Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website contains the names and images of people who have passed
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website contains the names and images of people who have passed
317
CDEP or similar programs for rural Aboriginal populations
That further extension of the CDEP Scheme (or some similar program) to rural towns with large Aboriginal populations and limited mainstream employment opportunities for Aboriginal people be considered.
It [CDEP programs] seemed to work better in the remote communities, as opposed to the southern communities.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
Recommendation 317 was the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government.
Background
At the time of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) Scheme provided block grants equivalent to the unemployment benefit to community organisations. These organisations then hired participants to work on community projects. The scheme was designed to not only provide financial support to Aboriginal people but also uplift the local economy in a self-determined way that also addressed community needs.
The CDEP Scheme was beneficial for remote communities around Australia by providing jobs and improving the ‘economic infrastructure’ of the community. The RCIADIC advocated for expansion of the CDEP Scheme so that additional Aboriginal communities could benefit from it and ‘more independent ways of improving the economic position of community members.’
Actions Taken Since Last Review
The Remote Jobs and Communities Program was to supplement and eventually replace the CDEP Scheme in 2015. It was renamed the Community Development Program (CDP) as a remote employment and community development service administered by the National Indigenous Australians Agency. The CDP did not operate in Victoria.
A new Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program (RJED) was to begin in the second half of 2024, as part of replacing the CDP.
Community Views
Marion Hansen
Marion Hansen, Co-chairperson, AJC; Chairperson, Southern Metropolitan RAJAC and former ATSIC Commissioner
The CDEP programs were really successful but down in Victoria as we only had a couple. We had a building program that was run down in the Gippsland region. That was going really well. They were doing upgrades to houses in Tyers and other places. They employed Aboriginal young people to take up apprenticeships and all that sort of stuff. But it was limited in terms of what economic developments they were able to bring in.
In other parts of Australia, I mean in those remote communities, they were building things like airstrips for light planes to land. It seemed to work better in the remote communities, as opposed to the southern communities. I've got no idea why.