Indigenous health and domestic violence agencies say they are grappling with how to save their services from folding under Federal Government budget changes.
The changes mean that existing organisations have to re-tender to continue delivering services they have been operating for more than a decade in some cases.
Board members from the National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service have been meeting in rural Victoria to plan for the year ahead.
Their discussions have been overshadowed by the fact they have to re-tender for a service they have been delivering for up to 16 years in 14 locations across Australia.
The Government’s new $4.8 billion Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) amalgamates 150 programs, and existing organisations will not see funding automatically renewed.
Under the categories of jobs, land and economy, children and schooling, safety and wellbeing, culture and capability and remote Australia strategies, they will have to display evidence they are improving lives and also compete with larger, non-Indigenous organisations.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion said cutting funding to Indigenous organisations was not the aim of the plan to reduce red tape and increase flexibility.
“There are no cuts at all. What we’re doing though, we’re not just doing the same thing we’ve done in the past, and who would? The gap is getting wider,” Senator Scullion said.
“We’re ensuring that Aboriginal-owned organisations get a better crack. We’re making sure that if we can, the contracts are small enough for emerging organisations to take part in the service delivery that they’ve been unable to take part in in the past.”
He said organisations would be able to apply for funding for multiple programs via a single application creating a much simpler system.
Indigenous women more likely to experience family violence
But Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander community leaders say the budget has created funding chaos and threatens long-term damage to outcomes for clients.
National convenor of the Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Antoinette Braybrook said she was concerned that years of trust and goodwill would be lost if the service did not win the coming tender.
The organisation’s agencies have until mid-October to justify why their funding should be continued.
“What it will mean if we don’t win this tender is it will mean our organisation will fold,” Ms Braybrook said.
“What do we do if we’re not successful in this tender with all of those clients that we have? I’m not sure that we have anywhere to refer them to.
“We’ve built trust and confidence and increasingly over time Aboriginal women are coming out and talking about violence in communities. That doesn’t just happen overnight.
“You have to work really hard at that and now that we’ve been doing all of that hard work they’ll probably be scared for their lives.”
The National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service has about 5,000 clients across Australia. Most are women and children escaping violent relationships.
Statistics are variable but Indigenous women are up to 45 times more likely to experience family violence than other Australian women.
Jane, whose name has been changed, is one of them.
“I actually felt like I wasn’t alone for the first time,” she said of her experience using the service.
Cultural sensitivity a crucial drawcard
Jane said cultural sensitivity was crucial to getting her and her two children to safety.
“I’m a strong believer in the business of Aboriginal families is better worked through with Aboriginal services,” she said.
“It’s the cultural aspect that’s understood and I don’t have to teach them about the cultural elements of living and survival.”
More than $500 million was cut from Indigenous funding in the federal budget, but the Government insists it is not linked to service re-tenders.
“The IAS guidelines provide applicants with the flexibility to tailor activities to best suit their client group with a focus on action to achieve clear and measurable results,” a spokesperson for Senator Scullion said.
“Applications will be assessed on a number of criteria including how organisations will involve Indigenous people and communities in the development and delivery of projects, and employ Indigenous Australians.”
Organisations affected say at the very least they are paralysed because they will not find out until March if they are funded.
It is making life difficult for those running services like the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative, which has been operating for 35 years.
Despite Government assurances to the contrary, chief executive Karen Heap remained concerned that large, well-resourced non-Indigenous organisations would be better placed to win funds.
“We are the Aboriginal community. We are the Aboriginal organisation who has been delivering services for 35 years,” she said.
“We are experts in our fields that we work in and we know how to provide a service to the community that is culturally appropriate.”
Organisations have until October 17 to lodge their tenders.