Resources and publications

Factsheet about having independent directors on the board.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors is committed to excellence in governance. They are involved in governance education, director development and advocacy. They have a membership of more than 40,000 including directors and senior leaders from business, government and the not-for-profit sectors. Their website contains a range of resources for directors as well as information about training courses.

Outlining the roles and responsibilities of directors and officers for corporations under the CATSI Act.

While gender and age are often noted as being important dimensions of Indigenous leadership and governance, they have rarely been examined in detail. This paper focuses specifically on the gender and age of directors on the boards of prescribed bodies corporate (PBCs), the corporations established to hold and/or manage native title rights and interests.

A predominant view persists of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women as excluded or marginalised in native title. Statistical data for the year 2011–12 reveals, however, that women’s representation on PBC boards is higher than that found in mainstream sectors, while the literature reveals a complex picture of cultural, historical, demographic, institutional and intercultural factors that influence men’s and women’s participation and power in the native title arena.

A key generational concern is the relatively low number of older people and the growing number of young people in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Viewed in relation to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and projected changes, the pool of potential PBC directors looks likely to grow in coming years. This paper argues that, as an increasingly significant sector, PBCs have the potential to both contribute to and benefit from the strengthening of community capacity but this potential will not be realised until the constraints on the capacity of PBCs to meet their statutory obligations and pursue native title holder aspirations are addressed.

This guidebook provides information on how to select independent directors for the Aboriginal boardroom. 

Independent Directory connects skilled and interested people looking to become an independent director with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations looking to appoint the right independent directors to their boards. It is a free service that allows: *Individuals to register an interest in being an independent director, identifying their experience and skills. *Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations to promote board vacancies. The service finds matches and allows candidates and corporations to initiate contact with each other. Candidates and corporations are in control of how much detail they reveal about themselves to the public and what they show only to their connections.

In 2017 the APONT Aboriginal Governance & Management Program facilitated a NT-wide forum for senior managers and board members of NT Aboriginal organisations, bringing them together to network and share stories to strengthen and build their capacity in management and governance. This report provides an overview of the presentations from this forum.

Policy and procedure guide for Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC

This guidebook provides information about how a board member in a non-profit or voluntary organization manages conflict. 

ORIC newsletter about the role of directors.

ORIC newsletter about the separation of roles in a corporation.

ORIC newsletter about choosing directors for the board.

This handout offers some ways of thinking about grant proposals and advice about the process of  planning and writing a proposal. 

To assist community legal centres (CLCs) to meet the cultural safety standards in the National Accreditation Scheme (NAS), the National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC) has developed this Guide to assist NACLC and CLCs to improve the attraction, recruitment, support and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in the sector. 

This guide provides some simple steps to plan a campaign.

New to business and not sure where to start? Starting your business checklist will help guide you through some important steps.

This panel explores an approach to leveraging the income streams of native title groups and other Indigenous organisations in order to finance community development projects or local businesses. The approach involves the use of asset leasing solutions developed by IBA which supports Indigenous groups to sustainably manage their business or community development assets. IBA has been able to support a number of Indigenous organisations around Australia using asset leasing solutions to acquire a very diverse range of assets, including for civil construction assets, demountable accommodation, vehicles, machinery and equipment.

The panel will explore a case-study, where IBA and Manungurra Aboriginal Corporation have been working together to finance the acquisition of Manungurra’s community development assets including vehicles and solar panels with battery storage for outstation housing. These assets are part of a broader Manungurra community development plan which aims to ensure traditional owners are supported in their goal to live independently on-country

Ray McInnes' presentation can be downloaded here.

Graeme Smith & Gordon Noonan's presentation can be downloaded below. 

Taungurung Land and Waters Council and AIATSIS collaboratively produced a decision-making guide for Taungurung people to use in governance.

The guide contains practical information on:

• Compliance and legal requirements
• Decision-making models
• Separation of powers
• Conflicts of interest
• Subsidiarity
• Cultural governance

The guide is of practical use for Taungurung Land and Waters Council in governance, assisting communication and engagement, inducting new board members, and managing disagreements about procedures and policies.

It will also be of interest to other Indigenous corporations that are working on their own decision-making structures, processes and models, particularly native title Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) and other traditional owner corporations.

The Far West Coast journey from Applicant through to Consent Determination and holding Native Title has been an exciting one. There have been considerable challenges and we have faced many obstacles. Along the way we have also learnt many valuable lessons, not the least that we needed even more change and further development once Native Title was granted and we began a new life as a PBC.

Today, as a young PBC we are on track to be a self-supporting and stand-alone resource for our members. We now have commercial ventures, investments and an Aboriginal Trust that we own and operate. Our presentation seeks to share how we got here and the changes to structures, practices and our organisation to achieve early success as a PBC and a group of entities.

This article evaluates the taxation concessions and other advantages that flow from being a charity and how these might apply to native title groups under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). Specifically, it examines the role of the Prescribed Body Corporate (‘PBC’) under the Native Title Act and the potential for, and limitations of, these bodies carrying on business, engaging in community development and accumulating funds whilst also having charitable status.