8.3.2 Participant Sample

A summary of each research site including general demographic information and the profile of study participants is set out below.

8.3.3 Research Site and Participant Profiles

NSW

Regional Centre 1

Regional Centre 1 has a population of approximately 40,000, about 5,000 of whom identified as Indigenous. The median age of Indigenous people is 19. Regional Centre 1 is a town where more than 100 different language and clan groups were forcibly relocated on multiple occasions during the 19th and 20th centuries. The legacy of past paternalistic, assimilationist government policy is described by Aboriginal people in the town as evident in the lack of coordinated and appropriate service provision and complex community dynamics.

Twenty-three interviews were conducted in Regional Centre 1 with a total of 33 participants. There was near equal representation between genders, with fifteen female participants and eighteen male participants. Over three quarters of the interviewees (n=26) were involved in direct service provision, six were identified as persons with a mental health disorder or cognitive disability, and one was a family member/carer for a person with MHDCD. This interviewee also worked in a service role at a local school proving Aboriginal student support. Similarly, a Police Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer (ACLO) interviewed as a service worker was also engaged in informal care work looking after family members with an intellectual disability. Participants who reported acting in both a service worker and family/carer capacity had in-depth and nuanced understandings of the issues relevant to this project. Interviews with these participants in particular were sources of rich data.

Of the twenty six interviewees involved in direct service provision, eighteen worked in a government service, four worked for a non-government service provider, and four worked in an Aboriginal community controlled organisation, as shown in Figure 2 below. 

Figure 2: Types of Service Providers

The majority (n=16) of service provider interviewees were Aboriginal. Of the ten non-Aboriginal interviewees, six worked in a government service, two worked in a non-government service, and two worked in an Aboriginal community controlled organisation.  

The sample captures service providers operating in the human services and the criminal justice sectors. Of the ten participants engaged in the human services sector, three provided disability services, three provided mental health services, one provided family and youth services and one provided primary health care services. One participant also worked in the area of Aboriginal community development and one in housing. Of the sixteen interviewees working in the criminal justice sector, six provided legal aid services, six provided court support services, two worked in juvenile justice, one worked in corrective services, and one was engaged in policing as an ACLO.

Table 2 sets out the cross-sector distribution of interviewees working within Aboriginal community controlled, government and non-government organisations. It shows that while the majority of participants operating in the criminal justice sphere worked for government services, participants engaged in the human services sector were from a range of government, non-government and Aboriginal community controlled community organisations.

Table 2: Service providers across service sectors

Regional Town

The Regional Town research site has a population of approximately 14,000, about 3,000 of whom identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.  The median age of Aboriginal people in the town is 23. Regional Town 1 is located in a shire known for its rich and productive agricultural sector. There is significant economic and social division in the town, with great wealth existing alongside areas of great disadvantage, in particular in the area that was formerly the site of the Aboriginal mission in town and where many Aboriginal people live. There are more than 60 services operating in the town, although many of them were described as inaccessible by Indigenous people with multiple and complex support needs.

Sixteen interviews were conducted in Regional Town 1 with a total of 23 participants. There was near equal representation between genders, with twelve female participants and eleven male participants. The large majority (n=17) of interviewees were involved in direct service provision, while four were members of the local community. One interviewee was identified as a person with MHDCD and one was a family member/carer of a person with MHDCD.

Of the seventeen interviewees involved in direct service provision, eight worked in a non-government service, seven worked in a government service, and two worked in an Aboriginal community controlled organisation, as shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Types of Service Providers

The majority (n=10) of service provider interviewees were non-Aboriginal. Of the seven Aboriginal interviewees, four worked in a government service, two worked in a non-government service, and one worked in Aboriginal community controlled organisation.

Of the twelve participants engaged in the human services sector, five worked in mental health, three provided primary health care services, one provided disability services, and one provided information and referral services. One participant provided people with disabilities with individual advocacy services, and one provided employment services. Of the five interviewees engaged in the criminal justice sector, four worked in legal aid and one worked in corrective services. 

Table 3 sets out the cross-sector distribution of interviewees working within Aboriginal community controlled, government and non-government organisations. It shows that unlike other sites, the majority of participants engaged in the criminal justice sphere worked in non-government and Aboriginal community controlled organisations, whereas the participants engaged in the human services sector worked for either government or non-government service providers. 

Table 3: Service providers across service sectors

Remote Town

The Remote Town research site has a population of approximately 2,300, about 1000 of whom identified as Indigenous at the last Census. The median age of Aboriginal people in the town is 23. Remote Town 1 is located at a river junction, and was formerly an important regional hub for agricultural industries. A number of notorious massacres of Aboriginal people took place in the area in the 19th century, and Aboriginal people in Remote Town 1 have been subjected to ongoing segregation and marginalisation. There is a strong tradition of Aboriginal political activism and community controlled organisations in the town.

Fifteen interviews, including several group interviews, were conducted in Remote Town 1. A total of 31 people participated in these interviews. There was near equal representation across genders, with sixteen male participants and fifteen female participants. Almost two thirds (n=18) of the interviewees were community members and/or leaders, just over a third (n=11) were involved in direct service provision, and two were identified as persons with a mental health disorder or cognitive disability. No family members or carers of persons with MHDCD were interviewed at this site.

Of the eleven interviewees involved in direct service provision, seven worked in a government service, two worked for a non-government service provider, and one worked in an Aboriginal community controlled organisation, as shown in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: Types of Service Providers

The large majority (n=9) of service provider interviewees were Aboriginal. Only two were non-Aboriginal, one of whom worked in a government service, and one of whom worked in a non-government organisation.

The sample captures service providers operating in the human services and the criminal justice sectors. Of the six participants engaged in the human services sector, two worked in mental health, two in primary health, one in disability services, and one in Aboriginal community development in government/project management capacity. Of the five interviewees from the criminal justice sector, two were active in providing court support services, one was engaged in policing as an ACLO, one provided legal aid services, and one was a magistrate in the local court. Table 4 sets out the cross-sector distribution of interviewees working within Aboriginal community controlled, government and non-government organisations. It shows that while all the participants operating in the criminal justice sphere worked for government services, participants engaged in the human services sector worked in a range of government, non-government and Aboriginal community controlled organisations. 

Table 4: Service providers across service sectors

Four group interviews were conducted with eighteen Aboriginal community members from Remote Town 1. Six female community members took part in the first group interview, and seven male community members took part in the second. A further three male Elders participated in a third group interview, and a fourth interview was held with two female community members.

NT

Regional Centre 2

Regional Centre 2 is one of the largest towns in the Northern Territory. Regional Centre 2 has a population of approximately 25,000, about 5,000 of whom identified as Indigenous in the last Census. The median age of Aboriginal people in town is 24. Regional Centre 2 is deeply segregated, with high levels of disadvantage and homelessness experienced by Aboriginal people in town. Town camps provide temporary housing for people from remote communities who come into town to access services or after being released from prison. Many in the town camps come and go from smaller remote communities and the numbers in the census of Aboriginal people may be an undercounting.

A total of 36 people were interviewed in Regional Centre 2. There was equal representation across genders, with eighteen male participants and eighteen female participants. Over half (n=21) of the interviewees were involved in direct service provision, and just under half (n=13) were identified as persons with a mental health disorder or cognitive disability, and two were members of the local community. No family members or carers of persons with MHDCD were interviewed at this site.

Service Providers

Of the 21 interviewees involved in direct service provision, ten worked in a government service, nine worked for Aboriginal community controlled organisations, and two worked for a non-government service provider, as shown in Figure 5 below.

Figure 5: Types of Service Providers

Over three quarters (n=17) of service provider interviewees were non-Aboriginal and four were Aboriginal. All Aboriginal service provider interviewees worked for an Aboriginal community controlled organisation, and all government and non-government interviewees were non-Aboriginal.

Of the thirteen participants engaged in the human services sector, five worked in mental health, and two worked for organisations that work specifically with persons with disabilities. A further three interviewees worked in primary health care and two provided family and youth services. One interviewee was engaged in a community safety program, one worked in the area of housing and homelessness, and one in the area of drug and alcohol, including residential rehabilitation.  Of the eight interviewees from the criminal justice sector, four worked in corrective services, three provided legal aid, and one was a magistrate in the local court.  Table 5 sets out the cross-sector distribution of interviewees working within Aboriginal community controlled, government and non-government organisations. It shows that while most participants operating in the criminal justice sphere worked for government services, almost half of those engaged in the human services sector worked in Aboriginal community controlled organisations.

Table 5: Service providers across service sectors

Notes: