Over the past two decades Australian Government policies have applied free market structures to the delivery of welfare services and given rise to a new era of competitive tendering and contracting in the Australian not for profit (NFP) sector.  This process has transformed the sector and the services it delivers. In particular, the policies of the conservative Howard government (1996-2007) entrenched competitive contracting and promoted the expansion of large NFPs as preferred providers while increasing government control of the sector. 

Profound shifts in Indigenous policy over the past ten years have ‘mainstreamed’ the delivery of Indigenous services and opened opportunities for non-Indigenous NFPs to compete for funding previously reserved for Indigenous programs and organisations. Many NFPs have moved into this space, providing mainstreamed services using government funds. While many claim to adopt ‘community development’ and ‘capacity building’ approaches, in practice the work is more likely to be driven by government agendas and the availability of funding for specific services.

The paper is based on doctoral research within a large national NFP as it embarked on a major engagement with Indigenous Australians. It explores the challenges for Indigenous staff and non-Indigenous organisations engaging in this work, and highlights the potential consequences of these developments for the network of locally-based Indigenous organisations working in the community development space.

Biography – Dr Claire Colyer

Claire’s professional background was originally in broadcasting and journalism with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A stint in 1989-90 with the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) in Alice Springs was followed by projects with Aboriginal community-controlled organisations in Central Australia, and then eight years as the media and public affairs manager of the Central Land Council (1992-96) and the Indigenous Land Corporation (1996-2000). From 2000, Claire has worked in Indigenous affairs in policy positions in the not-for-profit sector and in a range of consultancy and research projects , including evaluation of government and non-government programs and their effectiveness at community level, before commencing doctoral studies in 2009.

Claire completed her PhD in Human Geography at Macquarie University in 2014. Her PhD research explored the role of mainstream not-for-profit organisations in community development and service delivery in Aboriginal communities in Australia.  She is currently working in a collaborative research project on the social and economic well-being of Aboriginal people in rural towns in New South Wales through Macquarie University, and on a qualitative evaluation of a pilot project on amelioration of the health impacts of overcrowding in Aboriginal housing for the New South Wales Government.