Closing the Gap Priority Reforms

Overview

The four Priority Reforms set out in the National Agreement sit at the heart of Closing the Gap and the agreement’s vision for transformative change. The Priority Reforms are the core pillars required to change the way governments – across all jurisdictions and departments – work with and for Aboriginal people to deliver genuine and lasting improvements in socio-economic outcomes and ultimately achieve the ambition of the National Agreement.

While outlined as distinct areas, the Priority Reforms are also deeply intertwined and mutually reinforcing. For example, timely and equitable access to data is vital to shared decision-making that is evidence-based and effective. Governments must be willing to change how they work with Community and challenge business-as-usual practices if they are to build the partnerships needed to close the gap.

The Priority Reforms also highlight that the change needed to close the gap cannot be achieved by looking at each of the socio-economic outcomes in isolation. While the seventeen socio-economic targets set out in the National Agreement focus on many areas of life which contribute to overall wellbeing and positive life outcomes, they focus primarily on contact with systems and services, rather than the unique life journey and lived experience of Aboriginal people that exists outside of those systems.

These unique needs and life experiences can significantly impact the accessibility of services across the full spectrum of socio-economic areas and the effectiveness of policies and programs. Supporting all Aboriginal Victorians to thrive – including people with disability, older people and Elders, those in the LGBTQIA+ community and those living in regional and remote areas – requires an interconnected and holistic approach to closing the gap. In Victoria, alongside Treaty, the Priority Reforms are the foundational vehicle for delivering this holistic, person-centred approach and the transformational change necessary for improved outcomes for all Aboriginal Victorians.

Priority Reform One: Formal partnerships and shared decision-making

Building and strengthening structures that empower Aboriginal people to share decision-making authority with government is key to furthering progress against the socio-economic targets and advancing Aboriginal self-determination. Applying the strong partnership elements set out in the National Agreement to more partnership arrangements between Aboriginal people and the Victorian Government will help drive Community-led and Community-focused outcomes that are vital to Closing the Gap.

Victoria’s nation-leading Treaty process was recognised in the Productivity Commission Review as an example of how power can be rebalanced to facilitate shared decision-making and support equal standing. Beyond the Treaty process, we have been working closely with Community to change the business-as-usual approach to engagement with Aboriginal people, with the aim of embedding shared decision-making throughout the policy design and delivery process. In the Closing the Gap space, this change has been exemplified by the establishment of the Victorian Closing the Gap Partnership Forum and Ngaweeyan Maar-oo, and the co-design of this Implementation Plan over a three-year period of extensive collaboration and engagement.

Implementation of the National Agreement is a collaborative effort between Aboriginal people and all levels of government. In addition to the elements outlined above, which are specific to the Victorian context, work is underway at the national level to strengthen shared decision-making through national Policy Partnerships and related national reforms such as the establishment of the First Nations Disability Forum (as recommended by the Disability Royal Commission). Many ACCOs operating in Victoria deliver services which are impacted by work taking place at the national level, including aged care and disability services. For Victoria’s approach to formal partnerships and shared decision-making to be effective in practice, it is vital that implementation of the National Agreement operates effectively alongside broader national reforms.

Priority Reform Two: Building the Community-Controlled sector

The Victorian Government recognises that Community-Control is an act of self-determination and that Aboriginal organisations produce better longer-term outcomes for Aboriginal people and their communities. Aboriginal organisations are major employers of Aboriginal people, offer greater cultural expertise, skills and knowledge and have a deep understanding of Community needs. For many Aboriginal people in Victoria, access to the holistic and person-centred services provided by Aboriginal organisations is vital to obtaining the culturally safe supports and services they need. It is critical that we respect and support Aboriginal organisations to deliver high-quality and culturally safe services to Aboriginal people, by building strong and sustainable Community-Controlled sectors. This includes working to implement actions agreed under national Sector Strengthening Plans. A holistic approach is required to ensure ACCOs are supported to meet the needs of diverse cohorts within the Aboriginal community and to enable lasting system wide reform – including planning for changing demographics and anticipated future needs. Treating Aboriginal organisations as essential partners in the design and delivery of services (as recommended by the Productivity Commission Review) sits at the heart of Victoria’s partnership arrangements and approach to Closing the Gap.

Priority Reform Three: Transforming government organisations

Transformation of mainstream government organisations at a systemic and structural level is required to improve delivery and accountability for closing the gap and to respond to the needs of Aboriginal people. This transformation includes ensuring that governments are culturally safe and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal people, including through all government bodies and government funded universal services. Victoria’s Treaty era reflects a fundamental shift in the Victorian Government’s systems, structures and processes – as well as how it approaches Aboriginal self-determination, cultural safety and government accountability.

Priority Reform Four: Shared access to data and information at a regional level

The National Agreement highlights that more needs to be done to rebalance the power between government and Community regarding the collection, management and use of data about Aboriginal people. The Victorian Government is committed to developing and implementing reforms to data systems and practices to improve Community’s access to relevant data and enable Aboriginal people to participate in the decision-making process connected to the data about their own communities. Data system reform also aims to strengthen the capability of Aboriginal people and organisations to use data to advance their self-determined priorities and initiatives. The Victorian Government recognises that Aboriginal data sovereignty is a key enabler of self-determination, and that Aboriginal communities and organisations need adequate access to, and control of data collected about their communities.

Context and issues

Interconnection between the Priority Reforms

The Priority Reforms respond directly to the voices and aspirations of Aboriginal people by addressing the key issues Community have long advocated about.

The depth and significance of the cross-cutting changes needed for governments to deliver on their commitments under these Priority Reforms cannot be understated. For example, as the Productivity Commission Review noted, Priority Reform Three commits governments to a systemic and structural transformation of the ways of working for over 2.4 million public sector workers across the country, and places requirements on how governments allocate billions of dollars of annual funding to service providers and other entities. Delivering change of this scale requires profound and enduring commitment from governments to change how they work.

Relationship to the socio-economic targets and cross-cutting issues

Just as the extent of change required to achieve the Priority Reforms is ambitious and cross-cutting, so too are the multi-faceted barriers and challenges to delivering the Priority Reforms. The breadth of the policy and program areas impacted by the socio-economic targets, and the wide range of services delivered by government and the ACCO sector that contribute to them, create significant challenges in aligning reform efforts to meet the unique needs of the Aboriginal community.

Victoria’s approach to Closing the Gap must meet the needs of Aboriginal people at all stages of life and address their experiences of a wide range of cross-cutting issues. Aboriginal people with disability may access a wide range of services, including both ACCO delivered and universal services. A holistic approach is required to ensure that accessibility and cultural safety of all services for Aboriginal people with disability is paramount.

Elders and older people play a unique role in the fabric of Aboriginal culture and Community. Through their resilience, enduring custodianship of Country, Culture, Language, and the uniquely important position they hold within family and kinship structures, they are the foundation of socio-economic thriving within the broader Aboriginal community. The role of Elders and older people as holders of cultural knowledge, and the significant benefits that young people and Community as a whole experience when Elders and older people are supported throughout their ageing journey, is recognised in many government strategies and programs. It is equally important to acknowledge that Elders and older people themselves have unique needs and perspectives, which must be recognised and integrated into policy and program approaches to support Elders and older people to live long and flourishing lives. Further work is required to better understand how the experience of Elders and older people is impacted by investment and service delivery approaches across multiple sectors and ensure that they and the communities they bind together continue to thrive.

¹⁷Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap – Study report: volume 1, Productivity Commission (2024), page 55.

¹⁸ For example, Wungurilwil Gapgapduir: Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement recognises the crucial role that Elders and older people play in strengthening culture for families and children, while Wirkara Kulpa – Aboriginal Youth Justice Strategy 2022-2032 highlights the positive impact that contact with Elders and older people can have for Aboriginal young people in contact with the justice system.

Looking forward

Victoria’s nation-leading work on Truth and Treaty are central to transforming government practices and transferring power and resources and improving outcomes for Aboriginal people. These reforms and the contribution they will make to the delivery of the Priority Reforms are a unique and powerful feature of Victoria’s work towards Closing the Gap.

The Priority Reform actions in this Implementation Plan were developed in partnership with Ngaweeyan Maar-oo to complement this reform agenda and drive tangible progress to improve life outcomes for Aboriginal people. They are the cross-cutting, whole-of-government actions that will deliver the changes we know are needed to close the gap.

Implementation Plan Actions

See Appendix 2 for further action details.