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300
Increase employment opportunities for Aboriginal people
That support be given to the aims of Aboriginal Employment Development Policy to:
a) Increase opportunities for Aboriginal people in the mainstream labour market to achieve equity with other Australians in the rates and levels of permanent employment; and
b) Generate employment through greatly enhanced assistance for community development and the expansion of employment reaches an acceptable level, governments should be prepared to set targets for recruitment into the public sector at somewhat higher target figures than would reflect the proportionate representation of Aboriginal people in the population.
Economic self-determination empowers and supports Aboriginal people to make decisions about Aboriginal people’s financial resources. It encompasses the right to freely pursue economic development, which includes the right to develop, maintain and strengthen a distinct economic institution as well as fully participate in the economic life of the state.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
The intent of Recommendation 300 was to create real and lasting job opportunities for Aboriginal people, both in the mainstream workforce and the public sector.
The Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR) highlighted the Free TAFE program which allows people to access more than 80 free TAFE qualifications and short courses without the cost of tuition fees, and a new Aboriginal Access Fee Waiver so Aboriginal participants do not pay tuition fees under Skills First. DJSIR also supports implementation of Yuma Yirramboi, the Victorian Aboriginal Employment and Economic Strategy.
While these are positive steps, they are relatively new, and it is too early to know whether they are delivering real employment outcomes for Aboriginal people. We want to see clear data over time on how many Aboriginal people are accessing these free TAFE places and apprenticeships and whether they lead to secure jobs and careers.
Evidence provided to Yoorrook showed the Yuma Yirramboi strategy is under-resourced and lacks a clear implementation plan. We support Yoorrook’s call for the strategy to be revisited, with clear goals, timelines, a monitoring and accountability plan and public reporting so communities can see whether it is working to support our mob to achieve economic independence.
Moreover, Yoorrook found that Aboriginal people experience significant barriers to employment, are employed in lower paying jobs and industries, and have lower wages than non- Aboriginal people. This has flow on effects in terms of health, wellbeing and other outcomes.
Aboriginal people often face barriers to accessing employment opportunities, leading to higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. This does not mean that Aboriginal people are not fit for employment, but shows an ongoing, systemic problem…Participation in employment provides financial and economic security and assists in opening the door to self-determination. Employment status also has associations with outcomes for health, social and emotional wellbeing, and living standards.
(Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, quoted in Yoorrook for Transformation)
We are concerned that many training and employment programs offer entry-level roles but do not lead to ongoing roles, career progression, leadership positions, or higher pay.
It is great that they've offered free TAFE placements and other opportunities, but will these be linked to employment opportunities? Often there are entry level roles but few opportunities for career progression, leadership positions and no succession plans.
(Chris Harrison, Co-chairperson, AJC)
In the justice sector, some Aboriginal-specific roles, such as Aboriginal Wellbeing Officers, and Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers have limited career pathways and limited Aboriginal oversight of how those roles operate. At the same time, designated Aboriginal roles are being reduced, and non-Aboriginal people are being employed in Aboriginal justice roles.
Pay inequity is another major issue. Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations often pay less than the public sector for similar work, making it hard to attract and retain staff. Pay parity and proper funding for ACCOs are essential to building a strong Aboriginal workforce across the community sector.
Overall, Recommendation 300 remains a high priority for further work. While training and fee-free education are important, real change will only happen when Aboriginal people have access to secure jobs, fair pay, leadership pathways, and strong accountability to ensure commitments are actually delivered.
Priority for Further Work:
High
Relevance and potential impact | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low (0-2) | Moderate (3-4) | High (5-6) | |||
Extent of action taken and evidence of outcomes | High (5-6) | ||||
Moderate (3-4) | |||||
Low (0-2) | |||||
Potential Actions for Further Work
Economic Prosperity
The Victorian Government must:
a) Revise the implementation timeline and proposed goals of the Yuma Yirramboi Strategy, including developing a publicly accessible monitoring and accountability plan for the strategy.
b) Incentivise major corporations in Victoria’s private sector to embed more Aboriginal businesses in supply chains.
c) Change procurement monitoring and targets from number of contracts to total dollars spent to accurately reflect investment.
d) Develop, resource and implement an Indigenous Preferred Procurement Program.
(Recommendation 91, Yoorrook for Transformation)
Recruitment and retention of Aboriginal people in the workplace
The Victorian Government must also assist recruitment, development, and retention of Aboriginal peoples in the workplace by:
a) Amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) to include an obligation on employers and employees to take steps to ensure cultural safety and capability in Victorian workplaces.
b) Creating a pipeline of Aboriginal talent for identified industries with skills shortages, including bolstering access to education and vocational training for Aboriginal people to prepare them for high-value employment sectors.
c) Monitoring and ensuring proper pay and conditions against defined targets for Aboriginal people in the public sector.
d) Monitoring and ensuring proper remuneration for the cultural load borne by Aboriginal people in the workplace.
e) Ensuring the private sector develops recruitment, development, mentoring and retention strategies for Aboriginal people and supporting the private sector in developing such strategies.
(Recommendation 92, Yoorrook for Transformation)
Background
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody highlighted the Aboriginal Employment Development Policy (AEDP), introduced in 1986, as a broad set of employment and training initiatives aimed at reducing employment and income inequality between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. It recognised that greater access to private and public sector employment could improve economic independence and lessen reliance on welfare. The Commission also stressed that economic development policies should be flexible and locally driven, supporting the AEDP’s overall approach rather than focusing narrowly on rigid statistical equality targets.
Actions Taken Since Last Review
DJSIR were asked about implementation of this recommendation and provided this response:
Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions
Sporting Trusts - Reconciliation Action Plans
Five state sporting trust entities have established Reconciliation Action Plans. Through these plans, the trusts are committed to reconciliation with Aboriginal people and seek to listen, learn and develop relationships with and opportunities for Aboriginal people and organisations.
Free TAFE and Skills First
DJSIR funds the Free-TAFE program, allowing learners to access more than 80 Free TAFE qualifications and short courses without the cost of tuition fees, even if they already hold a vocational education and training (VET) qualification or degree. In addition to the Free TAFE courses the Victorian Government has provided since 2019, the Australian Government announced 5,200 new Fee-Free TAFE places will be available to Victorians from January 2025, including up to 1,300 pre-apprenticeship places.
DJSIR also funds training providers to deliver subsidised courses, and skill sets under the Skills First program. This allows eligible students to pay less for their training on over 530 accredited courses, over 30 foundation skills programs and over 85 skill sets.
Skills First and Aboriginal Access Fee Waiver
In November 2023, the Minister for Skills and TAFE approved a new tuition fee waiver for Aboriginal learners, the Skills First Aboriginal Access fee waiver. Under this initiative, tuition fees are not charged to Skills First students who self-identify as being of Aboriginal descent. From 1 January 2024, the new fee waiver replaced the Indigenous Completions Initiative concession.
This initiative removes tuition fees for eligible individuals enrolled in Skills First funded courses and aims to improve inclusivity and outcomes for Aboriginal learners in the VET sector and enhance Aboriginal self-determination in education. The fee-waiver encompasses over 600 courses from Certificate I to Advanced Diploma on the Training Needs List.
The Training Needs List includes courses supporting Indigenous culture and language through three foundation courses and ten courses ranging from Certificate II to Advanced Diploma focusing on health care and the arts sector.
Indigenous Loading
Under Skills First, the Indigenous Loading refers to additional funding provided to TAFEs to support and enhance outcomes for Aboriginal students. This loading is part of broader government efforts to improve access, participation, and success for Indigenous students in education and training.
Impact
Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework data
Data relevant to this recommendation is published in the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework Data Dashboard under Goal 9: Strong Aboriginal workforce participation, in all sectors and at all levels.
Yoorrook for Transformation
Aboriginal people experience barriers to employment, are employed in lower paying jobs and industries, and have lower wages than non-Aboriginal people. External quantitative datasets show that in Victoria:
- Aboriginal people have lower weekly personal income levels than non-Aboriginal people. In 2021, the median weekly personal income for Aboriginal people was $619 compared to $803 for all people in Victoria.
- In 2021, 62% of Aboriginal people in Victoria (aged 25 to 64) were employed, which was significantly lower than the 78.4% of non- Aboriginal people.
- Aboriginal people are less likely than non-Aboriginal people to be employed full-time, and less likely to work in occupations and industries with higher earning capacity.
- Aboriginal people experience lower rates of employment than non-Aboriginal people. In 2021, the unemployment rate for Aboriginal people was 9.6%, compared to 5% for all people in Victoria.
DJSIR Secretary Tim Ada acknowledged the ongoing economic disparity experienced by Aboriginal people in Victoria:
Aboriginal people in Victoria earn on average a 24% lower median working age income and have a lower employment population ratio than non-Aboriginal people in Victoria. The latest Census data found the median income for working age Aboriginal people in Victoria was approximately $34,000 per year compared to $42,000 for non- Aboriginal people in Victoria.
Structural barriers
Aboriginal people continue to face structural barriers to workforce participation, including racism, culturally unsafe workplaces and cultural load in the workplace. As a result, Aboriginal people can experience limited opportunities and barriers to career progression. These realities are shaped by colonial legacies and a lack of cultural competency across public and private employment sectors.
Self-determination
Self-determination is central to addressing economic injustice. This may take different forms, including the establishment and support of Aboriginal businesses, commercial use of land, housing development, home ownership and the creation of a capital fund to enable Aboriginal people’s participation in capital markets as investors.
Aboriginal people told Yoorrook that the Victorian Government must change legislative and policy settings and commit resources to support Aboriginal people’s economic independence and prosperity. The State has made some efforts to address the systemic economic disadvantages Aboriginal people experience, but many of these efforts have fallen short, underscoring the need for more effective and sustainable solutions.
Community Views
First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria
Economic self-determination empowers and supports Aboriginal people to make decisions about Aboriginal people’s financial resources. It encompasses the right to freely pursue economic development, which includes the right to develop, maintain and strengthen a distinct economic institution as well as fully participate in the economic life of the state.
Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)
Aboriginal people often face barriers to accessing employment opportunities, leading to higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. This does not mean that Aboriginal people are not fit for employment, but shows an ongoing, systemic problem…
Participation in employment provides financial and economic security and assists in opening the door to self-determination. Employment status also has associations with outcomes for health, social and emotional wellbeing, and living standards.