Good management drives strong Aboriginal organisations

Strong Aboriginal organisations are crucial to the wellbeing of the communities they serve. A recent forum in Darwin of Aboriginal organisation CEOs and senior managers, held to share their ideas on good management, was an important step in ensuring the economic sustainability of communities.

The forum, organised by the Aboriginal Governance and Management Program (AGMP), was the first get together of this size for Aboriginal organisation senior managers in the Northern Territory. There were presentations from governance experts, delegates sharing ideas on quality management and discussions on what support they needed to keep their organisation running well. 

Priscilla Collins, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) CEO and forum MC, said that the forum gave senior managers the opportunity to raise key challenges and discuss ways they can be addressed.

“This is such an important forum because Aboriginal organisations are providing essential services in Aboriginal communities, including municipal and health services, community stores and social enterprises, as well as providing local jobs,” Priscilla said.

“So it’s crucial that organisations have good quality management systems in place to ensure that they can keep providing these services and employing locals.”

The forum’s keynote speaker was current chair of Supply Nation, Leah Armstrong, who shared her experience of over twenty years running Aboriginal organisations like Reconciliation Australia and Yarnteen.

Leah argued that if an Aboriginal organisation is to be successful, its management needs to ensure the governance structure in place is sound, a belief Priscilla echoes.

“Most Aboriginal organisations are doing very well, but there are a small number that don’t have the right structure and so aren’t delivering services as well as they can,” Priscilla said.

“We don’t want to set our mob up for failure, so this forum was about finding out what support Aboriginal organisations needed to deliver services well.”

“CEOs said the key areas are finance expertise, governance and HR, so now AGMP can work with organisations to provide them with proper resources and services, and the organisations can continue to supply services and create jobs in their communities,” Priscilla said.