The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)1 provides a principled framework for respecting, protecting and fulfilling the individual and collective rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and pursuing their full participation and empowerment across the political, economic, social and cultural apparatus of the State. [...] 6 Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Parliament of Australia, Inquiry into the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Australia (Report, November 2023) 7See for example evidence provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) to the JSCATSIA, wh. [...] The report concluded that governments are not adequately delivering on the Agreement and have failed to “fully grasp the nature and scale of change required to meet the obligations”;9 and that changes following the Agreement have merely reflected tweaks to, or actions overlayed onto, business-as-usual approaches by government.10 The results of the review are extremely disappointing and have been r. [...] The LSNSW and LSSA have emphasised the need to ensure the availability of professional services, and the benefits of working with ACCOs to identify gaps in service availability and access and accompanying solutions. [...] The Law Society of New South Wales notes the example the Yarpa Hub in NSW: a “one stop shop for First Nations businesses, industry and community”.56 It is a partnership between the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and the Australian Government, established in 2018 under the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy,57 and provides custom business solutions, skills training and support in the key areas of 56.
Authors
- Pages
- 19
- Published in
- Australia
Table of Contents
- About the Law Council of Australia 3
- Acknowledgements 4
- Introduction 5
- Implementing in Australia the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 5
- Driving progress on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap 7
- Closing the Gap needs to be reviewed for consistency with UNDRIP 7
- Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) are valuable partners in policy design and delivery 8
- First Nations cultural competency and knowledge must be embedded within the Australian Public Service 8
- A federal independent legislative oversight mechanism is urgently needed to achieve the Closing the Gap targets 9
- Addressing legislative barriers to, and creating opportunities for, economic self-determination 10
- Reviewing the investment settings of Indigenous land funds 10
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land and Sea Future Fund 10
- Aboriginal Benefit Account 11
- Reducing the complexity of native title 11
- The financial burden of compliance for Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate 12
- Simplifying compliance obligations for Indigenous businesses 13
- Success of the Indigenous business sector 13
- Opportunities to simplify compliance obligations for Indigenous businesses 14
- Standalone legislation for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights 15
- Improving access to professional services for regional, rural and remote communities 17
- Assistance to access legal, financial and strategic services 17
- Provision of pro bono services by the legal profession 17
- Jurisdictional specific examples of professional service delivery 17
- New South Wales 17
- South Australia 18
- Accessible information to make informed choices 19
