Community Development Policy Analysis: Australia's Homeland Policy

This briefing paper provides an in-depth analysis of Australia's Homeland Policy, adopted in 2015 and revised in 2017-2018 by the Northern Territory Government. The policy aims to improve living conditions, healthcare, and economic opportunities for Aboriginal communities, recognizing their cultural connection to traditional lands. The paper outlines the policy's objectives, including improved housing, healthcare, education, and economic development. It also identifies the issues faced by Aboriginal communities before the policy's implementation, such as homelessness, lack of education, and unemployment. Furthermore, the paper explores available policy options, such as supporting Aboriginal land rights and cultural connections. The report concludes with recommendations, backed by evidence, for enhancing the policy's effectiveness, including awareness programs, improved healthcare service delivery, technical skill enhancement, and asset management programs to ensure the overall success of the policy. The report emphasizes the need for consistent efforts to address the loopholes and improve the lives of Aboriginal communities.

Running Head: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN AUSTRALIA
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN AUSTRALIA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The purpose of this briefing paper, is to highlight a specific policy known as
Homeland Policy which is related to the community development in Australia. First, this
paper will focus on the objective of the policy. The next section of the paper aims to provide
an explanation of the policy in a condensed manner. Next, this study attempts to identify the
policy options that are available and the way it aids in decision-making. The final section of
this paper provides some recommendations in order to ensure overall success of the policy
taken by Australian government for the development of communities.
Context of the Homeland Policy
The Homeland Policy has been adopted in the year 2015 and revised during 2017-
2918, by the Northern Territory Government. Northern Territory Government values the
emotion as well as the cultural connection of the Aboriginal people to the traditional lands
owned by them. Hence, looking at the substantial contribution of the homelands and
outstations, in the economy social as well as the cultural fields, the Northern territory
government has taken this policy (Dlghcd.nt.gov.au, 2019). The government has also taken
this policy, for the development of the aboriginal communities, so that the aboriginal
community can work together with the other developed communities and the territory can be
moved forward towards the direction of the unprecedented growth (Mavroudi, 2015).
A clear statement of the purpose of the policy brief
The purpose of this policy is to improve the conditions of the housing on homelands,
Promote the facilities related to healthcare services (Dlghcd.nt.gov.au, 2019), make provision
for the economic benefits associated with living in homelands and enhance the standard of
the living of the people of the aboriginal communities (Mavroudi, 2015). Other objectives of
this policy include-inspiring the residents of the homeland to participate in the programs
arranged for educating them. Other noble initiatives taken by this policy involves provision

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for the employment of the people of the aboriginal community and accelerating economic
development. The policy will also attempt to encourage people to become self dependant by
participating in the business activities like entrepreneurship, ownership and so on. Again, this
policy aims to provide allowances extra allowance for the repair as well as the maintenance
of the dwellings of many of the homelands (Dlghcd.nt.gov.au, 2019). Under this policy, the
Australian government will, also make provision for the development as well as the
management of assets and formulate asset management plan for the homelands. This policy
ensures the engagement of the government employees to supervise whether he municipal and
essential services are reaching to the communities. This policy will take a holistic approach to
fulfill Australia all the objectives discussed above (Dlghcd.nt.gov.au, 2019).
A concise summary of the issue
The issues which were the aboriginal communities were facing prior to the
implementation of the Homeland policy were-homelessness, lack of funds or government
benefits for the repairment of the residences, lack of government aid to provide basic
education to the children, unemployment, dearth of funds or government allowances to start a
business (Dlghcd.nt.gov.au, 2019), poor healthcare services, lack of awareness generation
program for educating the community people about health and hygiene, poor standard of
living, paucity of the government aids for the management as well as the maintenance of the
assets, lack of rehabilitation programs for the alcohol abusers, poor municipal and emergency
services, security services to women and children and so on (Taylor, 2018).
Identification of the available policy options
The identification of the available policy option includes- recognising the relationship
of the aboriginal people with the native culture and promotion as well as the maintenance of
the cultural connections. The available policy option will also involve recognising and

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supporting the right and authority of the aboriginal people towards their own lands. The
identification of the policy options will be possible by formulating a strategic framework.
This includes upgrading the infrastructure of the housing and other homelands, providing
extra allowances for the renovation of the homelands, formation as well as implementation of
the plans regarding the management process of the asset acquired by the aboriginals,
appreciating and funding the engagement of the aboriginals to the cultural activities,
providing the communities subsidies in residential fees, conducting a review of the residential
services received by the communities and so on (Dlghcd.nt.gov.au, 2019).
Recommendations for change, backed up by evidence
Recommendations may be made on the basis of some real-life evidences. There are
evidences that many times government aided schools or other private schools do not admit
children from aboriginal communities due to their narrow-mindedness. Thus, the objective of
the homeland policy to educate the children from the aboriginal communities are not fulfilled,
but, such cases do not reach to the ears of the government. This can be partially attributed to
the ignorance of the government officials to make a review of the fulfillment of all the
objectives of homeland policy (Liberman, 2017). Again, most of the people of the aboriginal
communities are unaware of the importance of education. Hence after getting rejected by
schools they do not make much effort to solve such problems or ask for assistance to the
government. Hence, it can be state that, the Australian government have to deal such
problems carefully. In order to fulfill the objective of homeland policy to provide education
to the children and enhance literacy among comm unities, the government should make
provision for awareness program for the aboriginal parents, so that they become conscious
about their rights and duties to their children and also gain knowledge of solving such
problems (Head & Crowley, 2015). Again, some evidences show that many times healthcare
services do not reach to all the people of the communities or, rather it can be said, they do not

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avail healthcare facilities assured by the homeland policy, due to their misconception about
issues related to health and hygiene. From this evidence, it is clear that the Australian
government should engage employees to supervise the implementation of the homeland
police in the healthcare sector (Altman, 2018). The homeland policy should emphasize on the
arrangement of the programs that educate the aboriginal people about health and hygiene and
also convey them about all the medical facilities Australian government is providing them
under homeland policy (Desbiens, 2014). Researches have revealed that, even if a section of
the youths from the aboriginal community of Australia get the opportunity of education, they
remain unemployed due to the lack of technical knowledge. Hence, along with focussing on
education the homeland policy should arrange technical skill enhancement program for the
youths of the aboriginal community so that they can be capable of earning their livelihood
(Taylor, 2018). Many of the aboriginals are not aware of all the municipality as well as the
emergency services they can claim for. Hence, the Homeland policy should include programs
to convey the aboriginal communities about the municipal and emergency services they can
avail (Browne, Hayes & Gleeson, 2014). Another vital change that should be incorporated in
the homeland policy is organising asset management programs for the people of aboriginal
communities which will provide them suggestions to manage assets (Clough & Bird, 2015).
Again, the Homeland policy should arrange soft skill enhancement for the people of the
aboriginal communities and encourage them to involve in small scale industries or cottage
industries (O'Neill, et al, 2016).
Hence, in the conclusion it can be said that, since its inception the homeland policy
has been proved very fruitful step by the Australian government for the development of the
aboriginal communities. Some of the loopholes which used to exist in the homeland policy
2015, has been removed during the improvisation of the policy in the year 2017-2018. This is

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evident of the consistency in the efforts of the Australian government for the improvement of
the communities.

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References
Altman, J. (2018). In search of an outstations policy for Indigenous Australians. Canberra,
ACT: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social
Sciences, College of Arts & Social Sciences, The Australian National University.
Browne, J., Hayes, R., & Gleeson, D. (2014). Aboriginal health policy: is nutrition the
‘gap’in ‘Closing the Gap’?. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health,
38(4), 362-369.
Clough, A. R., & Bird, K. (2015). The implementation and development of complex alcohol
control policies in indigenous communities in Queensland (Australia). International
Journal of Drug Policy, 26(4), 345-351.
Desbiens, C., & Rivard, É. (2014). From passive to active dialogue? Aboriginal lands,
development and métissage in Québec, Canada. cultural geographies, 21(1), 99-114.
Dlghcd.nt.gov.au. (2019). Retrieved from
https://dlghcd.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/151792/HomeLands_Policy_Mar
ch-2015.pdf
Head, B., & Crowley, K. (Eds.). (2015). Policy analysis in Australia. Policy Press.
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Macpherson, Erin O'Donnell,'Australia, Wet or Dry, North or South: Addressing
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Taylor, J. (2018). Geographic location and Aboriginal economic status: A census-based
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