Building Indigenous community governance in Australia: Preliminary research findings

Abstract

This preliminary research report by Janet Hunt and Diane Smith is based on the first year of fieldwork conducted by the Indigenous Community Governance Project. The Project is exploring the nature of Indigenous community governance in diverse contexts and locations across Australia through a series of diverse case studies—to understand what works, what doesn’t work, and why. A comparative analysis of the project’s case studies is revealing that governance and decision-making in Indigenous community governance is shaped by multiple historical, cultural and political relationships. The report concludes with some emerging issues and implications for policy makers and for Indigenous organisations and their leaders.