Influencing Policy: Why Self-determined Outcomes Matter

ROMLIE MOKAK: The starting point is an international context. So this is about Indigenous peoples being able to make their own decisions, about their priorities for themselves. When it gets to the question of indicators and measures, this is fundamentally about Aboriginal people determining themselves essentially what success looks like: What outcomes look like for them.

CHRIS ECCLES: At its most basic, outcomes-focused policy is about what we want to achieve; not how we operate and not about expenditure. Outcomes mean that we remain focused on the big picture, and on the ultimate purpose of whatever the reform is for our community.

KYM PEAKE: I truly believe that if we're going to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal Victorians we have to start with respecting the strengths of Aboriginal community and culture. Aboriginal self-determination is at the heart of improving outcomes. And then having our Aboriginal organisations play a central role in providing information, advice and excellent services to Aboriginal people throughout their life.

CHRIS ECCLES: So how do you understand the expectations and needs of the community? By engagement! And that engagement with the community, not in the periphery but in the actual formulation of the outcome themselves, is at the heart of this. And I think that means active and deep connection with the community. It means identifying a clear sense of common purpose. It means listening. It means learning and it means responding, because ultimately we have to be respectful enough to the community to repeat back to them the lessons that we have learnt from them.

ROMLIE MOKAK: For me self-determination is essentially about governance: About the ability to make decisions that are based on your priorities as a people. So from the start all the way through to the end so from setting the priorities, developing the policies, determining the programs, driving the outcomes and leading the evaluation. It's actually about building it, embedding it right throughout the policy continuum.

KYM PEAKE: We have to work differently as a department. We can't be proponents of self-determination if we are defining what Aboriginal organisations and communities can be self-determining about. That means as a department we need to work much more closely with communities and organisations on policy development. And it means that we have to prioritise all of our funding for service delivery though Aboriginal organisations.

ROMLIE MOKAK: When it gets to the question of indicators and measures, this is fundamentally about Aboriginal people determining themselves essentially what success looks like. What outcomes look like for them.