Objective
This project will improve remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s social, health and economic opportunities by linking them with services that make them ‘work-ready’. An evidence base will be developed to allow policy-makers to move away from the view that mobility works against economic participation and towards a view in which mobility is understood and accommodated.
Summary
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of remote Australia is growing, and its age composition is changing to one that is increasingly youthful and of working age. This population is also highly mobile, with people responding to a calendar of social, cultural, economic and regional events.
Quantitative research alone will not be able to develop the evidence base needed to make policy decisions or answer questions such as deciding whether services should follow people, or people follow services.
Government service delivery and economic development is dependent on policy-makers understanding the nature and drivers of mobility, but there are major gaps in their understanding of these drivers.
Very little is known, for example, about the volume, pattern and duration of short-term movements (‘micro-mobility’), the impact this has on service provision, and the flow-on links to economic participation. In one case where micro-mobility was examined thoroughly – the ‘town camps’ in and around the Northern Territory town of Alice Springs – new understanding of population size resulted in substantial policy change and investment in housing and services.
Another knowledge gap is that around the drivers of mobility in the future and how these drivers might relate to economic participation.
This project will take place in three stages.
Stage 1 will define the project methodology and conduct data collection and qualitative research to more accurately enumerate the volume, pattern and duration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander micro-mobility in remote Australia.
Stage 2 will align data sets on service provision to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in major regional centres (with data collected in Stage 1) in order to clarify service needs and demand fluctuations.
Stage 3 will involve work with end users to define and develop an analytical tool that contains remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander demographic and mobility information that has predictive and forecasting capabilities.
Outputs
- Assessment of the key drivers and aspirations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mobility and the volume, pattern and duration of movement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote Australia. This will include intra-settlement as well as intra- and inter-regional mobility.
- A platform for future informed decision-making processes of service delivery, including:
- understanding from available data on the level and composition of service demand and usage in different locations
- assessment of the service requirements of visiting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations to key regional centres and identification of service delivery breakdowns and the effect of, and on, mobility
- identification of the impact of service delivery breakdown on mobility patterns and an understanding of the subsequent accommodation overcrowding issues and increased pressure on infrastructure
- understanding of the potential mix of centralised and decentralised services required to address demand and need within major regional centres and across catchment communities, given fluctuating populations and shifting mobility trends.
- An evidence base and predictive model of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander micro-mobility and the impact of policy change and local agency on mobility patterns.
- A collaborative research methodology that can be adapted for use in other areas. The methodology will be collaborative in design with a strong emphasis on further developing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s research capabilities.
Impacts
- New livelihood opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers trained in the project.
- Delivery of more efficient and effective services to communities and individuals.
- Improved basis for enumerating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote areas which in turn will lead to:
- strengthening of current and emerging remote communities through the delivery of more cost effective services that reflect patterns of mobility
- identification of the impact of service delivery breakdown on mobility patterns, thereby reducing overcrowding and leading to lower repairs and maintenance costs
- service providers and employers having an understanding of the impact of policy change and local agency on mobility patterns, thereby making savings through better targeting of services.
Principal Research Leader
Mike Dockery
email: mike.dockery@nintione.com.au
phone: +61 8 9266 3468
Mike is Principal Research Leader for CRC-REP’s Population Mobility and Labour Markets project. He is an Associate Professor with the School of Economics and Finance at Curtin University and Director of the Centre for Labour Market Research. As an applied labour economist, Mike’s recent research has focused on people’s labour market outcomes and how these translate into broader measures of wellbeing, such as ‘happiness’.
Project Documents
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