ATNS - Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements project

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Agreement for the Provision of Housing and Infrastructure for Indigenous People in the Northern Territory
Date:	12 December 2005
Sub Category:	Funding Agreement
Place:
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State/Country:	Northern Territory, Australia
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Alternative Names:	Agreement between the Australian Government and the Northern Territory Government for the Provision of Housing and Infrastructure for Indigenous People in the Northern Territory Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Agreement
Subject Matter:
URL:	http://www.dcdsca.nt.gov.au/dcdsca/intranet.nsf/Files/indigenous_community_housing/$file/IHIA_final.pdf
Summary Information:
The Agreement for the Provision of Housing and Infrastructure for Indigenous People in the Northern Territory ('the Agreement') was signed by Elliot McAdam, the Northern Territory Minister for Housing, and Kay Patterson, the Commonwealth Minister for Family and Community Services, to commence on 12 December 2005. The Agreement is one of the first bilateral agreements established under the Overarching Agreement on Indigenous Affairs between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Northern Territory of Australia (2005-2010) ('the Overarching Agreement'). It is also part of a group of Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Agreements (IHIAs) for 2005-2008.The Commonwealth Government had negotiated IHIAs with each state and territory government by May 2006 (see Community Affairs Legislation Committee 2006, 76).
Detailed Information:
The Agreement provides for the parties to pool their funds as set out in Schedule 1. It also modifies arrangements for the delivery of housing programs. From 1 July 2006, the 'housing and housing related infrastructure components' of the Commonwealth-funded Aboriginal Rental Housing Program and Community Housing and Infrastructure Program (including the housing part of the National Aboriginal Health Strategy (NAHS) and the governance component of the Health Indigenous Housing Initiative, Indigenous Community Housing Organisation) will be delivered by the Northern Territory Government. Thus, under the Agreement, the Commonwealth Government will provide over $200 million and the Northern Territory Government will manage the construction of new houses and upgrading of existing houses (Patterson and McAdam 2005). Elliot McAdam, the Minister for Housing, has said that the Agreement willl enable streamlined program delivery and therefore more strategic and effective service delivery (Patterson and McAdam 2005). McAdam has also stated that this Agreement and the Overarching Agreement have 'allowed the Northern Territory to roll all major housing funds into a single funding pool comprising Aboriginal Rental Housing Program ($20 million); Housing Strategy ($22 million) and the new Healthy Indigenous Housing Initiative ($4.73 million) annually until 2008' (McAdam 2006).