MR ALLEN HEDGER

Profile

Allen Hedger is an Aboriginal man of the Bundjalung Nation located on the New South Wales north coast. Allen has been a senior manager in public administration for the past 20 years and has worked for the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Commission since it's establishment in 1990. He is presently the National Manager of the National Centre for Legal & Preventative Service and it is through this role he strongly advocates Indigenous peoples social justice rights.

Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Commission

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission is Australia's national policymaking and program agency for Indigenous people. ATSIC is an independent statutory authority established by the Commonwealth government ten years ago under the ATSIC Act and embodies the principle of Indigenous self-determination and is the principal agency for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs portfolio. ATSIC is a unique decentralised organisation which advocates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues nationally and internationally, advises the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, and delivers programs to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Through ATSIC's Regional Councils and the Board of Commissioners, Indigenous elected representatives are brought into the processes of government. These representatives have power over decision-making on policy and funding. ATSIC's vision and goals are set out in its Corporate Plan. National Centre for Legal & Preventative Services ATSIC's Legal and Preventative Services program provides through Aboriginal Legal Services access to legal representation and advice and related services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. "Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, nationally, Indigenous people are 15 times more likely to be in prison, 18 times more likely to be detained in a juvenile corrective institution, and 31 times more likely to be taken into police custody and held in the police cells."

ATSIC provides grant funding to a network of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services (ATSILS). These are Indigenous owned and controlled organisations that provide legal aid in a culturally appropriate way. Since 1995 ATSIC has been working with the ATSILS to implement a comprehensive reform process to ensure better service provision to clients adopting accepted management practises. One aim is to develop standards and practices for ATSILS which take a more holistic approach to serving Indigenous people. Though most work by ATSILS is in the area of criminal law (88 per cent), the reform process should assist in expanding ATSILS' capacity to deal with other legal matters, including civil and family law (currently 10 per cent and 2 per cent respectively of all ATSILS clients).