- Date:
- 5 Apr 2024
The Victorian Government committed to review and identify current spending on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs and services under Clause 113 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The aim was to identify reprioritisation opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and build strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. This is in line with the strong community-controlled sector elements at Clause 45 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
Importantly, this work was completed in collaboration with Ngaweeyan Maar-oo, the Koorie Caucus of the Closing the Gap Partnership Forum (Partnership Forum). We acknowledge Ngaweeyan Maar-oo’s significant input in the development of this review and will continue to work in partnership with Ngaweeyan Maar-oo and the full Partnership Forum on future expenditure reporting arrangements.
This is the first time a review of this kind has been undertaken in Victoria and it represents a key foundational step towards greater transparency and accountability of government expenditure for and with First Peoples.
Due to time constraints, the scope and the analysis in the 2023 Expenditure Review Targeted Expenditure report is relatively narrow. This report primarily focuses on expenditure data and findings, and does not:
- include detailed context for the findings - please refer to the annual Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report(opens in a new window) for this information
- explore the significant complexities within the funding and operations of various service systems
- contain detailed information about reforms and other work underway to promote self-determination and improve outcomes for First Peoples across Victoria – please see the First Peoples - State Relations website 'How government is working to improve outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians' for further detail on other Victorian Government activity in these spaces.
The Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet engaged Supply Nation-certified consultants Inside Policy and actuaries Taylor Fry to deliver the Expenditure Review.
Victoria’s 2023 Expenditure Review Targeted Expenditure report, which examines Victorian Government spending on First Peoples-specific programs and services (targeted expenditure), is available below:
Please refer to the report’s contents for further details regarding the specific scope, methodology and limitations applicable to the analysis and findings of this exercise.
The chapters and information in the above PDF report are set out as website content through the below links, for each separate chapter of the report.
Next steps
Victoria’s inaugural Expenditure Review has highlighted limitations to processes which future reviews will seek to address. The Victorian Government has committed to undertake another Expenditure Review. These reviews will help inform funding reprioritisation opportunities and build strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sectors and organisations in line with commitments under the National Agreement.
1. Introduction
In July 2020, Australian governments and First Nations communities committed to working together in partnership under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (‘the National Agreement’). Under the National Agreement, the Victorian Government is required to ‘review and identify current spending on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs and services’.
Methodology and data requests
Departments and agencies were asked to identify and isolate expenditure related to First Peoples-specific programs and services.
Limitations
First Peoples-specific expenditure data has not historically been collected and reported centrally within Victorian Government, and therefore no consistent reporting frameworks have been established.
2. Overview of Victorian First Peoples-specific expenditure
Targeted expenditure grew from $423M in FY19/20 to $747M in FY22/23.
3. Service delivery and evaluation
The departments were asked to specify the delivery mechanism for each program: Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (‘ACCOs’), Victorian Government, First Peoples business, local councils, NGOs, for-profit business (excluding First Peoples business) and other.
4. Closing the Gap targets
Departments were asked to allocate expenditure to the 19 Closing the Gap targets.
5. Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework goals
The Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023 (VAAF) is the Victorian Government’s overarching framework for working with Aboriginal Victorians, organisations and the wider community to drive action and improve outcomes.
6. Future improvements to data quality
During the project we identified a number of potential enhancements to the data collected.
A1 Appendix - Results by department
This section presents more detailed results for each department contributing to the report.
A2 Appendix - Definitions
This section details definitions for terms used throughout this report.
A3 Appendix - Detailed results for Closing the Gap targets
Departments were asked to allocate expenditure to the 19 targets in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Where programs supported multiple targets, departments chose the target that best aligns with the program’s objectives.
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