Statement of Commitment: our transformation journey under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap

Introduction

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap (2020) has the objective of enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to overcome the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.

The National Agreement represents a partnership between Australian governments and the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations (the Coalition of Peaks).

At the centre of the National Agreement are four Priority Reforms that focus on changing the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Priority Reforms commit the parties to the agreement to:

1. Strengthen and establish formal partnerships and shared decision-making
2. Build the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector
3. Transform government organisations so they work better for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
4. Improve and share access to data and information to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities make informed decisions.

This Statement of Commitment pertains to the Productivity Commission’s (PC) responsibility to transform as a government organisation to work better with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We recognise that transformation underpins all four Priority Reforms. As such, our actions in this transformation journey will support delivery against commitments under all the Priority Reforms.

While the PC has specified reporting and review responsibilities prescribed by the National Agreement, the commitments described here relate to our responsibilities as an Australian Public Service (APS) agency like any other and encompass all aspects of our business operations.

The PC is established under the Productivity Commission Act (1998) and our independence is underpinned by this legislation. The PC Chair is the Accountable Authority, and the Commissioners work together to oversee the PC’s work program and work. Our role is to help governments make better policies in order to achieve higher living standards for all members of the Australian community.

The Productivity Commission’s commitment

As the Australian Government’s pre-eminent independent research and policy advisory body, across a range of economic, social and environmental policy issues, we recognise the responsibility and opportunity we have to support governments in realising the full potential of the National Agreement through all our work. We believe that through this commitment we not only seek to fulfill our obligations under the National Agreement but to deliver on the responsibilities and opportunities we have as a national institution.

As an organisation we are changing the ways we work in line with our obligations under the Priority Reforms by building and improving our:

1. Leadership, workforce and governance structures: to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff are represented across all levels and areas of the PC. This includes being guided by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Career Plan that will have special focus on supporting learning and development, career progression and connection to culture.
2. Data governance: to ensure the practices we follow uphold principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance in our storage, archiving and use of data, as outlined in the PC’s Data Strategy and NIAA Framework for Governance of Indigenous Data.
3. Reporting: to ensure our reporting is more relevant and responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This includes developing content that is strength-based, accessible and identifies historical and ongoing drivers of outcomes to facilitate informed decision-making.
4. Research: to ensure our research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people follows processes and practices that are collaborative, strengths-based and aligned with best practice Indigenous research methodologies. This includes supporting more economic, environmental and social policy research led and authored by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
5. Engagement: to ensure the discussions we have with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across all of the PC’s work and operations are relational, reciprocal and culturally centred (see, for example, the Closing the Gap Engagement Approach).
6. Cultural safety: implementing workplace culture reporting to address unacceptable behaviours, remove racism and unconscious bias and engage in meaningful reflection at individual and organisational levels.
7. Cultural capability: investing in lifting the cultural proficiency and responsiveness of all PC staff through an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Learning Strategy.

Principles

The PC is committed to supporting self-determination and amplifying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing into its systems, structures, and operations. As an independent advisory body to the government, we are in a unique position to shape and enable policy outcomes that progress the Priority Reforms and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination. To do this, the PC commits to transforming our operations according to the following principles:

1. Invest in building cultural safety into our everyday practices – We will actively eliminate racism, discrimination, and hold senior leaders accountable for developing organisation-wide policies, norms and practices to make our workplace and our products culturally safe.
2. Activate new ways of working – We will ground our work in decency, partnership, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing. This includes taking a relational approach to our inquiry, research and reporting functions, and learning from and giving voice to the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3. Enable, not control – We will prioritise the close involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in the design, delivery and evaluation of PC research, inquiries and reports. This includes using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander definitions of success and methods of evaluation and applying Indigenous Data Governance and Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles to our work.
4. Share – We will share knowledge, data and resources with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities in a timely and responsive way.
5. Be accountable – We will measure and report, both internally and externally, on the outcomes achieved in the communities we work with, to support improvement.
6. Recruit and retain – We will aim to employ and retain more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff at all levels to centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and perspectives in our research, inquiry and reporting work.

Delivering on our commitment

The PC has committed to preparing its first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2025. This will set out the details and specific actions that will deliver on this Statement of Commitment. The RAP will also address and encompass our responses to the recommendations provided to the PC by internal and external reviews and the PC’s own work on the first Review of the National Agreement delivered in February 2024 which included recommendations for Government and government agencies.

This Statement of Commitment is an advance on, and complementary to, the commitments that will made via the RAP.

Accountability

Accountability is a key feature of the National Agreement and is the basis for the reporting and review work the PC does. The PC will hold itself accountable to this commitment and will be transparent and open to review. Contact us at Reconciliation@pc.gov.au to share your feedback.