Resources and publications
Title | Author /s | Summary | Date | Tag(s) | Type |
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A corporation's rulebook: What you need to know | Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations | Summary of what information must be included in a rulebook for corporations registered under the CATSI Act. |
Constitutions, ORIC, Rule book | Information Sheet | |
A guide to writing good governance rules for PBCs and RNTBCs | Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations | This guide complements the Rule book info kit and is for prescribed bodies corporate (PBCs) and Registered Native title bodies corporate (RNTBCs) who have extra responsibilities under the Native Title Act 1993. It describes some of the important issues that need to be considered when writing rules for these types of corporations. It also suggests some specific rules. It is designed for PBCs, RNTBCs and groups intending to hold or manage native title. |
CATSI Act, Constitutions, ORIC, Rule book | Information Sheet | |
A Toolkit for Developing Community-based Dispute Resolution Processes in First Nations Communities | Canada Human Rights Commission | The Canadian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) created this toolkit to offer assistance to First Nations governments that want to address discrimination complaints in their communities using a community-based dispute resolution process. |
Capacity building, Dispute management, Leadership | Report | |
Aboriginal Carbon Foundation | Aboriginal Carbon Foundation | Aboriginal Carbon Foundation is a national not-for-profit company building and nurturing a sustainable Aboriginal carbon industry. |
Carbon farming, Commercial development, Employment, Environment, Fire | Website | |
Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre | Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre | The Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre (AILC) aims to foster and nurture a new era of Indigenous leadership by:
As Australia’s only national provider of accredited Indigenous leadership education programs, the AILC has transformed the lives of more than 2000 graduates since it was established in 2001. |
Leadership | Website | |
Building Indigenous community governance in Australia: Preliminary research findings | Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research | This is a preliminary research report from the first year of fieldwork conducted by the Indigenous Community Governance Project (ICGP). The Project is exploring the nature of Indigenous community governance in diverse contexts and locations across Australia through a series of diverse case studies—to understand what works, what doesn’t work, and why. A comparative analysis of the Project’s case studies is revealing that governance and decision-making in Indigenous community governance is shaped by multiple historical, cultural and political relationships. Family and governance histories associated with particular communities and sets of regionally-linked communities are central features in community governance dynamics and arrangements. Strengthening Indigenous community governance requires negotiating appropriate contemporary relationships among the different Indigenous people within a region or community, and adapting or creating structures and processes to reflect important relationships. Several dimensions are being identified as being fundamental to building stronger, sustainable governance at the community and regional levels. These are the impact of the wider ‘governance environment’, cultural match and cultural geography, modes of leadership and representation, institutional capacity, organisational design and relationships, representation, decision-making processes, and human resource issues. Capacity development for governance needs to be considered within a systems framework and should be a process that actively strengthens Indigenous decision-making and control over their core institutions, goals and identity, and that enhances cultural match and legitimacy. The report concludes with some emerging issues and implications for policy makers and for Indigenous organisations and their leaders. |
Capacity building, Community development, Decision making, Governance, Leadership, Partnerships | Report | |
Caring for country and sustainable Indigenous development: Opportunities, constraints and innovation | John Altman, Peter Whitehead | This paper explores how Indigenous community-based natural resource management can generate both conservation benefit and economic development opportunity. We begin by noting that much of the Indigenous estate in north Australia is either thinly populated or unpopulated. There is emerging evidence that, in situations where Indigenous people live on their country, ecological and wider benefits are generated via favourable fire regimes, control over weed infestations, and potentially through feral animal harvesting. When people are on country, they generate economic benefit for themselves by harvesting wildlife for consumption and engage with the market sector by using natural resources in commercial enterprise like arts and crafts production. We argue that there is a strong correlation between such activities and cost-effective natural resource management. Links between landcare, wildlife use and biodiversity conservation need to be recognized, celebrated and supported. The removal of many barriers to enhanced and innovative Indigenous participation in such activities, and equitable public support through programs like Landcare, will facilitate sustainable economic development options that are compatible with Indigenous priorities, while ameliorating Indigenous disadvantage. |
CAEPR, Caring for Country, Commercial development, Community development, Environment, Fire, Land and sea management | Article / paper | |
Conservation management and native title: opportunities for indigenous ownership | Polly Grace, Terry Piper, Matthew Salmon | While Indigenous people make up just five percent of the global population, the areas they manage contain approximately 80 percent of the Earth’s biodiversity. In this context, there is an undeniably central role for Indigenous people to play in conservation management, but conversely, a significant risk that indigenous rights will be negatively impacted or undermined by conservation agendas. This panel will explore Indigenous experiences with conservation management, highlighting the opportunities and challenges faced by native title holders within this context. |
Caring for Country, Environment, Indigenous knowledge, IPA (Indigenous Protected Areas), Land and sea management, Rangers / caring for country | Presentation | |
Constitutions Resource Centre | Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona | The Native Nations Institute’s web-based Constitutions Resource Center (CRC) brings together extensive research on Indigenous constitutions, examples of the constitutional changes that Native nations are making, and videos of Native leaders and other governance experts talking about constitutional change. The site provides Native nations with access to a comprehensive set of tools and Native nation examples that can be helpful in the process of constitutional reform. |
Constitutions, Governance | Website | |
Contested Governance: Culture, power and institutions in Indigenous Australia | Janet Hunt, Diane Smith, Stephanie Garling, Will Sanders (eds) | This collection of papers examines the dilemmas and challenges involved in the Indigenous struggle for the development and recognition of systems of governance that they recognise as both legitimate and effective. |
CAEPR, Governance, Indigenous knowledge, Leadership | Book | |
Country needs People | Country needs People | The Country Needs People campaign is fighting for the growth and security of opportunities for land and sea country management by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. |
Caring for Country, Community development, Environment, Fire, Fishing, Land and sea management, Rangers / caring for country, Youth | Website | |
Decision-making: Constitutions of Prescribed Bodies Corporate | Ashleigh Blechynden | The Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC) research snapshot series has been developed to share findings from the Native Title Research Unit’s (NTRU) investigation into the constitutions and financial reports of PBCs. This research forms part of the PBC Capability project which aims to develop a long-term national picture of the PBC sector. This snapshot examines the decision-making processes identified by PBCs within their constitutions including voting processes, quorum requirements and the use of independent directors. |
CATSI Act, Constitutions, Decision making, Native Title Act, PBCs (Prescribed Body / Bodies Corporate), Rule book | Report | |
Developing a National Indigenous Land and Sea Managers Network | Duane Fraser | Australian Indigenous land and sea managers have repeatedly called for an independent national Indigenous land and sea managers network. Such a network would link top down and bottom up information exchanges, promoting shared understandings of issues and opportunities. The network would provide government with a vehicle to both inform and learn from local Indigenous groups, including community rangers, on local, national and international matters of environmental significance. It also provides an opportunity for Indigenous managers to come together to develop positions on policy that affects land and sea management such as Working on Country and Indigenous Protected Areas. The network would not do business on behalf of people or replicate existing local or regional networks or institutions, but would provide strategic support, coordinate communication and identify opportunities for group to group skills and knowledge exchange. The network aims to provide professional support through a coordinated learning environment that facilitates the identification of effective resources, research, technologies and tools for use by Indigenous land and sea managers within Australia. This workshop provides an opportunity for Land & Sea Managers to come together to discuss the purpose and scope of a national network, including governance, networking and membership. |
IPA (Indigenous Protected Areas), Land and sea management, Partnerships, Rangers / caring for country | Presentation | |
Different models of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance | Australian Indigenous Governance Institute | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander models of community and regional governance are based on networks of interconnected layers of leaders, groups of people, and land-ownership rights and interests. They are arranged in different ways, depending on what suits the particular community or organisation. |
Governance, Leadership | Fact sheet | |
Effective Governance | Te Puni Kōkiri | This information is designed to help trustees and directors of Māori organisations with their responsibilities and role as guardians and leaders. It aims to support those who have taken up that challenge by sharing best practice on the essential elements of effective governance. Whether it’s for a small whanau trust or a major trading company, there are sound principles for safeguarding and growing assets for the benefit of their owners. |
Governance, Leadership | Website | |
Gender and generation in native title: Director demographics and the future of prescribed bodies corporate | Geoff Buchanan | 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. |
Directors, Leadership, PBCs (Prescribed Body / Bodies Corporate), Youth | Article / paper | |
Good Indigenous governance and effective native title management: Travelling companions on the road to self determination | Queensland South Native Title Services, Kevin Smith | These presentation slides during National Native Title Conference 2015 present the topic, good Indigenous governance and effective native title management: Travelling companions on the road to Self Determination. |
Governance, Leadership, Native Title Act | Presentation | |
Governing the Organisation | Indigenous Governance Toolkit | The topic 'Governing the Organisation' from the Indigenous Governance Toolkit has nine sections.
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Decision making, Governance, Leadership, Strategic planning | Information Sheet | |
How to adopt condensed rules under the CATSI Act | Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations | Steps to adopting the condensed rules under the CATSI Act |
CATSI Act, Constitutions, ORIC, Rule book | Information Sheet | |
Implementing native title: Indigenous leadership in land and water livelihoods | Rod Kennett, Tran Tran, Leah Talbot, Timothy Heffernan Matthew Barton | This report is based on the workshop, Implementing native title: Indigenous leadership in land and water livelihoods, held at the 2015 National Native Title Conference, 16-18 June, Port Douglas, Queensland. It details the ways several Indigenous communities from around Australia are implementing their rights and interests following the restitution of their land and sea territories. |
AIATSIS, Carbon farming, Fishing, ILUA (Indigenous Land Use Agreement), Indigenous knowledge, IPA (Indigenous Protected Areas), Land and sea management, Rangers / caring for country | Report |