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  • 01 Understanding governance
    • 1.0 Understanding governance
    • 1.1 The important parts of governance
    • 1.2 Indigenous governance
    • 1.3 Governance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations
    • 1.4 Case studies
  • 02 Culture and governance
    • 2.0 Culture and governance
    • 2.1 Indigenous governance and culture
    • 2.2 Two-way governance
    • 2.3 Case studies
  • 03 Getting started
    • 3.0 Getting started on building your governance
    • 3.1 Assessing your governance
    • 3.2 Mapping your community for governance
    • 3.3 Case studies
  • 04 Leadership
    • 4.0 Leadership for governance
    • 4.1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership
    • 4.2 The challenges of leadership
    • 4.3 Evaluating your leadership
    • 4.4 Youth leadership and succession planning
    • 4.5 Building leadership capacity to govern
    • 4.6 Case studies
  • 05 Governing the organisation
    • 5.0 Governing the organisation
    • 5.1 Roles, responsibilities and rights of a governing body
    • 5.2 Accountability: what is it, to whom and how?
    • 5.3 Decision making by the governing body
    • 5.4 Governing finances and resources
    • 5.5 Communicating
    • 5.6 Future planning
    • 5.7 Building capacity and confidence for governing bodies
    • 5.8 Case studies
  • 06 Rules and policies
    • 6.0 Governance rules and policies
    • 6.1 What are governance rules?
    • 6.2 Governance rules and culture
    • 6.3 Running effective meetings
    • 6.4 Policies for organisations
    • 6.5 Case studies
  • 07 Management and staff
    • 7.0 Management and staff
    • 7.1 Managing the organisation
    • 7.2 The governing body and management
    • 7.3 Managing staff
    • 7.4 Staff development and training
    • 7.5 Case studies
  • 08 Disputes and complaints
    • 8.0 Dealing with disputes and complaints
    • 8.1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous approaches
    • 8.2 Core principles and skills for dispute and complaint resolution
    • 8.3 Disputes and complaints about governance
    • 8.4 Your members: dealing with disputes and complaints
    • 8.5 Organisations: dealing with internal disputes and complaints
    • 8.6 Practical guidelines and approaches
    • 8.7 Case studies
  • 09 Nation building and development
    • 9.0 Governance for nation rebuilding and development
    • 9.1 What is nation rebuilding?
    • 9.2 Governance for nation rebuilding
    • 9.3 Governance for sustained development
    • 9.4 Networked governance
    • 9.5 Kick-starting the process of nation rebuilding
    • 9.6 Case studies
  • Glossary
  • Useful links
  • Acknowledgements

Tag Archives: 03 Getting started

How the MWG came together

November 16, 2016
The Muntjiltjarra Wurrgumu Group (MWG) was awarded Highly Commended Category B in the 2014 Indigenous Governance Awards. Here MWG members Regina Ashwin and Stacey Petterson outline how the MWG came together as a representative group as part of the Wiluna Regional Partnership Agreement. The group conducted a survey to understand what was important from a local perspective.
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Tagged 03 Getting started

How the IUIH formed to address common goals

November 16, 2016
The Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) was a Finalist in Category A of the 2014 Indigenous Governance Awards. Here Director of Operations and Communications Jody Currie and CEO Adrian Carson explains how the IUIH came together to create a regional solution to common goals, and some of the challenges that arose during this process.
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Tagged 03 Getting started

Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation

March 15, 2013

Overcoming challenges Western Desert Dialysis was established by people from the Pintupi Luritja language group to improve the lives of people suffering from end stage renal failure and to strengthen families and communities by helping people to return home to …

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Posted in Case Studies Tagged 03 Getting started

Scotdesco Aboriginal Corporation

March 15, 2013

Evaluating governance through risk assessments Scotdesco’s objectives are to provide employment, housing, education and training, social and recreation activities and health and welfare services and opportunities for people of Aboriginal descent who live or work in Bookabie, South Australia. Scotdesco …

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Posted in Case Studies Tagged 03 Getting started

How the Yiriman project started

February 28, 2013
In this clip Yiriman elders and cultural bosses John Watson and Joe Brown talk about getting their project started. Yiriman, winner of the Indigenous Governance Awards in 2012, is a youth program run by the elders of four Kimberley language groups. Culture and care for Country are used to instil young people with a sense of identity and purpose.
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Tagged 03 Getting started

NPY Women’s Council on getting started

December 20, 2012
NPY Women’s Council chair Yanyi Bandicha and Co-ordinator Andrea Mason talk about how NPY got started and how the organisation works as a service delivery and advocacy organisation.
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Tagged 03 Getting started

How Western Desert Dialysis started?

December 11, 2012
Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corp Inc (WDNWPT) CEO Sarah Brown and Board Director Marlene Spencer talk about getting their organisation started and why it was so important for Pintupi people to start their own service. WDNWPT was started using funds raised by a large auction of Pintupi people’s paintings at the Art Gallery of NSW which raised over $1 million dollars.
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Tagged 03 Getting started

Template: Governance development and action plan

April 26, 2012
This Governance Development and Action Plan is based on a strategic planning template that was developed by Dr Ian Hughes at the Yooroang Garang: School of Indigenous Health Studies in The University of Sydney. You can customise the template to suit your own needs, doing it in chunks, or using it to create a longer-term strategic approach to your governance rebuilding
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Tagged 03 Getting started, 05 Governing the organisation, 09 Nation building and development, 9.0 Governance for nation rebuilding and development

How to map governance assets

April 24, 2012

As an organisation or community leader, first explain to your members the importance and benefits of mapping the organisation’s or community’s governance assets, then you can follow these steps to map your governance assets.

  1. Form a community or organisational mapping team.
  2. Engage interested people at the beginning, as governance mapping also involves building governance capacity.
  3. Identify and define the purpose of the governance map. Decide on the governance issues or problems that need to be addressed.
  4. Identify the target audience of your governance map. This will affect what kind of information you need to collect and how you present it.
  5. Decide on the most appropriate scale for the mapping project. Determine whether you will focus on:
    1. your particular local community
    2. your community and its outlying outstations or neighbourhoods
    3. two related communities
    4. two or three related groups or organisations within a wider community, or
    5. your location as a discreet settlement or as a dispersed set of groups.
  6. Hold a training workshop to enhance community mapping techniques and skills. Make sure everyone involved in governance mapping takes part and that the workshop is controlled by your community or group.
  7. Identify and collect relevant information from local people, as well as statistics, administration data and other sources. What you want to do may have been tried and tested already.
  8. Create a physical map or series of illustrations using your data. Use Indigenous materials, photos and paintings that define the governance of your organisation and community.
  9. Promote your governance map by sharing it with the community and your target audience.
  10. Conduct a workshop to discuss the content of the map and to identify possible gaps, strengths and collective opportunities for building stronger governance.
  11. Use the map to start practical activities that will help address any governance problems or weaknesses. Do not just stick it on an office wall.
  12. Make sure people in the community and organisation take part in these practical activities and that they have ownership of the map’s information and its outcomes.
  13. Recognise and respect the diversity of rights, values, ideas and opinions that exist within the community and organisation.
  14. Make sure this governance mapping work is closely linked to real results that are important to the group, community and organisation.
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Tagged 03 Getting started

Template: Mapping your governance history

April 24, 2012
This resource lays out some basic questions and instructions for mapping your governance history. Follow these instructions and work with your leaders, nation or community members to see how your governance history is influencing the way you work today.
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Tagged 03 Getting started, 09 Nation building and development, 9.0 Governance for nation rebuilding and development
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Case Studies

NPY Women’s Council – strong culture, strong women, strong communities

  NPY Women’s Council (NPYWC) was set up in 1980 and incorporated in 1994.  The organisation was founded in response to the concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women throughout the APY lands.   The women were concerned about the …

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Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly

Self-determination and community control The Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly (MPRA) is comprised of the Chairs or representatives of 16 Aboriginal Community Working Parties (CWP’s) across the Murdi Paaki Region of NSW. MPRA see self-determination as the key success to their …

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NPY Women’s Council: Building your cultural guiding principles into your rulebook

The NPY Women’s Council became incorporated under new legislation in 2008. The council undertook a significant period of consultation with its members—spread across a large geographic region—in the lead-up to lodging its new rulebook (formally known as the constitution) with …

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News

ORIC Top 500 Report 2014-15

The Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) released the 2014-2015 top 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations report in December 2015. This is ORIC’s seventh report on the top 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations. It collates and …

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Social Justice Commissioner launches 2014 Social Justice and Native Title Report

Mr Mick Gooda is the current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. The Commissioner has a unique role at the Australian Human Rights Commission, responsible for advocating for the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Australians. As part …

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Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2014 Report

The Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report: Key Indicators 2014 (OID Report) was released by the Productivity Commission in November 2014. The OID Report measures the wellbeing of Australia’s Indigenous peoples. The report provides information about outcomes across a range of strategic …

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The Australian Indigenous Governance Institute

The Australian Indigenous Governance Institute is a unique Indigenous led national centre of governance knowledge and excellence. We know that practically effective and culturally legitimate governance is the staple building block for delivering real change.

We assist Indigenous Australians in their diverse efforts to determine and strengthen their own sustainable systems of self-governance by identifying world-class governance practice, informing effective policy, providing accessible research, disseminating stories that celebrate outstanding success and solutions, and delivering professional education and training opportunities.

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