Indigenous Australia

The Society stands in respectful solidarity with Australia's First Nations peoples.  

We honour Australia’s First Nations peoples' cultures, lands, waters, histories and their rights to live in a society free of economic, social and cultural oppression.  

We recognise and admit past and continuing injustices as the first step towards reconciliation. 

Our members, volunteers, and staff acknowledge and adhere to these values in every aspect of their work.   

What we do 

We provide emergency relief and support to all who seek our help. Up to one in four of those we assist identify as First Nations peoples. However, this varies significantly by location and the type of assistance provided.  

We work with First Nations peoples to provide: 

• Accommodation including emergency housing and homelessness services. 
• Assistance with day-to-day essentials including food, transport, clothing, medical and utility needs. 
• General support, including home, hospital and prison visits 
• Referral and advocacy. 

We are committed to providing employment and procurement opportunities for First Nations peoples and strive to ensure our workforce and supply chain reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.   

Advocacy 

We welcome the Fifth Catholic Church Plenary Council of Australia’s First Decree, Reconciliation: Healing Wounds, Receiving Gifts, which endorses the Uluru Statement and commits to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in working towards recognition, reconciliation and justice.   

We have supported constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Nations peoples since the 2012 Constitutional Recognition Bill.  

The Society calls on Commonwealth leadership to progress the Uluru Statement from the Heart agenda. Reconciliation efforts, including supporting the work of Reconciliation Australia, remain vital, particularly after the failure of the 2023 Referendum. We believe that truth-telling is at the heart of creating a just and reconciled Australia.

We continue to advocate for improvements to the co-development and co-design of policy and funding of services and programs. Real change can only be achieved by empowering First Nations communities, groups and individuals to contribute to the important policy making decisions that impact on their lives. 

We are also committed to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, noting that improved outcomes will only be achieved when First Nations Peoples are able to “live in dignity, to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their self-determined development, in keeping with their own needs and aspirations”. 

We believe that the solutions are there. But real progress will not be made without significant joint investment by all parties, and coordinated efforts by all jurisdictions, in partnership with First Nations peoples.

Aboriginal-led solutions must drive the changes needed to improve outcomes.