Australia:
Developing a new national indigenous representative body
In December 2008, the Australian Government requested the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Social Justice Commissioner within the Australian Human Rights Commission to convene an
independent Steering Committee to develop a preferred model for a national representative body
for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.363 The Steering Committee was required to:
• develop a preferred model for a new national indigenous representative body for presentation
to the Australian Government in July 2009
• make recommendations in regards to the establishment of an interim body from July 2009,
which would operate until the finalised body was to take effect
• ensure strong community support for such a representative model.
The Steering Committee prepared a report recommending the establishment of the National
Congress of Australia’s First Peoples.364 The Government agreed to support the establishment
of the National Congress in 2009 as an independent NGO under the control of Indigenous
Australians. It provided seed funding to the Commission to establish an interim board of
Indigenous Australians to develop the constitution of the organisation, conduct elections for the
board and begin operations. The National Congress commenced operating independently in
2010.365 p234