.
DRIACDEP was also successful in being placed on Structured Training Employment Program –
Employment Related Services (STEPERS) Panel and have previously operated 130 Placements
under a STEPERS contract. DRIACDEP has previously enjoyed a high rate of success in placing
STEPERS clients into full time, non-subsidised, employment.
In July 2009, DRIACDEP commenced operation (under subcontracting arrangements with Job
Futures Ltd.) Ironbark Employment, a Jobs Services Australia Provider.
3. DRIACDEP Service Delivery Model
DRIACDEP established and implemented its existing pre-employment model in 2002 as a proactive
step to provide their existing CDEP participants with a highly targeted, relevant, culturally appropriate
and supportive suite of pre-employment activities, programs and pathways.
DRIACDEP identified the need for a broad, flexible and very individualised approach to preemployment
skills development, through feedback received from employers and Indigenous
jobseekers. Both parties felt they were not being effectively assisted with appropriate preemployment
services from the existing Job Network Members (JNMs) in the region. Subsequently,
the principles of DRIACDEP current pre-employment model were established. The model was
further developed and refined over time, through DRIACDEP’s expertise in providing Indigenous
employment services in the highly cyclical and complex characteristics of the Darwin Employment
Service Areas (ESA).
The principles of DRIACDEP pre-employment model are:
Provide highly disadvantaged, unemployed Indigenous jobseekers with opportunities to
meaningfully engage in activities and processes that will provide the greatest opportunity for
employment (both short and long term) in the major industry sectors of the Northern Territory
economy. These industries are predominately the service sector (retail, hospitality and tourism),
government (territory and local councils), mining, building and construction (trades and
labourers);
Provide flexibility and responsiveness for both employers and jobseekers. The current model
can address skills and labour shortages of a range of industry sectors and can equip suitable
participants with skills quickly to meet peaks in the labour market. For example, DRIACDEP
assisted 123 unemployed Indigenous jobseekers articulate into frontline roles in the construction
industry, during the construction phase of the Bechtel LNG plant in Darwin over a 3 year period.

Allow for the delivery of different levels and types of training and facilitate flexible entry and exit
points for individual jobseekers
Generate efficiencies and cost savings by utilising the generic nature of some industry training at
the entry level (e.g. OH&S, customer service, computer skills and drivers licensing).
4. Specific comments in relation to the National Resources Sector Employment
Taskforce (NRSET) – Terms Of Reference, in particular, Point 2 of the Terms Of
Reference (‘Develop a plan that addresses labour and skill shortage issues in the
resources sector’) dot point 3 (‘maximising employment and training opportunities for
local communities, especially Indigenous people’):
a) Major Indigenous Transitional Accommodation Facility For Indigenous Workforce For Darwin
In December 2009, the Northern Territory Chief Minister, The Honourable Paul Henderson (MLA)
announced that the Northern Territory Government would assist in developing a Tradesman
Accommodation Camp, to attract more Trade Qualified people to Darwin, for the proposed major
infrastructure projects that will commence within an expected 12 – 18 month period. The
announcement also reflected the lack of housing available within Darwin and Palmerston for
qualified tradesman, and generally the lack of available, affordable accommodation.
Indigenous NGO’s such as the DRIACDEP have been lobbying both the NT Government & the
Australian Government for a number of years to develop an Indigenous Caravan
Park/Accommodation Facility that could accommodate Indigenous people who wish to participate in
employment and improve the quality of their lives. Significantly the major barrier to sustainable
employment opportunities for Indigenous people is having stable accommodation, during the first 3 -
6 -12 months of employment.
b) Local Indigenous Participation Plans/Australian Employment Covenant/ Reconciliation Action
Plans/Local Indigenous Labor Hire Agency’s
Recently Minister Lindsay Tanner (Minister For Finance & Deregulation) and Minister Mark Arbib
(Minister For Employment Participation) made a joint media announcement that the Australian
Government would require businesses that were interested in tendering for Australian Government
contracts (worth more than $5 million dollars), would be required to provide plans for employment of
local Indigenous people and plans to use Indigenous suppliers. (See attachment)
Whilst this announcement is welcomed, Industry/Business generally do not access any ‘tools’ that
could assist them in determining the best model to accommodate this requirement from the
Australian Government.
There exists potentially 4 ‘tools’ which Industry/Business could utilise:
1. Local Indigenous Participation Plans

2. Australian Employment Covenant
3. Reconciliation Australia – Reconciliation Action Plans
4. Local Indigenous Labor Hire Agencies/Companies
c) Contingent Liability On Proposed Financial Reports For Business/Industry Tendering For
Australian Government & NT Government Tenders.
The Northern Territory and the Australian Government’s should require all tenders ‘let’ in the
Northern Territory to include a requirement for Industry/Business to include a ‘Contingent Liability’ on
proposed financials lodged with all tender’s/submissions, this should include a ‘cashed out’ dollar
value of all Indigenous positions that are being promised, as part of the tender/submission process.
There is significant repetition around ‘loose promises’ made by Industry/Business (whilst tendering
for Government Contracts/Tenders), that promise significant Indigenous employment opportunities,
usually in the form of very attractive Local Indigenous Participation Plans’, or proposed internal
Aboriginal Employment Strategies.
Once a Tender/Contract has been awarded to a company, there is no responsibility by the NT or
Australian Government to ensure that the promises made in the initial tender document proposed by
the successful Company/Business, is honoured by that Company/Business. There are literally
hundreds (possibility thousands) of examples of individual employment opportunities that are not
honoured by Industry/Business, once a Contract/Tender has been won.
The NT and Australian Government should consider establishing a requirement for the ‘cashed out’
dollar value of each individual position, that Companies/Business’s claim they will create, if their
respective Tender is approved. This needs to be clearly identified in the Tender/Submission. This
‘cashed out dollar value’ should be scrutinised by the NT Department of Treasury, and a penalty
applied to Companies/Business’s that do not honour their Indigenous Participation Plans/Aboriginal
Employment Strategies.
This penalty should be paid into a fund that allows for innovative training to employment projects to
be developed by NGO’s. There needs to be more than ‘best endeavours’ that Industry/Business has
offered over the last 20 years.
d) Cross Cultural Courses – Charles Darwin University
The Charles Darwin University delivers a world class ‘Cross Cultural Education’ course to
Government/Industry/Business. This course also provides a strong focus on the ‘Larrakia’
perspective.
All prospective employers in the Darwin/Palmerston region should consider accessing the Cross
Cultural Course, both for its quality and also for the cultural significance that the course is delivered
by a senior lecturer who is a Larrakia man.

e) CDEP Regional Mobility Coordination Trial
DRIACDEP has recently been supported by FaHCSIA to trial a pilot, ‘Regional Mobility Coordination
Project’, that will focus on encouraging up to 60 regional, remote CDEP participants, travelling into
Darwin for training and employment.
This pilot project will see the DRIACDEP working closely with 8 CDEP Service Providers from the
FaHCSIA – Darwin Indigenous Coordination Centre (Wadeye/Tiwi Islands/Manigrida) The project
will facilitate and encourage improved coordination of training for CDEP participants in
regional/remote communities. It will also provide the opportunity to encourage CDEP participants to
travel into Darwin with supported accommodation and assistance from the DRIACDEP and also to
ensure that CDEP participants who travel to Darwin are provided with necessary practical support
(transport, mentoring, etc) whilst they are in Darwin.