Australian Indigenous Organizations

This chapter traces the rise of Indigenous organizations in Australia, from the early development of formal Indigenous organizations, to the self-determination era of the 1970s to what has been recently referred to as the neo-assimilationist turn in government policy. The chapter outlines the diverse functions of these Indigenous organizations: the not-for-profit sector. It illustrates that there is increasing government ambivalence of the service provision roles of this Indigenous sector. This is being driven by a range of factors, including the new public management reforms. Then, it examines the tensions between Indigenous organizations and the private sector and the arguments that seek to decouple these Indigenous sector organizations from the controlling hand of government. It also examines these organizations not only as more than service providers, but also as intercultural mediators. Finally, the chapter discusses one of the reasons why there are so many Indigenous organizations in Australia today.