ACT's part-time Indigenous elected body risks being 'ineffective': audit

The ACT government has also failed to properly oversee the implementation of the 10-year ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement signed in 2019.

Government directorates have not done enough to address about a quarter of 99 priority actions in the plan, which the ACT Audit Office said would risk some parts of the agreement not being implemented at all and other parts not being completed in a "joined-up way".

Auditor-General Michael Harris' 85-page report found the biggest risk to the elected body's ability to support the self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the ACT was its part-time membership.

"Other risks in the elected body's ability to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities include that there is low voting participation from the eligible population and there is a high proportion of current or former government employees serving on the elected body," the report said.

"Improved diversity and participation in elections for the elected body could better support self-determination."

The audit, which set out to assess whether the government had been effective in implementing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement, recommended the government consider providing more resources to the elected body.

"The elected body should receive support to independently determine the necessary resourcing that is needed to complete these roles and have them considered as part of the ACT government budget process," the audit recommended.

The government - through the Community Services and Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorates - should support "improved community participation in elections for the elected body".

The audit made eight recommendations, including improved whole-of-government and directorate reporting on the progress of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement, updated templates for annual reports, and the publication of all directorate implementation plans on the 2019 agreement.

The government acknowledged the audit had accurately identified areas where the implementation of the agreement could have been improved.

"These challenges have also been apparent to directorates as they have worked to deliver the initial phase of the agreement in recent years," the government said in comments included in the final report.

The government said it acknowledged "a range of factors" that had had an impact on the elected body's work in the previous and current term.

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"This has in turn had an impact on the ability to progress certain aspects of the agreement, given the fundamental principles of working in partnership and supporting self-determination," the government said.

"The ACT government will continue to review arrangements and consider how the elected body can be better supported to fulfil its role in the agreement."

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement was signed in February 2019, superseding an earlier agreement signed in 2015.

The agreement sets out 10 focus areas and was developed in consultation with the elected body, community groups and other representatives.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, which was established in 2008, is able to challenge the government on decision-making under the agreement.

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