DIA Regional Services
The role of DIA’s seven regional offices is to build and support partnerships with Aboriginal people, government agencies and the broader community.
The Department’s Regional Co-ordination and Engagement and Priority Locations branches deliver services at the local level through seven Regional Offices. A series of maps are available which define the DIA regions and the towns and Aboriginal communities within each region.
Regional Co-ordination and Engagement
This branch is involved in the delivery of core services in land, heritage and culture, and co-ordination in the regions. Regional offices provide a key point of engagement with the Aboriginal community.
The principal roles of the Regional Offices are to:
- Develop and strengthen partnerships to respond to local needs and enhance co-ordinated service delivery to Aboriginal people and communities.
- Facilitate local inter-agency committees and provide advice for selected regional forums and working groups.
- Facilitate the development and implementation of agreements, including Regional Partnership Agreements, Shared Responsibility Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) to improve services.
- Facilitate capacity building for Aboriginal communities to negotiate better outcomes, including developing locally appropriate solutions to improve governance.
- Support the roll-out of interim Justice forums under the Bi-lateral Agreement on Indigenous Affairs.
- Provide local advice and assistance in relation to the management of the Aboriginal Lands Trust Estate.
- Facilitate and advise on land initiatives and projects in regional areas.
- Undertake cultural resource management activities to manage and protect Aboriginal sites vulnerable to tourism or under threat. Work with Aboriginal communities to conserve areas of heritage and cultural value.
- Provide advice and assistance for Aboriginal community by-laws.
- Assist Community Patrols where they have been established to address anti-social behaviour.
- Support Indigenous events such as NAIDOC and other regional festivals to promote Indigenous achievements and cultural activities.
- Encourage reconciliation through increased understanding and awareness of Indigenous heritage and culture by promoting the funding available through Reconciliation grants.
- Provide Heritage grants to local communities to promote cultural harmony and awareness.
- Assist and mentor other organisations who are involved with the Aboriginal community through the roll-out of DIA’s Cultural Awareness Training Program.
Priority Locations
This branch enables the department to strategically undertake programs in targeted locations. The key aim is to develop and implement strategies to improve services to Aboriginal communities.
Specifically the Priority Locations Branch:
- Undertakes mapping and gap analysis and implementation for priority towns, communities and surrounds. The purpose of these projects are to engage government, community and non-government service agencies in the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan of action to identify local service needs and to improve service co-ordination and support to local community priorities.
- Conducts a Place Management approach at nominated areas where a short-term, intensive response to issues is required to ensure that standard Government services are appropriately co-ordinated and delivered by the agencies designated to do so.
- Develops Regional Partnership Agreements to attain and maintain sustainable Indigenous communities. This is achieved by forging and strengthening of regional partnerships with government and other organisations with the aim of increasing Aboriginal employment, and a better level of service delivery.
- Facilitates, mediates and brokers solutions to enable Aboriginal communities to function more effectively for sustainable growth.