Empowered communities partnership joint decision-making: Lessons learned review. Final Report

This report examines the experience of the Empowered Communities (EC) model and identifies the factors that have contributed to successful shared decision-making (SDM) between Indigenous communities and government. The review aims to capture lessons from six years of joint decision-making (JDM) practice and inform future partnerships between Indigenous communities and governments.

The Empowered Communities Partnership is an Indigenous-designed and led, place-based reform initiative involving 10 regions across urban, regional and remote Australia. Its goal is to improve socioeconomic outcomes and support the Closing the Gap agenda by transforming how governments work with Indigenous communities. A key achievement of the partnership has been the development of shared decision-making processes, where community members participate in panels that provide recommendations on government investment and programs affecting their regions.

The review drew on interviews with more than 100 participants, research into Indigenous reform and place-based approaches, and collaboration with EC regions, Indigenous research advisors and government stakeholders. It highlights that meaningful reform requires governments to move beyond consultation towards genuine partnership, where Indigenous communities have influence over decisions that affect their lives. While JDM has worked well at the grant/activity level, the review urges expansion into policy design, service delivery, and pooled/cross-agency funding, plus rollout to other government agencies and new regions.

Overall, the report positions Empowered Communities as an important example of how place-based, community-led approaches can create stronger relationships between Indigenous peoples and government, improve decision-making and support better outcomes for communities.