It takes a village to raise a child: our community will be a healthy safe and happy village where self-respecting individuals have respect for others, where people care for their own families as well as their fellow members, and adults take responsibility for their own children as well as all the children of the village.

Family Responsibilities Commission

The Family Responsibilities Commission is a key element of Cape York Welfare Reform.

The Family Responsibilities Commission is an independent statutory body consisting of a legally qualified Commissioner and six Local Commissioners for each of the four Cape York Welfare Reform communities (Aurukun, Coen, Mossman Gorge and Hope Vale) which are taking part in the four-year welfare reform trials.

Initiatives

The Family Responsibilities Commission will help rebuild social norms in the four Cape York Welfare Reform communities by:

  • Appointing respected Elders to positions of responsibility, thereby rebuilding local authority
  • Articulating the original Indigenous community values of respect and responsibility
  • Sending a consistent message about the expected behaviour of individuals, families and households
  • Determining appropriate actions to address the dysfunctional behaviour of people in the community
  • Where appropriate, referring individuals to community support services to assist them to address their behaviours
  • Where appropriate, directing the person's income to be managed by Centrelink to pay for the priority needs of their family

View the Family Responsibilities Commission website for more information.

This initiative is designed by the Cape York Institute and developed and delivered by the Queensland Government.

Conditional Income Management >
web design by precedence