Social Justice Report 2006: Appendix 3: Shared Responsibility Agreements Survey form

Social Justice Report 2006

Appendix 3: Shared Responsibility Agreements Survey form

This appendix contains the survey form that my Office compiled and sent to all Indigenous communities and organisations that had entered into a Shared Responsibility Agreement (SRA) with the federal government by 31 December 2005. By this date 108 SRAs had been finalised, and they involved 124 communities.

The purpose of the survey was to gather and assess first-hand information about individual communities’ experiences of negotiating and implementing SRAs. Respondents were asked to describe the content and purpose of their SRA, and to identify both the positive and negative aspects of their experience. The survey was completed on a voluntary basis. At the close of the survey, responses had been received in relation to 71 SRAs.

To increase accessibility for communities and organisations, the survey was posted on the HREOC website. Each community representative was able to complete and submit the entire survey online. I sent a letter to each community before the survey was posted, explaining why I was interested in conducting the survey and encouraging communities to participate. Paper copies were also available on request and my staff also assisted some respondents to complete the survey over the phone.

The results and analysis of the national SRA survey are contained in chapter 3 of this report.

Dear survey respondent:

INSTRUCTIONS:

This survey is for Indigenous communities and organisations that have entered into a Shared Responsibility Agreement (SRA) with the federal government. The Social Justice Commissioner wants to hear about your experiences in making an SRA. We want to hear your views about the process for making the SRA and what your agreement is about as well as what you think are the good and the bad things that you have encountered through the SRA.

Some communities have more than one SRA. If this is your situation, then it is your decision whether you complete a separate survey form for each SRA.
The answers to the questions in the survey will be compiled and analysed in the Social Justice Report 2006. No material will be made public which identifies a community or organisation or individual.

Please complete this survey by 1 September 2006 and immediately return to us.

Completing the Survey:

Please read the survey before you answer the questions to make sure you do not repeat your answers. There are 27 questions in total.
If you do not think a question relates to your organisation, please tick the box ‘Don’t Know’ rather than leaving it blank. If you need more space than we have given you on the form, please attach separate pages. If you attach separate pages, please put the question number clearly at the top of the page.

PART ONE – CONTACT DETAILS

In this section of the survey, you need to provide information that will allow us to verify who is filling in the survey. We need your name and the organisation or community that you represent. This information is for our records only. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission respects your privacy and all information will be kept confidential.

1) Who is completing this form? Please provide us with details of the organisation you are representing.

Your name:
Position:
Organisation:
Address:
Phone:
fax number:
Email:

2) What is the name of your SRA?

3) Please describe your organisation type:

Note: If more than one of the options below relate to your organisation, please tick all boxes that are relevant.

	Please tick
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service
Parents and citizens group
Community Development Employment Program (CDEP)
Community Council
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Corporation
Traditional owners group/Elders Council Other: Describe here

4) The responses in this survey are authorised by the following:

Note: Please tick all the boxes that are relevant. More than one may apply.

	Please tick
Community Elders
Chief Executive Officer of Organisation or Council
Chairperson of Organisation or Council
Board Member/s
An employee of the organisation
Community member
Other – Describe here:

PART TWO – CONTENT OF THE SRA

In this section of the survey, please provide information about the actual Shared Responsibility Agreement that you have made with the government.

5) What is your SRA about?

	Please tick
Capacity building e.g. financial mentoring; training; teleconference facilities and general resources
Municipal services e.g. petrol bowser; local store; airstrip lighting
Sport and recreation e.g. basketball court; pool; sporting activities
Health and nutrition e.g. breakfast program; healthy kids program
Community revitalisation e.g. community garden, cleaning up community
Cultural activities e.g. dreaming trails; culture camps, tour guide
Leadership activities e.g. mentoring programs, youth programs, women’s leadership groups
Housing e.g. repairs and maintenance; home ownership programs
Economic development e.g. animal husbandry; farming; internet café; tourism; art projects
Family Wellbeing e.g. family violence programs; men’s programs; parenting programs
Law and Order e.g. night patrol; blue light disco; prevention and diversion programs
OTHER: Describe here:

6) What are the obligations of the Commonwealth Government to your community, as set out in the SRA?

	Please tick
To provide money e.g. $50,000 to build a sporting arena; $20,000 for salary for health worker
To provide resources such as infrastructure, equipment, staff or consultants
To increase CDEP places in the community e.g. to start a new CDEP program; to extend a CDEP program
To provide training for community members e.g. to train community members to be facilitators at group meetings; to train community members to work in a mechanics shop
To monitor and evaluate the program e.g. through regular visits to the community; through written reports based collection of information from the community
To participate in steering or other committee
To meet travel and accommodation costs of visiting professionals
OTHER: Describe here:

7) What are the obligations of the State Government to your community, as set out in the SRA?

Note: Many SRAs do not involve the state government. If this is the case, tick ‘No involvement of state government’

OBLIGATION	Please tick
To provide money e.g. $20,000 to re-open the local store; $20,000 for the wages of a pool attendant/life saver; to meet the ongoing costs of the project
To provide resources such as infrastructure, equipment, staff or consultants
To provide training for community members e.g. to train community members to facilitate community meetings; to train community members at the local TAFE in Horticulture
To monitor and evaluate the program e.g. through regular visits to the community; through written reports provided by the local school
To participate in steering or other committee
To meet travel and accommodation costs of visiting professionals
No involvement of State Government
Other: Describe here:

8) What are the obligations of your community or organisation, as set out in the SRA?

	Please tick
To provide labour e.g. to provide CDEP workers; to do voluntary work
To provide resources e.g. to provide funds to the project; to provide a vehicle to the project; getting quotes for building activities; finding suitable premises
To be active participants in the community e.g. attend board meetings; join the P & C; form part of a working group; scout program; mentor Indigenous youth
To provide maintenance and security e.g. to maintain equipment or grounds; to ensure the security of the new building or sporting facility
To provide financial or project management e.g. to develop community guidelines for access to activities and programs; have input into cultural activities; to manage funds; to develop and maintain records of the program
To organise sporting or recreational activities e.g. to run regional sporting activities/competitions
To undertake training e.g. TAFE training; training in violence issues; training in mentoring

Other: Describe here

9) Is your local CDEP Scheme involved in activities for the SRA?

	Please tick
YES
NO
DON’T KNOW

10) Please describe the processes in place to monitor the SRA?

PART THREE – THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS

In this section of the survey, please provide information about how you came to be negotiating an SRA and describe the key features of the negotiation process

11) What are the three main reasons you decided to negotiate with government for a SRA? Please rank the reasons below and provide your answers in order of importance. 1 is the most important.

12) Who suggested negotiating the SRA?

	Please tick
The community saw a need for the project and approached the government
The community observed an SRA working in another community and thought it was a good idea
The government suggested the SRA process e.g. the local Indigenous Coordination Centre
A corporate organisation suggested the SRA
The local school or other community organisation saw a need for an SRA
Other: Please describe:

13) How did the community prepare to make the SRA?

	Please tick
Community consultations were held: E.G: Community workshops were held to prepare the community negotiators for the SRA negotiation; Community members held meetings to talk about the content of the SRA and the obligations that would be placed on the community; Elders initiated community consultations
Community planning was undertaken: E.G: The community conducted an audit of their strengths and the weaknesses, and what areas they might need assistance with to be able to participate in the SRA; The SRA is part of a larger community plan.
A negotiator or advisor was engaged by the community: E.G: The community used a professional negotiation advisor to help negotiate the SRA: this might be a community member with previous experience in negotiating another SRA; The community employed an “agent” or a broker to act on their behalf in the negotiations
Members of staff of your organisation negotiated on behalf of the community
There was an existing project that needed funding, so community meetings were held to discuss the future of the project
OTHER – Please describe any other process entered into here:

14) What assistance was provided to negotiate the SRA?

	Please tick	Please comment
A Solution Broker from your local Indigenous Coordination Centre (ICC)
A Specialist Consultant was provided by your local Indigenous Coordination Centre (ICC)
A staff member from your local Indigenous Coordination Centre (ICC) assisted in writing a community plan
Resources were provided to the community to develop the plan
No assistance was provided to the community
Other: Please describe

15) How long did the negotiations for the SRA take?

	Please tick
Less than one month
1 month – 3 months
3 months – 6 months
6 months – 12 months
Other. Please describe:

16) Was the time line appropriate for negotiating the SRA?

	Please tick
The process went at the right pace
The process was too fast: the government pressured the community to finalise and sign the agreement too quickly
The process was too fast: The government set timeframes that did not allow enough time for the community to consider the implications of the proposed obligations in the agreement
The process was too slow: The community was ready to finalise the agreement but had to wait for the government to approve the agreement
The process was too slow: there were delays during the negotiation process which meant that the agreement took longer than it should have
Other. Please describe:

17) How much information did the community have about SRAs during the negotiating process?

	Please tick
Not enough information was provided by the government
Too much information was provided
The right amount of information was provided
Other. Please describe:

18) When the SRA was finalised, how was it approved by the community or organisation?

	Please tick	Other comments
Community meeting
Approved by Board/Council
Approved by CEO
Approved by Chairperson
No approval sought from the community
Other. Please describe

19) What has been done to inform community members of their obligations in the SRA?

	Please tick
A community meeting has been held
A copy of the SRA has been given to members of the community
A copy of the SRA is displayed in the community centre
The progress of the SRA is discussed monthly at community meetings
Information provided at a board / council meeting
OTHER: Please describe:

PART FOUR – YOUR COMMUNITY’S VIEWS ON THE SRA PROCESS

In this section of the survey, please indicate the views of the community about the SRA process. We want to understand whether the community viewed the SRA process as a positive experience and how it might be improved.

20) Are you satisfied with how the government has met it’s obligations under the SRA?

	Please Tick
Yes – the government has met its obligations and the community is satisfied with how they have done so
No – the government has not met its obligations
No – While the government has met its obligations, the community is not satisfied with how they have done so
Other – Please explain:

Please explain your answer:

21) Please list the 3 main positive impacts on your relationship with the federal government that have resulted from making an SRA, in order of importance. 1 is the most important.

22) Please list the 3 main negative impacts on your relationship with the federal government that have resulted from making an SRA, in order of importance. 1 is the most important

23) Please list the 3 main positive impacts on the community that have resulted from making an SRA, in order of importance. 1 is the most important.

24) Please list the 3 main negative impacts on the community that have resulted from making an SRA, in order of importance. 1 is the most important.

25) Please list the 3 main things that an Indigenous community, or organisation, would need to successfully negotiate an SRA? Please list these below in order of importance. 1 is the most important.

26) Based on your experience of negotiating an SRA with the government, would your community enter into other Shared Responsibility Agreements?

	Please tick
YES
NO
NOT SURE

27) Finally, do you have any other comments? If so, please write them here:

Thank you very much for your time. Your information will help to ensure that Indigenous people can gain the maximum benefits from the SRA process.

Please see the front of this survey for mailing options

Tom Calma
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner

Site navigation

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Social Justice navigation