The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005) was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives, established under the Hawke government in 1990. A number of Indigenous programs and organisations fell under the overall umbrella of ATSIC.
The Australian Aboriginal flag is the official flag of Aboriginal Australians. It was granted official status in 1995 under the Flags Act 1953, together with the Torres Strait Islander flag, in recognition of their status as Indigenous peoples of Australia. The two flags are often flown together with the Australian national flag.
The Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC) was the Australian Government-led unit for the coordination of policy, programs and services for Indigenous Australians from July 2004 to August 2011.
Linda Jean Burney is an Australian politician and former teacher serving as the current minister for Indigenous Australians since 2022. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), she has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Barton since 2016, having previously been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the district of Canterbury from 2003 to 2016. Burney is the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is a department of the Australian Government with broad-ranging responsibilities; notably, intergovernmental and whole of government policy coordination and assisting the prime minister of Australia in managing the Federal Cabinet. The PM&C was established in 1971 and traces its origins back to the Prime Minister's Department established in 1911.
Aboriginal Affairs NSW (AANSW) is an agency of the Premier's Department in the Government of New South Wales. Aboriginal Affairs NSW is responsible for administering legislation in relation to the NSW Government policies that support Indigenous Australians in New South Wales, and for advising the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, David Harris.
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, and/or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of present day Australia prior to British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, which includes many ethnic groups: the Aboriginal Australians of the mainland and many islands, including Tasmania, and the Torres Strait Islanders of the seas between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, located in Melanesia. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or the person's specific cultural group, is often preferred, though the terms First Nations of Australia, First Peoples of Australia and First Australians are also increasingly common; 812,728 people self-identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the 2021 Australian Census, representing 3.2% of the total population of Australia. Of these Indigenous Australians, 91.4% identified as Aboriginal; 4.2% identified as Torres Strait Islander; while 4.4% identified with both groups. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag have been official flags of Australia.
Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians who occupied their particular region before the arrival of European settlers. They have historically advocated for recognition of traditional land rights, and also for the rights of Indigenous people in other areas such as equal wages and adequate housing. Land councils are self-supporting, and not funded by state or federal taxes.
The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples was the national representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from 2009 to 2019.
Kenneth George Wyatt is an Australian former politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, representing the Division of Hasluck for the Liberal Party. He is the first Indigenous Australian elected to the House of Representatives, the first to serve as a government minister, and the first appointed to cabinet.
The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) is an Australian federal government statutory authority with national responsibilities to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to acquire land and to manage assets to achieve cultural, social, environmental and economic benefits for Indigenous peoples and future generations. It was established as the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) following the enactment of the Native Title Act 1993.
The New South Wales Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty is a minister in the Government of New South Wales with responsibility for administering legislation and policy in relation to that state's indigenous Australians in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
The Closing the Gap framework is a strategy by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments of Australia that aims to reduce disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians on key health, education and economic opportunity targets. The strategy was launched in 2008 in response to the Close the Gap social justice movement, and revised in 2020 with additional targets and a refreshed strategy.
Pat Turner is an Aboriginal Australian of Gudanji-Arrernte heritage who has worked as a civil administrator for policies which guarantee the right to self-determination for Indigenous people. She was awarded the Order of Australia in 1990 for her service.
The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) is an Australian Public Service agency of the Australian Government. It is responsible for whole-of-government coordination of policy development, program design, and service delivery for Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people, who are grouped under the term Indigenous Australians.
Indigenous treaties in Australia are proposed binding legal agreements between Australian governments and Australian First Nations. A treaty could recognise First Nations as distinct political communities, acknowledge Indigenous Sovereignty, set out mutually recognised rights and responsibilities or provide for some degree of self-government. As of 2023, no such treaties are in force, however the Commonwealth and all states except Western Australia have expressed support previously for a treaty process. However, the defeat of the Voice referendum has led to a reversal by several state liberal and national parties in their support for treaty and a much more ambigious expressed position by state Labor parties and governments.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, also known as the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, the First Nations Voice or simply the Voice, was a proposed Australian federal advisory body to comprise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to represent the views of Indigenous communities.
Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians refers to various proposals for changes to the Australian Constitution to recognise Indigenous Australians in the document. Various proposals have been suggested to symbolically recognise the special place Indigenous Australians have as the first peoples of Australia, along with substantial changes, such as prohibitions on racial discrimination, the protection of languages and the addition of new institutions. In 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart was released by Indigenous leaders, which called for the establishment of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament as their preferred form of recognition. When submitted to a national referendum in 2023 by the Albanese government, the proposal was heavily defeated.
