Northern Territory Emergency Response evaluation report 2011

This report assesses outcomes from both the initial phase of the Northern Territory Emergency Response and the redesign reflected in the Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory National Partnership Agreement. The overall aim of this evaluation was to examine whether the measures, both individually and collectively, have been effective and comprehensive and have led to improved and sustainable outcomes in safety, health, education and employment. It also sought to examine how well coordination and engagement have been conducted. The evaluation strategy identified some key principles which have guided this evaluation. It builds on separate evaluations of individual measures and programs and the extensive data publicly available in the Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory monitoring reports. Each chapter of the evaluation has been prepared by independent authors. Given the strong focus of the evaluation on outcomes, the authors include some of Australia’s most prominent analytical organisations. The authors are the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the Australian Council for Educational Research, Allen Consulting Group, Colmar Brunton Social Research, and KPMG. An overview chapter which draws on each of the individual chapters was prepared by Kathryn Julie Roediger, who is an independent consultant who was previously a Deputy Director in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. A key guiding principle for this evaluation was to make the most of the data that does exist, rather than to focus on what cannot be done. This report was not intended to provide policy advice or suggest what should be done next; rather, it provides an assessment of outcomes to date. While the report does have a strong focus on data, it is important to understand that there are only around 45,000 Indigenous Australians resident in the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) communities. It can be difficult at times to observe trends in some outcome data for what is a relatively small population over a four-year period. It is also important to understand that the NTER is a very complex policy response that has many elements. It is not always possible to identify the additional impact of individual measures because so many changes, both NTER and other measures, were introduced at a similar time. Where possible the report provides data for people directly affected by the NTER however, on occasion data refers to the Northern Territory as a whole. It is worth noting that over twothirds of all Indigenous people in the Northern Territory live in NTER prescribed areas. In some instances data are presented for remote and very remote parts of the Northern Territory. In interpreting these data it should be noted that over 80 per cent of all Indigenous people who live in either remote or very remote parts of the Northern Territory live in NTER prescribed areas