1. What Do We Mean By Social Justice?
Aboriginal Employment, Education & Community Development
Lynette Riley-Mundine

2. International Agenda United Nations: Indigenous monitoring
MDG – Millennium Development Goals
EFA – Education For All
EFI – Index
Nation Reports
Visit website of UN and explore goals

3. Aboriginal Employment Statutory, Policy & Reporting Requirements
Statutory Requirements
Commonwealth Legislation
NSW Government “Aboriginal Employment in Practice for the NSW Public Sector” 2000
Racial Discrimination Act 1975
Disability Discrimination Act 1992
Age Discrimination Act 2004
Sex Discrimination Act 1984
Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986
State Legislation
Anti-Discrimination Act 1977

4. Aboriginal Employment Statutory, Policy & Reporting Requirements
Policy Requirements
State
NSW Government “Aboriginal Employment in Practice for the NSW Public Sector” 2000
NSW Policy Statement “Making It Our Business ” 2006
NSW Government “Two Ways Together ” 2005
NSW Public Sector “Workforce Planning Strategic Framework and Action Plan ” 2004 – 2006
Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Australia “Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage Report, Key Indicators 2005 ”
Government Services 2005 “Indigenous Compendium ”

5. Statutory, Policy & Reporting Requirements
Premiers Department Reporting Requirements
Minimum EEO statistical information includes:
Number of EEO respondents in an agency
Number of people who identify as Aboriginal
Number of people who identify as Torres Strait Islander
Number of people who identify as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Number of people who identify with a disability
Number of people who identify with a physical disability requiring workplace improvements
Number of people for whom English is not their first language
Number of people who identify as a racial, ethnic or in an ethno-religious minority
Number of women
Number of men

6. State Focus
“meeting the needs of Aboriginal people is core business for NSW public sector agencies, agencies have a responsibility to promote the employment of Aboriginal people, and support Aboriginal staff once employed. Getting a job is one thing – building a rewarding career is a different challenge ”
(Making It Our Business, Foreword by The Hon Morris Iemma, MP, Premier, 2006)

7. Statutory, Policy & Reporting Requirements
Whole of Government - TWT
Number of Indigenous specific programs and services administered or funded by your agency
Number of programs and services administered or funded by your agency which have a significant Aboriginal client base
Number of projects which you are operating which are Indigenous specific or which have a significant Aboriginal client base
Nature of the programs, services and projects
Amount of funding allocated to each of these programs, services and project
Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage
Initiatives to raise cultural awareness
Initiatives to increase Indigenous recruitment
Specific Outcome 2 initiatives to increase Indigenous staff numbers
Initiatives to increase developmental opportunities of Indigenous staff in the department
Initiatives to improve retention rates of Indigenous staff in the department

8. Factors Affecting Involvement
INTERNAL FACTORS
cultural differences
EXTERNAL FACTORS
Cycle of poverty
HISTORY

9. History
Captain Cook – claims Australia is unoccupied & Terra Nullius – legal non-existence of Aboriginal people in Australia Intensive contact – introduction of diseases Martial Law – soldiers ordered to kill as many Aboriginal people as possible Native Institution at Parramatta – Governor Lachlan Macquarie, closed in John Bateman Treaty with Aborigines not allowed – as it could subvert rights of landholders Myall Creek trials Establishment - Board National Education Pastoral Expansion & Policy of Extermination – Aborigines seen as “rural pests” Reserves and Mission – created for Aborigines Protector of Aborigines appointed Aborigines Protection Board & Stolen Generations commence Policy of Segregation Commonwealth of Australia – White Australia Policy NSW Aborigines Protection Act – APB control over Aborigines Policy of Assimilation Aborigines Welfare Board Child Endowment for Aboriginal people – if non-nomadic Invalid and Old Age Pension approved for Aborigines – no payment for 2 years Certificate of Exemption – “Dog Tags” introduced as part of Assimilation Policy School entry – via Certificate of Exemption School entry – via Medical Certificate

10. History
Aboriginal campaigns – Aboriginal Progressive Association & FCAATSI Integration Policy – theory of creating new Australian culture – take the best from all Freedom Rides – based on campaign for “Black” Rights in America Gurindji people walk off Wave Hill Cattle Station – for equal pay – became first land claim Commonwealth Referendum – implemented 1969 – citizenship; counted in Census & Commonwealth power to make laws for Aboriginal rights over states Commonwealth – Federal Office of Aboriginal Affairs established Self-Determination – policy of control given to Aboriginal people, in theory Teacher’s handbook – withdrawal Principals authority to exclude Aboriginal students National Aboriginal Consultative Committee established NSW - Aboriginal Education Policy – first in Australia NSW Ministry Aboriginal Affairs NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act Child Care Act – Aboriginal people could foster and adopt Aboriginal children Royal Commission in Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report by the Royal Commission Council for Reconciliation established Mabo decision by High Courts – recognition of British Law Native Title – inheritance rights Native Title Act Inquiry into Stolen Children – Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission High Court Wik decision Reconciliation Convention & “Bringing Them Home” Report

11. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Population
Aboriginal population and total population of New South Wales in 2001, by age group (ABS, 2003)

12. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Geographic
Location

13. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Education – International Context
Australia’s Indigenous Students in PISA 2000: Results from an International Study, ACER, 2004

14. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Education – State Context

15. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Education – State Context
NSW DET, “The Report of the Review of Aboriginal Education”, 2004

16. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Health
the life expectancy is at least 20 to 25 years or less than other Australians
45% of Indigenous males and 34% Indigenous females die before 45 years of age, compared to non-Indigenous males at 10% and females at 6%.
Indigenous people are twice as likely to be hospitalised as other Australians
The main causes of death are circulatory disease, injury, respiratory disease, cancer and diabetes
The reasons for this and other poor health are given as:
Distance and lack of availability of transport
Lack of access to GP’s and pharmaceuticals
Lack of culturally appropriate service
Non-proficiency in English
Lack of involvement in service delivery
Lack of private health insurance
Economic disadvantage

17. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Labour Force

18. Aboriginal Statistical Information
Labour Force
Aboriginal people are:
Twice as likely as other NSW Public Sector employees to have temporary jobs
Represent 1.6% workforce – target is a minimum of 2%
60% ATSI employees earn less than $34,270 compared to 36% total staff earnings below this level
Highly represented in service and amenities occupations
Poorly represented in Senior Executive Service, specialist professional and high level clerical and administrative positions
Aboriginal Employment in Practice, for NSW Public Sector 2000, NSW Premier’s Department and ODEOPE (pages )

19. Agency Profiles & Assessment
Employment Profile
By Aboriginal / non-Aboriginal – actual and percentage: Gender; and Earnings
Level of Employment – Managers, Administrators, Professionals, Technicians, Tradespersons, Advanced Clerical, Intermediate Workers, Elementary Workers, Labourers
Staff Profiles – Average age, Average Service, Location of Positions

20. Implications for Aboriginal Employment
Disadvantaged in terms of career paths and earning levels; and there is,
No representation of Aboriginal people across all salary and occupational groups;
Identified positions are currently located in response to community crisis, not in a systemic or strategic approach, to support Aboriginal people as customers and employees.

21. Data – often not available
Aboriginal data breakdown by: age, gender and disability
Health status of Aboriginal workers
Absence from work by injury, compensation or health related factors
Issues relating to harassment, grievances or bullying as reported by Aboriginal staff and how these are resolved, managed and monitored
Training undertaken by Aboriginal staff
Availability of cultural education training, for all staff
Use of Aboriginal trainers.

22. Equity within Human Resources
Model of Service Provision
Report on Government Services 2005, Indigenous Compendium

23. Equity within Human Resources
Equity Factors influence on Organisational Improvement
Employment
ORGANISATIONAL
IMPROVEMENT
Service Delivery
EQUITY
through Staff Practices
EQUITY
through Employment
Procedures
Equity Factors influence Organisational Improvement - developed by Lynette Riley-Mundine, Mar 06
based on information in Report on Government Services 2005, Indigenous Compendium Page 14

24. Equity within Human Resources
Equity Factors influence on Organisational Improvement
Report on Government Services 2005, Indigenous Compendium

25. Equity within Human Resources
Equity Service Availability
high
The service is very effective and highly operational and considers all minority group needs with full consultative, participation and engagement
The service is not operational – the organisation does consider minority group needs but is unable to effect service requirements (at present)
h H
L h
service aspects adjusted to suit needs
LOW
HIGH
service availability
The service is not operational and does not consider minority group needs
The service is operational, but the organisation does not consider minority group needs
L l
l H
low
Report on Government Services 2005, Indigenous Compendium

26. Equity within Human Resources
Direct & Indirect Discrimination
Equity Service availability - closely aligned to systemic practices of Direct and Indirect Discrimination.
Where service delivery and procedures are governed by the views of the governing structure and
may place particular groups of people at a disadvantage.
Examples of these are demonstrated in the following scenarios:
Direct Discrimination, examples are:
No Indigenous people are to gain customer service or direct customer contact positions – as it is assumed, that the public wouldn’t like with Aboriginal people
No Indigenous faces to appear in promotional material – in case customers or others are offended
No need for services to Indigenous community as, they wouldn’t appreciate the service or can’t afford the service
Indirect Discrimination, examples are:
Recruitment - through the culling process, limited numbers of Indigenous people are successful; or the 15 minute reading test excludes, poorly literate Indigenous people
No senior managers are Indigenous – due to no applications
Advertisement for positions are in “reputable” papers, not the kind that Indigenous people read or access

27. HR Processes
HR strategy and policy - Develop an Aboriginal employment strategic plan with implementation and maintenance of specific actions - Best practice is for agencies to have a senior designated Aboriginal person as the first point of contact for Aboriginal employment, professional learning and career development initiatives
Organisation design and structure - Organisational promotional packages, in corporate and external communications to have a clear representation of Aboriginal staff - Develop a specific promotional package for use with Aboriginal targeted clients - Employ Aboriginal staff in senior or executive positions - Aboriginal advisory committee to provide expertise, knowledge and advice in Indigenous employment, career and cultural issues
HR IT systems
- Create software and data collection procedures which supply accurate information on Aboriginal employment and training

28. HR Processes
Corporate HR projects - Provision of specific training programs to support Aboriginal staff employment and career planning - Ensure Aboriginal staff have appropriate training to be on selection panels - Ensure all staff on selection panel have cultural interview techniques
Work force planning and acquisition - Aboriginal population trends demonstrated in workforce planning - Collection and analysis of the numbers of Aboriginal staff who get culled in position applications and numbers employed – develop strategies for future employment initiatives
Developing and retaining staff - Aboriginal staff employed as trainers - Aboriginal cultural education programs for all staff and managers

29. HR Processes
Performance development - Pro-active career planning and promotional opportunities of Aboriginal staff
Rewarding staff - Pro-active reward program for Aboriginal staff
Industrial relations and grievances - Aboriginal staff grievances to be addressed in an open, transparent and timely manner
Personnel administration support services - Managers training to understand equity legislative requirements in relation to their role; and how they can turn this into practical application to support equity within the organisation
Health services - Use of Aboriginal health networks to support and improve Aboriginal staff health

30. Employment Stages Pre-employment
Schools – School Based Traineeships (SBT)
Apprenticeships – cluster targets, to ensure apprentice isn’t isolated
Traineeships – targeted across sectors
Cadetships – professional gaps eg: Aboriginal engineers through UNSW
Training - bridging courses for employable skills
Marketing and promotional programs designed to attract and inform Aboriginal people

31. Employment Stages Recruitment
selection panel - members cultural questioning skills
Aboriginal representation on panels
Culling techniques – ensure they don’t cull the majority of Aboriginal applicants; determine what skills are being targeted and what in the process of culling, may appear to be …… discriminatory to particular groups, such as: language proficiency versus literacy proficiency

32. Employment Stages Employment
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff – training, career development programs and mentoring
Non-Aboriginal staff – cultural education training, at all levels
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff - representation at front line delivery, eg: at stations where a majority of community are Aboriginal
Community involvement and representation as reflects service delivery

33. ATSI Employment Issues
Data Collection
Recruitment:
Numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who apply for position – using data breakdown listed above
Numbers who go through to culling and numbers culled
Numbers who seek employment
Linkages – retention rates – how long employed and what is the general career path like
Data storage and retrieval:
The system / software being used are the greatest asset for any organisation. There is a need to assess how RailCorp stores data and how it is able to be retrieved to provide the information required for Equity Reports.

34. ATSI Employment Issues
Procedures & Systems
Pre-employment
What strategies have been adopted to ensure all minority groups are able to apply for positions on an equal standing?
What pre-employment strategies have been introduced to ensure pro-active positive recruitment is possible?
What promotional packages are used – for Indigenous representation; and are designed to target Aboriginal people?
Recruitment Processes
Application – do applicants receive information on how to apply for the position; how are applicants advised if unsuccessful; is the application process fair to all applicants?
Culling – how is the culling done to ensure fair processes for all applicants; what are the culling criteria and can it be demonstrated that it is based on skills required for the position?
Interview – where is the interview held; how is it held; who is on the panel; what cultural sensitivity training has the panel received; are minority groups represented on the panels?
Employment
Does Aboriginal staff have access to individual career plans?
Are a range of training opportunities available for Aboriginal staff to enhance career development?
Is cultural education training available for all staff?

35. External Support
Employment – Strategic Plans developed by external agencies
Programs to provide direct support to Aboriginal staff
Reports & Resources
Example and Suggestions for partnerships which may be explored are with:
Premier’s Department – workforce planning
NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs – Aboriginal workforce planning and employment programs
NSW Department of Health – Health strategies for Aboriginal staff
NSW Department of Education & Training – Cultural education and employment programs
Universities – Research and projects

36. Implications of Statistics
In a country such as Australia with high living standards where is social justice for Aboriginal people:
Economic disadvantage (poverty)
Social disadvantage (racism)
Government service delivery based on the aging population – not Aboriginal population trend or needs
If Education is the KEY to overcoming disadvantage – consider for Aboriginal students:
Fastest growing and youngest population
Aboriginal literacy performance is below OECD whilst general Australian performance is 4th highest – this effects all other subject areas
NSW BST results – Year 3, 5, 7 – gaps = 18, 24 & 36 months
Low performance is not due to high or low socio-economic conditions, ie: cultural differences are relevant
Differences are in learning strategies, preferences and behaviours to education, ie: the way they are taught, learn and self-actualisation
Expectations – deficite, diminished capabilities or equal

37. Outcomes based on: How you see the issues? Too hard to handle
Confronting
A challenge
What knowledge base you operate from?
Personal interaction
Educated
Partnerships

38. What do you mean by Social Justice?
Improved Outcomes
Improved outcomes for Aboriginal people is a whole community issue – all are effected.
What do you mean by Social Justice?
Thank-you