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Policy Framework

Education Policy

A series of inquiries throughout the 1980s and 1990s identified the extent to which Aboriginal people are educationally disadvantaged relative to the rest of the community. Reports commissioned include:

• Aboriginal Education: The Report of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Education (1985);
• Report of the Committee of Review of Aboriginal Employment and Training Programs (1985);
• National Aboriginal Education Committee reports;
• Report of the Aboriginal Education Policy Taskforce;

In 1994, in response to the report National Review of Education for Aboriginal and Islander People: Final Report, the Commonwealth and State/Territory, Ministers for Education established a Taskforce which produced the report, A National Strategy for Education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People 1996-2002.

The National Strategy for the Education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 1996-2002 has underpinned the development of education policies at the state level. Indeed Commonwealth and State/Territory Ministers identified priority areas for action, stating:

"Education and training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders be made a national priority to focus efforts of all to ensure significant continuous improvements in outcomes for Indigenous Australians similar to those of non-Indigenous Australians."

A National Strategy for the Education of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander People 1996-2002

Within a Victorian context, the Victorian Government in conjunction with the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated have implemented a number of policy initiatives aimed at increasing the participation rate of Koories in education across all levels.

The Victorian Government in conjunction with the VAEAI have developed a strategic plan to implement the National Aboriginal and Islander Education Policy. The aim of the strategic plan is to ensure the principles of Aboriginal decision making about education needs, Aboriginal management of education service, increasing retention rates and the involvement of Aboriginal parents in their children's education are implemented.

The specific initiatives, which have been established under the Plan, are as follows:

• Koorie Educator Program;
• Koorie Education Development Unit;
• Schools Speakers Program;
• Language and Literacy Programs;
• Koorie Community Education Centres Program;
• Koorie Intern Teacher Program;
• Koorie Open Door Education;
• Koorie 2000.

Employment Policy

In assessing the policy framework it is essential to note the developments in the Aboriginal Employment Development Policy (AEDP). The AEDP was introduced in 1987, to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the national economy, principally by addressing the levels of unemployment.

Recently, the Minister Responsible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, the Hon. John Heron, endorsed an ATSIC Discussion Paper entitled: Pathways to Sustained Economic Development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 1996.

On the issue of employment, education and training the Discussion Paper states:

"There is a direct link between education and training and employment prospects. In remote and isolated rural areas, skills can be gained through participation in education and training opportunities, community development opportunities, local enterprises and infrastructure development.

In urban areas, labour market programs and opportunities offered by educational institutions should be used to secure adequate skills and qualifications required by employers."

The Aboriginal Education Policy (AEP) provides an important foundation on which improved educational outcomes can be achieved. This policy builds on the initiatives outlined in the AEP.'

Pathways to Sustained Economic Development for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 1996

The Aboriginal Employment Development Policy is not part of a Commonwealth/State Agreement, due to the fact that employment is seen, by in large, as a Commonwealth responsibility. However, the Victorian Government is currently putting in place a Koorie Employment Policy as part of the Koorie Services Improvement Strategy which is being introduced within the Department of Human Services.

The key objectives of this Strategy are:

• to significantly increase the number of Koories employed within the Department and by non government agencies;
• to ensure the delivery of appropriate training to Aboriginal organisations delivering Department funded services; and
• to provide for career development opportunities for further education and training.

A number of Government Departments have taken a similar approach with the development of strategies aimed at increasing the level of employment of Aboriginal people.

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