We are committed to working in close partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations to support programs that focus on intergenerational healing, strengthening cultural identity and spirituality, livelihood opportunities, and advocacy.
We base our work around the principle of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity holds that the people best placed to make decisions are those who will be most affected by them. Subsidiarity is one of the key principles of Catholic Social Teaching, which guides everything that we do.
Australia has a long history of making decisions for First Australian communities, rather than upholding their right to decide for themselves. This history has had deep and long-lasting effects on First Australians, as well as Australia as a whole.
There are glaring inequalities between the general population and those who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. These inequalities include, but are not exclusive to, lower life expectancies, poorer health, higher infant and maternal mortality rates, financial hardship and ongoing psychological trauma from the dispossession of their land and policies that resulted in the Stolen Generation.
We have been working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities since 1972.
We currently support 7 programs through 6 local partners in Australia.
We support programs in Australia that are designed and led by First Australians.
We have been working in partnership with the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation (KBHAC) since 2013 to reconnect the Aboriginal men who were forcibly removed from their families and placed in Kinchela Boys Home between 1924-1970, and to restore and reconstruct their identity, dignity and integrity.
Our work with the KBHAC has:
We have worked in partnership with our First Australian partners to develop and/or commit to a number of statements, including the:
Joint Statement on Subsidiarity
We worked with our First Australian partners to produce a Joint Statement on Subsidiarity. You can read or download the statement here.
"Self-determination, pride and self-respect are the banks of the river through which the waters of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life flows." - NATSICC (2016)
Uluru Statement from the Heart
We're proud to support the landmark Uluru Statement from the Heart. You can read or listen to the statement here.
"When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish." - Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017)
Stay up to date with Global Issues and the positive impact you can make.