Index
Research
On this page:
Research questions
- How do residents of remote Indigenous communities define sustainable housing and what approaches to consultation are imperative in a sustainable housing system?
- Under what conditions can Indigenous participation in housing decisions and employment contribute to community and regional economic development?
- What approaches to Indigenous education and training can provide the competencies required for employment in housing and housing-related employment?
- How can procurement processes be structured to maximise the outcomes of new arrangements for the funding, delivery and management of remote Indigenous housing?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of alternative house construction technologies in remote Indigenous communities? How do these differ across climate zones?
- How can life-cycle costing and appraisals be undertaken to maximise investments in remote Indigenous housing
- What changes in the housing system are needed to maximise non-shelter outcomes for families and communities?
- What policy approaches and planning tools are best suited to managing the cross-sectoral goal of maximising housing and non-housing outcomes?
Project 1: Consultation for Better Housing Outcomes
Professor Christie (CDU) and Dr Ray Porter (CAT) lead this project through the Yolŋu Aboriginal Consultancy Initiative. Working with senior Yolŋu bicultural/bilingual consultants, the sub-project will provide protocols for consultation that seek to ensure that housing outcomes are maximally beneficial to clients but remain faithful to the knowledge and accountability practices of Yolŋu society.
The ‘consultants’ will engage in three workshops – the first to have input into the processes of negotiations and the conceptualisation of the systems approach to improving Indigenous housing (Questions 1 and 2). The second will examine, assess and report on the many styles for housing currently available and proposed in their remote communities (Questions 5 and 7). The third will work with the whole project team to review, moderate, and endorse the emerging research findings. Interpretations of this work for application with other Indigenous groups in NT and in WA will be sought.
Project 2: Housing for Regional Development
Research under this theme is led by Professors Jon Altman and Will Sanders (ANU) with PHD scholar Jendrick Hagedorn.. It focuses on the regional development opportunities that the housing sector can provide in remote settings where employment and enterprise opportunities are extremely scarce. They will work with the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) to assess the employment and enterprise opportunities that may be linked to appropriate housing, including Aboriginal employment in the construction, management, repair and maintenance of housing both in Maningrida township and Bawinanga outstations.
Lessons and emerging best practice for using housing as a driver of local development in a remote context will be highlighted in links with Project 5 to influence broader policy development.
Project 3: Education and Training for Housing-Related Employment
Professor Fien and a PhD (RMIT) will analyse Census, NCVER and related education data (eg school completion rates, reading and maths scores) to scope education outcomes in relation to standards required for VET training packages. Focus groups will be conducted with 14-18 year olds and with adult groups in case study communities to identify opportunities and barriers to participation in housing-related employment. A training-needs analysis will be made for each of the alternative strategies for procurement, pre-fabricated/modular construction, asset management, house renovation, and maintenance identified in Sub-Project 4.
The skills so identified will then be compared with current VET training packages and new approaches to skill-set based training and strategies for implementing them in remote Indigenous communities developed in conjunction with VET providers in WA and NT, especially with Batchelor College and Kimberley TAFE which specialise in construction studies for Indigenous students.
Project 4: Innovation in Procurement, Design, Construction & Life-Cycle Management
Professors Horne and Wakefield and Dr Andrew Martell (RMIT) are developing design decision support and evaluation tools to evaluate the sustainability and life cycle performance of house designs and alternative construction processes. These tools will also be accessible for designers and decision makers for comparing and optimising housing designs for remote indigenous communities in different climatic zones. They will also analyse alternative procurement and tenancy management strategies and recommend processes appropriate to remote indigenous housing provision.
Project 5: Policy Development and Review
This is the synthesising part of the project. Attention to Research Questions 7 and 8 will identify the policy imperatives that must be respected if the designs of houses for Indigenous households and communities are to support preferred cultural practices and the conditions in procurement contracts are to optimise the number of houses provided, the synergies that public-private and community partnerships can bring, and the non-shelter outcomes from housing. Dr Charlesworth and Professors Fien and Altman, together with PhD Scholar Meg Nethercote, will develop the policy review frameworks needed for this project and undertake progressive policy consultations with each of the partner organisations.
Research Outcomes
Research Presentations
Megan Worthington's presentation to industry partner meeting in Alice Springs detailing her research plan (download PDF 101KB)
Fieldwork Reports
Research Papers
Working papers and conferences (coming soon)
Resources
Other organisations
- Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
- Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, University of Queensland
- Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- Department of Families, Housing, Community Service and IndigenousAffairs
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Other research publications
Towards a design framework for remote Indigenous housing, John Fien, Esther Charlesworth, Gini Lee, David Morris, Doug Baker and tammy Grice, AHURI Final Report No. 114, AHURI RMIT-NATSEM Research Centre, 2008
Population, people and place: The Fitzroy Valley population project,Frances Morphy, CAEPR Working Paper No. 70, 2010
Scoping study of design and thermal performance in the desert built environment, Michael Duell, Friso De Boer, Charmain Enthaler, Martin Anda, Gary james, Luisa Zappavigna, Glennis Bibra, Zane Hughes and Gary Boyle, Desert Knowledge CRC Report 14, 2006
Housing for Livelihoods: The lifecycle of housing and infrastructure through a whole-of-system approach in remote Aboriginal settlements, Kurt Seeman, Matthew Parnell, Stephen McFallan and Selwyn Tucker, Desert Knowledge CRC Report 29, 2008
From community housing to public housing in Northern territory remote Aboriginal communities: the policy context, Rae Porter, Desert Knowledge CRC Working Paper 44, 2009
Towards a hybrid model of public housing in Northern Territory remote Aboriginal communities? Rae Porter, Desert Knowledge CRC Working Paper 45, 2009
Take 2: Housing design in Indigenous Australia, Paul Memmott (editor), The Royal Australian Institute of Architects, 2003
National Indigenous Housing Guide, Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), 2009