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This paper will talk about the following issues: · The extent of child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities; · The complications around understanding the problem - why it is even more difficult to understand child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities than in the non-Indigenous population; · The contribution of past and present trauma experienced by Indigenous people to the present problem of child sexual abuse; · Cultural clashes in the child protection system - how one cultural model of operating is imposing on another cultural model of operating; and, · The way forward, moving beyond consultation to negotiation.

This report was compiled in response to concerns raised by Indigenous people about the prevalence of child sexual abuse in Australia. The report is a preliminary attempt to document the pertinent issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander childrenexperiencing this sort of abuse; to get an idea of the scope of the problem in country and remote areas; and to pave the way for more research into the subject for which ethical approval (both cultural and professional) from the appropriate bodies would be required. The report outlines a number of barriers, both structural and communal, that need to be addressed in order to improve access to appropriate services, such as child protection, legal, social, educational and health. No recommendations are made in this report.

Many of the problems associated with child abuse and neglect in communities are directly related to experiences of colonisation. Indigenous peoples in different countries and communities may have experienced colonial processes differently, but have experienced some common impacts. This paper provides a review of legislation and services delivered to Indigenous communities in Canada, the United States and New Zealand. While some of the issues and ideas may be useful and relevant in the Australian context, a key finding in the research is that a “one size fits all approach” does not work. Particular attention is paid to new approaches to family and community wellbeing that focus work on community strengths and healing, and provide a less problem-focused picture of Indigenous communities. There has been much interest in overseas legislative reform that transfers real authority for children and families’ wellbeing to Indigenous communities. This is widely considered to be important to the long-term empowerment of Indigenous peoples and a basis for the development of more effective support systems. The United States Indian Child Welfare Act currently represents the highest level of transfer of decision-making authority to Indigenous peoples. The paper describes a range of service models that focus on Indigenous collaboration, community development, community participation and community control. Although local solutions will need to be found for different Indigenous communities, there is a preference across Indigenous communities for holistic, multifaceted approaches that heal all sections of the community and address the underlying causes of health and social problems. Some key policy and practice recommendations for the development of better child protection and child welfare/family support systems are described. – It is contended that statutory child protection services be based on an understanding of communal identity and a “whole-of-community” rather than individually-focused response. Further, they require a more collaborative, community-based “grass-roots” approach. This should be based in part on the development of comprehensive neighbourhood-based supports and services, which draw on family networks and other informal resources. – Good partnerships and meaningful collaboration between government and Indigenous organisations are vital to the development of effective child protection and broader child welfare strategies. Such partnerships must be founded upon inclusiveness and empowerment strategies. They will usually require government agencies to relinquish some power and to recognise the authority of the Indigenous community or organization. Ideally, this collaboration will be supported via appropriate legislation. – Culturally competent service delivery requires not only the employment of Indigenous staff in support services, but the incorporation of cultural knowledge into the service delivery framework via community engagement and active participation. – Community satisfaction with service delivery will be increased by a holistic approach to healing, autonomy and flexibility in service provision, and the capacity to respond or tailor services to meet local needs. Family preservation is a particularly important part of Indigenous family support systems. The flexible family and home-based nature of family preservation services renders it suitable for use with a variety of cultural traditions.

The project Closing the Digital Divide: increasing education and training opportunities for Indigenous students in remote areas has enabled a drilling down into the very real and practical issues associated with learning through application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within the remote Titjikala Indigenous community. It is very apparent that learning occurred in many areas, and importantly, that the community of Titjikala, through those involved in the project, are beginning to identify how using ICTs can support their own aspirations and directions for learning. The project experienced many delays, conflicting priorities, and the gamut of issues that, to date, have prevented much take-up (or use) of ICTs across the board in remote Indigenous communities. The key learnings arising from this present project are summarised as follows: • Onsite training support is crucial to enabling access to facilities, troubleshooting of difficulties and building of the confidence of learners in using ICTs. • The supply side of working infrastructure and resources is only one aspect of the learning process, although this is the one attracting the most attention. The demand side — what community members, after experience and exposure to using a range of technologies, feel they want to do with these to meet their own learning and communication needs — is critically important. This project has highlighted how readily Indigenous peoples from remote communities will embrace new technologies if the use of such matches their own aspirations and needs. • Externally defined timelines and expected outputs negate the well documented importance of establishing relationships and the time needed to explore, in crosscultural settings, new concepts, ideas and applications. • This project was built on prior and ongoing relationships with the community and this was critical to the outcomes it did achieve. Involvement of members of the project team across a number of projects occurring within the community also ensured that the value of ICTs to achieving community priorities in a number of areas, not only education, was explored. This has led to both greater community ownership of the possibilities and discussions of the directions, such as local resource development, community members would like to explore further. • Institutional policies and priorities can often work against innovation, as does the numbers-driven funding regime of the VET sector. • Educational practitioners working with remote Indigenous communities have had little professional development in the use of ICTs within educational delivery. Incompatibility between the priorities and practices of Registered Training Organisation (RTO) systems and those of communities such as Titjikala, further compound the issues. • Infrastructure on communities is adequate, but interoperability issues exist. The issue is not broadband, but pedagogy.

Closing the Gap is the Northern Territory’s Indigenous generational plan of action, aimed at closing the gap in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Territorians. It contains a vision and objectives for the future socio-economic wellbeing of Indigenous Territorians and sets ambitious but achievable targets for the next 5, 10 and 20 years. It also identifies areas for action in the next 5 years, based on the best available evidence of which actions will be most effective in closing the gap.

Addressing Indigenous disadvantage is a national responsibility that will require the energy and commitment of all Australians. Working with all parts of the Australian community, the Government is determined to drive real improvements, focused on outcomes and guided by evidence. Central to the Government’s strategy is a new partnership with Indigenous Australians, based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility. In the more than four decades since the 1967 Referendum, Australian governments have developed and funded policies and programs to improve the socio-economic status of Indigenous people, and overcome a long history of poverty and marginalisation. Progress has been made. Yet in 2009, despite the formal recognition of equality so many years ago, Indigenous people remain among the most disadvantaged Australians. Many simply do not have the opportunities afforded their fellow Australians, and many are not able to participate fully in our national life. Too many Indigenous Australians experience unacceptable levels of disadvantage in living standards, life-expectancy, education, health and employment. Rates of chronic disease, mental illness and hospitalisation are significantly higher for the Indigenous population than the non Indigenous population1. Literacy and numeracy results for Indigenous students are consistently below the national average, especially in remote areas2. The gulf that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in these critical areas remains significant and, in some areas, is widening as the rate of improvement has been greater for other Australians than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over recent years3. In remote areas, successive governments have failed to properly coordinate their efforts and to fund them adequately, resulting in acute and visible need. In urban and regional areas, services provided for all Australians have not been accessed by or effectively delivered to Indigenous people. Blurred responsibilities have allowed Commonwealth, state and territory governments to avoid accountability for their failures. In more recent times, governments have taken strong action to intervene in Indigenous communities in order to protect children from violence and abuse. While such urgent action has been and may again be necessary in the future, too little focus has been given to the longer term task of building personal and community responsibility – a challenge that must be met if Indigenous life outcomes are to improve. The Australian Government is committed to working in partnership with Indigenous Australians, with state and territory governments, with business, community organisations and all Australians so that Indigenous Australians have access to opportunities that allow for self-respect, independence and better living standards – an education, a job, and a decent home – while still retaining a strong cultural identity and sense of community. It is unacceptable that Australia, a successful, developed nation with a modern economy, should tolerate fundamental inequality between its Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Closing the Gap is a framework for action on one of our nation’s most important challenges. Work on reducing Indigenous disadvantage is a shared responsibility, requiring intense and collaborative effort from all governments, Indigenous people, the private sector, non-government organisations and the wider community. The National Indigenous Reform Agreement, endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2008, commits all governments to six ambitious Closing the Gap targets relating to life expectancy, infant mortality, education and employment. The Agreement identifies seven inter-related areas for investment and change — the ‘building blocks’ for better lives. It is supported by historic investment through a series of Indigenous-specific and mainstream National Partnership Agreements. Closing the Gap ends the ad hoc arrangements of previous approaches to Indigenous policy which contributed to the unacceptable levels of disadvantage faced by too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Closing the Gap reflects a renewed determination arising from the goodwill brought about by the National Apology to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and in particular to the Stolen Generations. The Apology was a formal acknowledgement of the injustice of past government practices and it provided an important foundation for a new relationship between Indigenous and other Australians based on mutual respect and responsibility. Over the last year the Australian Government has been sponsoring a national conversation about recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia’s Constitution. In December 2010, an Expert Panel was established to provide advice about how constitutional recognition might be achieved. The panel presented their final report to the Prime Minister on 19 January 2012 at a ceremony at the National Gallery of Australia. The Government believes that constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians will help in achieving a more united and reconciled future, and is committed to building the momentum for this change.

Currently in Australia there is much activity and expenditure in a field broadly defined as 'Indigenous education'. However, there is little by way of rigorous research that has compared and evaluated different approaches. This article draws together the existing international evidence to develop a set of best-practice components for Indigenous education. The author intends for these components to provide practical guidance for program developers who may currently be developing programs without the benefit of an existing evidence base, while also acknowledging the need to expand the evidence base and continue to refine this set of components to maximise their utility.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are almost five times more likely to be placed in out-of-home care compared with non-Indigenous children (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007). Yet there is a serious shortage of culturally appropriate placements to accommodate them. Even with intensive recruitment efforts, professionals have been unable to recruit sufficient Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers to meet the demand.

Results from international programs that assess the skills and knowledge of young people have indicated that Australia’s Indigenous students perform at a significantly lower level than non-Indigenous students. An in-depth comparison of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students’ performance on the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) across three cycles is provided in an accompanying volume to this report, while the current report provides an understanding of how various aspects of students’ background and psychological constructs relate to each other and to student performance. Chapters 2 through 5 each focus on a different group of potential influences on the performance of students, comparing the profiles of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, while Chapter 6 presents results of multivariate analyses that assess which factors have a significant impact on the reading, mathematics and scientific literacy of Indigenous students.

The purpose of the research reported here is to investigate how pathways to employment and training opportunities in the Northern Territory can be created and improved for employment disadvantaged groups. This report contains the outcomes of the research project that spanned five months in 2004. During this time, a team of researchers from Charles Darwin University (CDU), working in close conjunction with the Northern Territory Council of Social Service (NTCOSS), Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) and the representative Steering Committee, conducted intensive literature reviews paralleled by interviews with representative clients, service providers, government agencies, advocacy and industry groups across the Northern Territory. Regional and rural areas were targeted, as well as the areas of higher population around Alice Springs and Darwin/Palmerston. Advice on all issues related to remote locations was sought from the relevant providers and agencies in those areas. The project is seen as a pilot that covers in detail only five of the nine identified areas of employment disadvantage. The five employment disadvantaged groups taking part in this study are: • Youth; • People with disabilities, including mental health; • Long term unemployed; • Mature aged people; and • People from a non-English speaking background

Crime, Aboriginality and the Decolonisation of Justice explores contemporary strategies which might diminish the extraordinary levels of imprisonment and victimisation suffered by Aboriginal people in Australia. The book argues that enhancing Aboriginal ownership and control over justice and justice-related processes is a key factor and focuses on ways this can be achieved. It explores the potential for 'hybrid' initiatives in the complex 'liminal' space between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal domains, for example Aboriginal community/​night patrols, community justice groups, healing centres and Aboriginal courts. Harry Blagg disputes the relevance of the western, urban, criminological paradigm to the Aboriginal domain, and questions the application of both contemporary innovations such as restorative justice and mainstream models of policing. He also refutes allegations that Aboriginal customary laws condone violence against women and children, pointing to the wealth of research to the contrary, and suggests these laws contain considerable potential for renewal and healing. Contents 1 Introduction: decolonising criminology 2 Criminal justice as waste management: modernity and its shadow 3 Aboriginal youth: culture, resistance and the dynamics of self-destruction 4 Restorative justice: a good idea whose time has gone by? 5 Aboriginal police and policing 6 Aboriginal self-policing initiatives 7 Silenced in court: Aboriginal people and the courts 8 Family violence 9 Aboriginal customary law: from denial to recognition 10 Aboriginal customary law: from recognition to abolition? 11 Governance from below: community justice mechanisms, crime and disorder

Within Australia's education revolution lies another, quieter revolution that attempts to raise the profile and status, and improve the learning outcomes, of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: children, young adults, women, and men. Two Way Teaching and Learning addresses the interface where two cultures meet: in the classroom, in the school, and in the community. Most of the contributors are highly experienced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners drawn from academia, the teaching profession, and the community. They put the spotlight on policies and processes that serve to either facilitate an informed respectful relationship in education, or to reinforce cultural inequity and inequality. The policy implications - which can either be liberating or devastating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Australian school systems - are exposed and explored with forensic care. Each contributor clearly articulates specific problems in complex areas - such as school retention, literacy and numeracy, self-concept and identity - and each offers practical strategies that address these issues. Written for teachers, policy-makers, academics, and administrators, Two Way Teaching and Learning works toward embedding a more culturally reflective, relevant, and inclusive agenda in places of learning for the benefit of all. At once confronting and uplifting, where there's an issue, there are also practical solutions and measurable outcomes.

This paper develops empirical measures of Indigenous Australians’ attachment to their traditional cultures, and explores the relationship between culture and participation in VET. The findings reject the notion that Indigenous culture acts as a barrier to achievement in education and training. Rather, it appears attachment to traditional culture fosters improved education and training outcomes, and that Indigenous people access VET for cultural pursuits. However, lower access in remote areas disadvantages Indigenous Australians with stronger cultural attachment. In this sense, Indigenous persons do face a trade-off between cultural aspirations and pursuit of further education and training.

For a while now I have been researching and writing about Australian Indigenous education issues. Like you all, I have seen much good work and learnt much from what is going on across the country and internationally to improve outcomes for Indigenous learners in formal education processes. And still we go on with the struggle and with the limitations that Western sciences and practices place on us in the process. This paper draws together theoretical propositions from the work we have been progressing for the higher education sector over the past decade and to point to some foundational principles that can help establish some early beginnings with Indigenous education as a discipline in the higher education sector.

This paper reports on a mathematics education research project centred on teachers’ pedagogical practices and capacity to assess Indigenous Australian students in a culturally-fair manner. The project has been funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage program and is being conducted in seven Catholic and Independent primary schools in north Queensland. Our Industry Partners are Catholic Education and the Association of Independent Schools, Queensland. Teachers of Years 4 and 6 used Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN numeracy results and detailed analysis as baseline data to inform their teaching practices, and for gathering further assessment information through rich assessment tasks. The teachers used this information to diagnose the extent of students’ conceptual and procedural understanding in terms of sequential curriculum goals and individual readiness. Consequently, students’ pre-dispositions to learning mathematics were also seen as an important indicator of future success. The aim of the research project was to understand teachers’ assessment strategies and how they used summative assessment data formatively to scaffold and extend Indigenous students’ mathematical understandings. Semi-structured interviews were also carried out with the Years 4 and 6 Indigenous students, teachers, principals and with Indigenous Education Workers (e.g. teacher aides and community liaison staff). These interviews were designed to gain a broad view of cultural influences and values that affect the dispositions of Indigenous students’ learning, particularly the learning of mathematics. Background information from these interviews was then analysed further to augment data from the individual NAPLAN test results. The overall aim was to identify homologies (‘resemblances with a difference’) between classroom interaction, school organisation designed for Indigenous students, the education and culture of the students, and their relationships with home and family in each regional setting. Attention to the variation that emerged in the results across a continuum of Indigenous learning was further analysed to explore the factors for culture-fair assessment. The research study draws on the literature surrounding the challenges in Indigenous education (Beresford & Partington, 2003) and on improving educational outcomes for Islander and Pacifica students (Kearney, 2008) to consider connections with Indigenous epistemologies. Sociocultural theories of assessment and learning (Rogoff, 1995, 2001, 2003; Wertsch, 1991, 1995; Gutiérrez, 2009), authentic assessment (Wiggins, 1989, 1990, 1993; Stiggins, 1987, 2007) and assessment for learning (ARG, 1999; Stobart, 2008) provided the bases for the theoretical and methodological approaches adopted. The research to date has found that culture-fair assessment requires an understanding of many complex issues. Predominantly, family support and the literacy demands of assessment items heavily influence outcomes and the fairness of the assessment practices. The findings of this study have implications for pedagogy and for practice. Culture-fair assessment encourages teachers to engage students in appropriate levels of challenge through relevant and meaningful contexts. Such assessment serves to identify understanding in light of students’ dispositions and desires to learn mathematics. Underpinning the pedagogical approaches is a broader view of how mathematics is taught and learned in schools - one that encompasses students’ understandings, dispositions, self-beliefs, and acknowledges their personal view of the value of mathematics education. Rich tasks (Luke, 2005) and open-ended questioning (Sullivan & Lilburn, 2005) provide the bases for authentic problem solving (Mason, Burton & Stacey, 1985) that enhances students’ intrinsic motivation, perseverance and resilience. Expectancy value theory (Fishbein, 1963) suggests that students’ attitudes to learning are directly affected by the value they place on learning and the success they believe they might have in reaching a satisfactory goal. Hence, this research study has focused on improving learning through strategic and effortful teaching that encompasses both a diagnostic and holistic view of students’ content knowledge and willingness to engage in deep mathematical thinking and problem solving. This paper reports on the findings of the study as they relate to culture-fair assessment, Indigenous mathematics education, and the theoretical bases for this study along with preliminary results.

The aim of this report is to provide an overview of current issues for Australian child protection systems, and in particular, to inform the child protection review currently being undertaken in the Northern Territory (NT). In response to requests from the NT Department of Health and Community Services, the author draws on Australian and overseas experiences to describe trends that are currently shaping child protection services, and to discuss a number of key aspects of service delivery. This report has been developed as an amalgam of a number of National Child Protection Clearinghouse publications, in order to meet specific requests for information received from the NT Department of Health and Community Services. The report is divided into a number of chapters designed to explore aspects of policy directions and service delivery in the child protection and family support fields.

This article explores decolonial priorities in Indigenous Studies, raises questions about the pedagogical approach, and challenges the primary educational goal for students, arguing that Indigenous Studies has become fixated on a simplistic decolonisation of Western knowledge and practices. We put forward a case to prioritise the development of learning dispositions in students that encourage openness to further inquiry and productive ways of thinking in and through complex and contested knowledge terrains. We argue that this pedagogical approach adds a critical dimension to the decolonial task.

The research evidence that underpins the school readiness of Indigenous Australian children is reviewed in this article, followed by identification of issues requiring research attention. Two key questions are considered: 1. How is school readiness defined and how applicable are definitions to Indigenous contexts? 2. What methods of school readiness assessment are applied to Indigenous children and are the tools appropriate or effective? General definitions of school readiness are outlined. An ecological view defines school readiness as ready services, schools, communities and families. This view is scrutinised in detail to consider whether services, schools and communities are ready to promote Indigenous children’s education. Extended families are pivotal social constructions in many Indigenous contexts. The extent to which this is recognised in the ecological view of school readiness is assessed. Thereafter, the methods of assessing children’s school readiness are reviewed, highlighting the shortfall in techniques specifically designed and validated for Indigenous Australians and the variable applicability of the techniques currently in use.

Objectives: To describe delivery of child health services in Australian Aboriginal communities, and to identify gaps in services required to improve the health of Aboriginal children. Design: Cross-sectional baseline audit for a quality improvement intervention. Setting and participants: 297 children aged at least 3 months and under 5 years in 11 Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Far West New South Wales and Western Australia in 2006. Main outcome measures: Adherence to guideline-scheduled services including clinical examinations, brief interventions or advice on health-related behaviour and risks, and enquiry regarding social conditions; and recorded follow-up of identified problems. Results: Documentation of delivery of specific clinical examinations (26%–80%) was relatively good, but was poorer for brief interventions or advice on health-related behaviour and risks (5%–36%) and enquiry regarding social conditions (3%–11%). Compared with children in Far West NSW and WA, those attending NT centres were significantly more likely to have a record of growth faltering, underweight, chronic ear disease, anaemia, or chronic respiratory disease (P < 0.005). Only 11%–13% of children with identified social problems had an assessment report on file. An action plan was documented for 22% of children with growth faltering and 13% with chronic ear disease; 43% of children with chronic respiratory disease and 31% with developmental delay had an assessment report on file. Conclusion: Existing systems are not providing for adequate follow-up of identified medical and social problems for children living in remote Aboriginal communities; development of systems for immediate and longer-term sustainable responses to these problems should be a priority. Without effective systems for follow-up, screening children for disease and adverse social circumstances will result in little or no benefit.

Demography is destiny-except in the Northern Territory

Estimates and projections of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) population are required for a wide range of planning, policy development, evaluation, research and analysis purposes. A key component of the estimation/projection process is the construction of experimental Indigenous life tables. This paper therefore focuses on the life table construction process, and its associated assumptions. The ABS assesses that these life tables allow the best experimental Indigenous population estimates and projections using currently available data. The Indigenous life expectancy estimates presented in this paper are experimental because of the nature of the base population estimates, which are affected by both intercensal volatility in the counts of the Indigenous population and deficiencies in Indigenous identification in birth and death registration data. Consequently, there is uncertainty about the accuracy of death rates which can be derived from these inputs and used in life table construction. While the life expectancy estimates are the best that can be compiled with currently available data, and are assessed to be suitable for experimental population estimates and projections, over-precise analysis of the life expectancy estimates as measures of Indigenous health outcomes should be avoided. In particular, the differences between the life expectancy estimates in this paper and those previously published by the ABS, which were based on analysis of data for the intercensal period 1991 to 1996, represent improvements in methods and data quality and do not necessarily represent any change over time in the life expectancy of the Indigenous population. The standard approach to calculating death rates used in life tables is to divide the number of deaths in a given population by the population 'exposed to risk' during that period. Precisely estimating the population at risk between census years and in the projection period requires accurate information on births. Although it is considered likely that most Indigenous births and deaths are registered, a proportion of Indigenous births and deaths are not identified as ‘Indigenous’. There have also been intercensal increases in the Indigenous population that cannot be explained solely by demographic factors, i.e. by biological natural increase (the excess of births over deaths), or by migration to/from Australia. Without complete and accurate data on Indigenous births and deaths, and accurate data on the size and structure of the Indigenous population, the standard method for calculating death rates cannot be used for the Indigenous population. This paper describes a new demographic method for determining consistency factors to make registered intercensal deaths data consistent with two-end census date population estimates. This method was developed by Bhat (2002) and offers improvement over other indirect methods available for estimating mortality from incomplete data. The main advantage of the Bhat method over other methods is that it explicitly allows for an adjustment for 'migration' to be taken into account. The migration component in the Bhat method is being used in this paper to allow for the non-biological, or unexplained, change in the measured Indigenous population. Using the Bhat method, this paper calculates the consistency of Indigenous death registrations for the 1991-1996 and 1996-2001 intercensal periods relative to population estimates at the beginning and end of each five year period. A consistency factor, assumed to be constant at each age group, is applied to the observed age-specific death rates, which are then used for the calculation of the Indigenous life tables. While life table construction based on the Bhat method provides an essential component for preparing experimental population estimates and projections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the use of the life tables for other purposes should be undertaken with caution and an understanding of the assumptions used in their construction. This paper assesses the sensitivities of the method to assumptions about the level and age distribution of unexplained growth in the Indigenous population. The sensitivity analysis is restricted to the 1996-2001 period only. Results obtained from the sensitivity analysis show that life expectancy estimates derived under various assumptions vary widely, suggesting that the life expectancy estimates in the life tables will not be robust for some forms of analysis. While the Bhat method overcomes one of the deficiencies inherent in previous methods used to construct experimental Indigenous life tables published by the ABS, it cannot overcome the underlying issues of quality in the input data.

• The desert provides unique challenges for the delivery of post-compulsory education programs for Indigenous peoples. While information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer the potential to transform teaching and learning practices in small, remote Indigenous communities, the rollout of such infrastructure is fraught with a range of problems, including appropriate, reliable and affordable energy supplies, bandwidth and interoperability issues—such as the standardisation of technology services and information formats. These difficulties are further compounded by the range of agencies and other organisations involved across a range of jurisdictions. • ICT use is increasing. However, much of the ICT infrastructure development on remote desert communities is still targeting basic communications needs. Where community access centres or telecentres are in place, they are being championed by Indigenous organisations, including the Indigenous media sector, and for activities which enhance local information flows, knowledge exchange and cultural activities, and provide basic service access like banking. These activities support a threshold of knowledge, skills and ownership which can enhance flexible learning opportunities. However, at present ICT is not being used much for formal education and training. • The lack of appropriate resources, technical support, poor English literacy skills and the range of skills of both trainers and learners in adapting resources or troubleshooting hardware or software problems, limits opportunities to use e-learning in remote Indigenous communities. Ongoing financial support is essential, given the poor capacity to pay for such services in many of these small Indigenous communities. • A key challenge for the vocational education and training (VET) system is to build on the ways in which Indigenous desert peoples are actively embracing ICTs for their own ends and purposes, rather than focusing on using these technologies to distribute predefined and often inappropriate services and resources.

The toxic environment that is colonized Australia has broken many of the traditional circles of care for Indigenous children and created a service system which waits for Indigenous families to become dysfunctional before there is any response. The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) encourages an approach to Indigenous children and families which is culturally respectful, culturally appropriate and framed according to the need to respect self-determination and human rights. VACCA has developed early childhood and family welfare policies which identify how cultural-strengthening works as a preventative measure to address risk factors for Indigenous children. With the ongoing reforms to Child and Family Welfare arising from the Children, Youth and Families Act, the Victoria State Government in Australia has an historic opportunity to lead the nation in creating an Indigenous-led child and family service system which focuses on issues of prevention and early intervention. The new Act prioritizes cultural and community connection in the best interest principles for Indigenous children, recognizes self-determination and requires generalist children’s welfare services to be culturally competent. The only way to ensure that every Indigenous child is effectively cared for is by developing the capacity of Indigenous communities to look after their own by strengthening Indigenous organizations and agencies. It is Indigenous agencies who are best placed to deliver innovative programs which are culturally embedded and carefully targeted to restore the circles of care for Indigenous kids. A culturally competent service system is what is needed to ensure better outcomes for Indigenous children.

FAST (Families And Schools Together) is an eight-week, early intervention/prevention program, designed to strengthen family functioning and so build protective factors in children . In the Northern Territory the program is run in remote and urban/regional contexts . While the program is essentially the same in both remote and urban contexts, the way it is evaluated is different . The reasons for this relate primarily to language and cultural issues . Translating the standardised international evaluation to remote Aboriginal contexts has proved problematic . For a number of years, FAST has attempted to develop more culturally sensitive evaluation tools that effectively capture evidence so that is both meaningful for program participants and relevant to the needs of funders . Funders demand evidence that programs work . Hence, the development of a useful set of evaluation tools has been a priority for FAST Northern Territory . The development of these tools has reached a stage where it is possible to conduct a full trial in a remote context . To support this process, FAST Northern Territory engaged evaluation consultancy Cat Conatus to conduct an externally supported evaluation at Galiwin’ku, in Arnhem Land . Galiwin’ku is a remote Aboriginal community of about 2500 people . The tools used for the evaluation included participant surveys, teacher surveys, semistructured interviews with FAST staff, team members and community stakeholders and evaluator observations. Attendance data for children who participated in FAST was also reviewed. The tools were developed to test assumptions in a theory of change model . The findings from participant surveys suggested quite strong outcomes in at least three areas: social relationships, parental self-efficacy and family environment . More than 60 per cent of responses in these domains indicated that since FAST there had been some improvement for families involved . The results for parental involvement in education and child behaviour were not as strong but respondents suggested that this was because these things were already good . While it is difficult to say whether these results are good or bad, they do provide a useful baseline for comparison with future programs and potentially programs in other remote communities . The findings from teacher surveys presented a more conservative assessment of outcomes for children and parent engagement in schools . Teachers identified three out of 13 children who had either changed behaviour (for the better), given more respect or improved their peer relationships as a consequence of FAST . Attendance data from the school showed no significant difference in attendance rates for FAST children, compared with the corresponding term at the end of 2010 . Overall, attendance rates of FAST children were comparable with the whole school . CAT CONATUS 2 Team and stakeholder interviews identified a range of qualitative outcomes that were attributed to FAST . These related to changes in child behaviour, increased helpfulness, better respect and improved school attendance for children . For parents, the outcomes were described in terms of improved family support and greater self-efficacy . These outcomes are entirely consistent with the theory of change model for FAST . A further significant outcome related to community development . The findings suggest a high level of community ownership for the program . Key leaders are playing a vital role in supporting the program . They see it as a process that allows them to achieve their own goals for local families.