Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australia

Australia’s First Nations Peoples 

The Society stands in respectful solidarity with Australia's First Nations peoples. 

We honour Australia’s First Nations peoples' cultures, lands, waters, histories and their rights to live in a society free of economic, social and cultural oppression. 

We recognise and admit past and continuing injustices as the first step towards reconciliation.

Our members, volunteers, and staff acknowledge and adhere to these values in every aspect of their work.  

What we do

We provide emergency relief and support to all who seek our help. Up to one in four of those we assist identify as First Nations peoples. However, this varies significantly by location and the type of assistance provided.

We work with First Nations peoples to provide:

Accommodation including emergency housing and homelessness services.
Assistance with day-to-day essentials including food, transport, clothing, medical and utility needs.
General support, including home, hospital and prison visits
Referral and advocacy.

We are committed to providing employment and procurement opportunities for First Nations peoples and strive to ensure our workforce and supply chain reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.  

Advocacy

We welcome the Fifth Catholic Church Plenary Council of Australia’s First Decree, Reconciliation: Healing Wounds, Receiving Gifts, which endorses the Uluru Statement and commits to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in working towards recognition, reconciliation and justice. 

We are also committed to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, noting that improved outcomes will only be achieved when First Nations Peoples are able to “live in dignity, to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their self-determined development, in keeping with their own needs and aspirations”. 

We support

One Journey, Together - Catholic social teaching on the Voice to Parliament

National Agreement on Closing the Gap

The 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, including Constitutional Recognition of First Nations peoples and implementing a Voice to Parliament

The Justice Policy Partnership's development of community-based pathways away from the criminal justice system for children under 14 years

The Change the Record campaign - the only Aboriginal-led justice coalition of legal, health and family violence experts aimed at ending the incarceration of, and family violence against, First Nations peoples

The Allies for Uluru Coalition

The Justice Reform Initiative, Jailing is Failing - an alliance of Australian's committed to reforming the criminal justice system

We call for

Commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, including constitutional recognition

Funding of, and commitment to, Closing the Gap targets by all governments

The age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 14 years

Community-led policies on justice reinvestment and keeping children safe, with ongoing funding

We believe that the solutions are there. But real progress will not be made without significant join investment by all parties, and coordinated effort from all jurisdictions, in partnership with First Nations peoples.

Aboriginal-led solutions must drive the changes needed to improve outcomes.  