A regional CDEP for four remote communities? Papunya, Ikuntji, Watiyawanu and Walungurru

This paper reports on a study commissioned by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 2000. The study investigated the best way to establish a Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) scheme in four remote Aboriginal communities. CDEP is a publicly funded employment program that is mainly located in rural and remote areas of Australia. One of its aims is to address labour market disadvantage and a lack of local employment opportunities. It serves Indigenous people with poor employment prospects, especially youth, those with low skills, and people who have difficulty speaking English. It provides work managed by, and on behalf of, the local community. Within ATSIC, there has been an emerging preference over recent years for larger multi-locational CDEPs as a better way of using CDEP on-cost resources. As a result, questionnaires in the four communities sought responses about the knowledge of and interest in CDEP as well as views towards sharing a CDEP with the other communities in the regional group. The final section of the report provides an overview analysis of CDEP size for ATSIC policymakers. It argues that many CDEPs in remote Aboriginal communities may in fact be too big. It is recommended that ATSIC should be giving more support to small CDEPs through changes in rules and funding arrangements.

This paper reports on a study commissioned by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 2000. The study investigated the best way to establish a Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) scheme in four remote Aboriginal communities. CDEP is a publicly funded employment program that is mainly located in rural and remote areas of Australia. One of its aims is to address labour market disadvantage and a lack of local employment opportunities. It serves Indigenous people with poor employment prospects, especially youth, those with low skills, and people who have ...  [+] Show more