Employment Services Toolboxes

Basic facts

Click on a topic or scroll down the page.

Introduction
Who is an 'Aboriginal'?
Statistics
Growing youth population
Location
Education outcomes
Language barriers
Unemployment rates
Employment participation
Skill levels
Health
Housing
Key Indigenous organisations

Introduction

Service delivery to Indigenous peoples requires a basic understanding of their cultures and an awareness of some of the historical and contemporary issues that affect their daily lives. It is a sad fact that many people know more about overseas cultures than they know about Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous Australians include Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. They are not one homogenous group as many people assume. There are historical, social, traditional and geographical differences, not only between, but within each group. It is important to be aware of the diversities of circumstances when assisting your Indigenous clients.

This introduction to Indigenous cultures aims to raise awareness in those who will either work with or employ Indigenous people. You will not learn all there is to know about Indigenous Australia in this toolbox. It takes many years of learning and interaction with Indigenous people to gain a broader understanding.

Who is an 'Aboriginal'?

There is a requirement for Indigenous people to confirm their 'Aboriginality' when seeking access to Indigenous-specific government programmes and services. The following Australian Government definition is often used.

An Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person is some one who:

is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, and/ or
is accepted as such by the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait islander community in which they live.

Aboriginality is often confirmed by an Indigenous community organisation.

Statistics

In the 2001 Census, 410 003 people identified as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander making up 2.2 per cent of the total Australian population.

The Indigenous population is as follows:

NSW has the highest Indigenous population and NT has the highest percentage. A breakdown is available for your specific region.

Visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics for Indigenous Community Profiles in Indigenous Regions at www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@census.nsf
/Census_IP_Free_IG_ViewTemplate?ReadForm&Expand=1

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A growing youth population

The Indigenous community has a very different population spread than the non-Indigenous community, with about 58 per cent of Indigenous people being under 25 years of age, compared with about 34 per cent of the rest of the population.

State	Indigenous Population	%	Males	Females
NSW	119 865	1.9	59 571	60 294
QLD	112 772	3.1	54 582	58 190
WA	58 496	3.2	28 970	29 526
NT	50 785	25.1	25 222	25 563
VIC	25 078	0.05	12 367	12 711
SA	23 425	1.6	11 516	11 909
TAS	15 773	3.5	7 866	7 907
ACT	3 576	1.2	1 781	1 795

Location

While most of the total Australian population is concentrated along the east coast, the Indigenous population is much more widely dispersed. For example, about 90 per cent of Australians live in areas covering 25 per cent of the continent. Approximately half of the total Indigenous population lives in disadvantaged areas, including urban areas. The demography and settlement patterns of Indigenous Australians are unique and different to those of mainstream society.

Indigenous Australians comprise 2.2 per cent of the total Australian population with the majority living in coastal and metropolitan areas, and around a third in remote or regional areas. This has a significant impact on access to services, infrastructure and economic activity. While Indigenous people have greater access to the labour market, they encounter difficulties such as socio-economic conditions, low education levels, having to compete with usually higher educated non-Indigenous people and prejudice from employers.

Education outcomes

Forty-nine per cent of the non-Indigenous population aged over 15 have completed at least Year 11 of high school, compared with only 26 per cent of the Indigenous population. Factors such as poverty, poor housing including overcrowding, family violence and unemployment adversely affect effective educational outcomes resulting in poor literacy and numeracy skills, as well as deficits in other necessary skills and resources.

Language barriers

There are around 200 Australian Indigenous languages. About 20 languages are strong, but endangered: the others have been destroyed or live only in the memories of the elderly, while some are gradually being revived by their communities. For many Indigenous people, particularly in remote areas, English is not their first language. Aboriginal English, a combination of English and traditional words, is widely used.

It is important to remember this when working with Indigenous job seekers. Many will have difficulty understanding jargon and you will need to use plain English when conversing with them.

The Federation of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Languages (FATSIL) provides a list of state organisations and various Indigenous languages, including Aboriginal English. This site can be viewed at http://www.fatsil.org/.

Unemployment rates

In the 1996 census, the unemployment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders was two and a half times higher than for non-Indigenous people.

The rate is now almost three times higher following the 2001 census—20 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent for non-Indigenous Australians. Although 2001 census data shows a small decline in Indigenous unemployment from 23 per cent to 20 per cent, the stronger decline for other Australians means that the disparity between these two groups is slightly greater.

Further, if participation in Community Development and Employment Projects (CDEP) is excluded from the official unemployment count, the unemployment rate for Indigenous Australians leaps to over 40 per cent.

Employment participation rates

Indigenous people have much lower participation in the labour force than the non-Indigenous community, 52.1 per cent of the Indigenous community over 15 years of age participate, compared with 63.4 per cent for the non-Indigenous community.

Skill levels

Indigenous workers are disproportionately employed as labourers and related workers, compared with non-Indigenous workers. Alternatively, non-Indigenous workers are disproportionately employed in professional positions compared with Indigenous workers.

	Labouring and related occupations	Professional Occupations	Professional Occupations - numbers
Indigenous	23.5 per cent	8.5 per cent	11 102
Non-Indigenous	8.4 per cent	11.8 per cent	1 496 655

Health

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people typically have disproportionately high rates of health and mental health problems reflecting inter-generational disadvantage:

average life expectancy at birth is estimated to be lower by 20 years
a mortality rate in the peak of adult life that is 3-4 times the non-Indigenous mortality rate
infant mortality rates are estimated to be three times higher than for the non-Indigenous population
a high burden of illness in early adult life, in particular from chronic disease such as diabetes and heart disease
a range of factors including earlier death, child removals, incarceration rates, suicide rates and infant mortality contribute to higher rates of grief, loss and trauma
rates of mental health problems, including suicide, hospitalisation, substance misuse and frequency of child, youth, and adult mental health disorders in the community are all higher
these higher rates of problems are reflected in higher rates of hospitalisation but not increased access to community-based mental and other health care.

Visit the following websites:

Australian Indigenous health infonet at http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/ for specific information about the current health issues of Indigenous Australians.

Data on the Health & Welfare of Indigenous Australians can be also be found on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/
lookupMF/495C8C9D69DB4045CA2568A900139402

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
Reports: http://www.naccho.org.au/Reports.html

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Housing

Indigenous people are more likely than the rest of Australia to live in conditions considered unacceptable by general Australian standards. In particular, overcrowding, high housing costs relative to income, poorly maintained buildings and facilities, and inadequate infrastructure are major issues associated with housing. Indigenous people are less likely to own their own homes than non-Indigenous Australians. About 13 per cent of Indigenous people in remote communities live in temporary dwellings including tin sheds, caravans, and 'humpies'. However, there is also a large number of people living in temporary dwellings within larger Indigenous communities.

Key Indigenous organisations

Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC)
The Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination is a unit of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA). It began operations on 1 July 2004 as the primary source of advice on Indigenous issues to the Minister and the coordination point for a whole-of-government approach to the delivery of programmes and services for Australia's Indigenous people.

The establishment of OIPC accompanies the distribution of programmes formerly administered by ATSIC-ATSIS to the Australian Government agencies which provide services to the wider community.
Visit http://www.oipc.gov.au/ for further information about the OIPC.

Indigenous Coordination Centres (ICCs)
In the States and regions, 30 Indigenous Coordination Centres (ICCs) have been established based in former ATSIC-ATSIS offices. These are multi-agency facilities headed by an ICC Manager employed by the OIPC. OIPC is also responsible for providing common services to ICCs.
Visit www.oipc.gov.au/tools/contact.asp for further information about ICCs.

Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA)
TSRA aims to strengthen the economic, social and cultural development of the Torres Strait to improve the lifestyle and wellbeing of Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people living in the region. TSRA is a Commonwealth statutory authority established in 1994 under the ATSIC Act 1989.

Visit http://www.tsra.gov.au/ for further information about the TSRA and associated activities.

Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP)
CDEPs are administered by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. CDEP participants forgo their unemployment benefit entitlement in return for CDEP 'wages' for around 2 days a week to participate in training, employment or other community activities. There are approximately 270 CDEP organisations across Australia with about 35 000 participants. There is no requirement to register with Centrelink to participate in CDEP.

Visit www.workplace.gov.au/cdep for further information about CDEP.

Indigenous Employment Centres (IECs)
IECs have been established to help their CDEP participants take up ongoing employment outside of CDEP. IECs are not in competition with Job Network. By participating in the IEC, many participants are now starting to see the benefits of receiving assistance from Job Network. A key role of IECs is to help facilitate access to Job Network in order to increase the assistance available to IEC participants. IEC participants can be in Job Network at the same time as being in an IEC. There are currently 33 IECs operating.

Visit www.workplace.gov.au/ for further information about IECs and locations.

Centrelink Indigenous services
Centrelink has a network of Indigenous Specialist Officers and Remote Visiting Teams to make sure Indigenous people understand the services and programmes that Centrelink offers.

Visit www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/Indigenous/services.htm for information about Centrelink Indigenous-specific programmes and services, including listings of Indigenous Specialist Officers.