National Priority 1

Employment of Indigenous Staff in Consumer Agencies

Employment of Indigenous staff in consumer agencies is fundamental for building links with communities and providing quality customer service. It demonstrates a commitment to overcoming the difficulties and barriers faced by Indigenous consumers and provides a culturally appropriate avenue for them to air their concerns and complaints. Feedback from consultations with Indigenous officers in consumer organisations and non government organisations reinforces the importance of face to face contact between Indigenous consumers and agencies responsible for consumer complaints and compliance with consumer laws.

This priority focuses on the long-term employment of skilled Indigenous people in consumer agencies to strengthen interaction, dialogue, confidence and trust with Indigenous communities and consumers.

Issues	Actions	Responsibility	Timeline
Involvement of Indigenous Australians in the development, evaluation and delivery of Indigenous consumer initiatives is fundamental to the success of those initiatives.	Employment of Indigenous officers in consumer agencies as a priority in accordance with employment plans, with the purpose of increasing the long term or permanent representation of Indigenous staff. Employment plans should take into account service delivery issues such as language barriers, geography, agency responsibilities and population distribution. Consumer agencies should identify and use existing public sector guidelines for the employment of Indigenous people, if there are no existing guidelines, identify others that can be adapted.	Consumer agencies to undertake their own recruitment and retention exercises and policies relating to the employment of Indigenous people.	Consumer agencies to develop employment plans by June 2006. Maintenance and implementation of plans is ongoing.
Limited employment and retention of long term or permanent Indigenous staff within consumer agencies.	Consumer agencies should also seek to work with non government organisations with Indigenous staff to assist with service delivery.	Consumer agencies in partnership with non government organisations.	Ongoing.
Inadequate ongoing support and training for Indigenous staff.	Consumer agencies to provide cross cultural awareness training for non Indigenous managers and staff in line with a plan that requires it to obtain promotion/employment in future.	Consumer agencies.	June 2006 as part of employment plan.
	Consumer agencies to seek alternative funding for employment of Indigenous officers where necessary and appropriate.	Consumer agencies.	Ongoing.
The need to have a national forum for all Indigenous people employed by consumer agencies.	Establish a national Indigenous consumer officer’s network to enable Indigenous staff employed by consumer agencies to share ideas and work collaboratively.	SCOCA and Consumer agencies.	Network established by September 2005.
Complaint procedures are a barrier to Indigenous people making complaints.	Consumer agencies to simplify complaint procedures to meet the needs of Indigenous consumers.	Consumer agencies.	Ongoing.