Interview series for the development of NSW Treasury’s Aboriginal Economic Prosperity Outcomes Framework

This document summaries the findings from Stage Three of the NSW Treasury Aboriginal Economic Prosperity Outcomes Framework (AEPOF) project. The background to the project and the different stages of development are outlined below.

Stage One - Origins of the AEPOF project

A discussion draft of the AEPOF was first developed by NSW Treasury in 2018 in response to recommendations from multiple reviews within the NSW Government.1 The reviews highlighted that despite the multitude of initiatives and programs to increase the economic participation and capacity of Aboriginal people, the effectiveness of these initiatives was limited. A large part of this limited success was attributed to the absence of an overarching state-wide strategy to build prosperity and wealth of Aboriginal people in New South Wales (NSW). These findings were also reiterated as part of the 2019 NSW Ombudsman OCHRE Review Report.

The original purpose of the AEPOF was to create a state-wide set of outcomes to inform NSW Government policy development and investments and set the direction for service delivery. The expectation was that this would include a process for tracking progress against economic prosperity for Aboriginal people and communities.

Since 2019, the policy landscape has shifted substantially. The revised National Agreement on Closing the Gap and NSW Government Outcomes Budgeting Framework have filled the state-level gap in monitoring and reporting and are now the primary guide for directing NSW Government investment towards economic prosperity targets and outcomes.

In July 2020, the NSW Treasury Aboriginal Economic Wellbeing (AEW) Branch was created and has taken carriage of progressing the AEPOF in this new policy context.

Stage Two - Renewed approach and listening series

Under the AEW Branch, the AEPOF has taken a new approach – one grounded in the principles of co-design, place-based solutions and Aboriginal self-determination. This has resulted in a re-orientation of the AEPOF’s development towards a bottom-up consultation led approach, re-focusing the AEPOF with input from the voices of Aboriginal people and organisations.

The first step in this process is to understand what the concept of ‘economic prosperity’ means to Aboriginal people and the aspirations and goals of Aboriginal people and communities.

To test this concept, NSW Treasury engaged Aboriginal-owned organisation, Inside Policy to conduct a number of roundtable listening sessions with key stakeholders to build an understanding of what economic prosperity looks like from a First Nations perspective.

The listening series was completed in August 2021, with approximately 55 stakeholders involved from over 30 agencies and organisations. The final report from Inside Policy with the findings from this listening series can be found at Attachment A.

Stage Three - Interview series and literature review

To further test and build on the findings of Stage Two, the AEW Branch has undertaken a series of in-depth interviews with a variety of individuals and organisations. The approach and findings of these interviews are outlined in the remainder of this Report.

The voices and messages of those consulted throughout the interview series will be used to inform the development of the final AEPOF and revised conceptual framework.

The AEW Branch are also finalising a review of literature to build further understanding around concepts of economic wellbeing and prosperity from a First Nations perspective and how this differs from non-Indigenous perspectives.