The NSW Ombudsman has completed a review of the OCHRE plan for Aboriginal Affairs, making 69 recommendations aimed at strengthening it.
Commenced in April 2013, OCHRE – Opportunity, Choice, Healing, Responsibility, Empowerment – was established to address the challenges facing Aboriginal communities, issues to be addressed and what else was needed to drive better cultural, social and economic outcomes for Aboriginal people in NSW.
The Ombudsman’s OCHRE Review Report provides a comprehensive assessment of the program over the past five years.
The Ombudsman, Michael Barnes said the report followed on from the 2016 special report to Parliament, Fostering economic development for Aboriginal people in NSW.
“We have also published our progressive observations about the implementation of OCHRE in four NSW Ombudsman annual reports,” Mr Barnes said.
“In undertaking this review we have applied a methodology that we have used consistently across all the initiatives,” he said.
“This included conducting 77 visits to 35 different Aboriginal communities across NSW over five years.”
Mr Barnes said the most valuable source of both evidence and innovative solutions came from Aboriginal people living in locations where OCHRE initiatives were operating, who gave their time and insights during visits to their communities.
He said the 69 recommendations made in the report were intended to inform the future of OCHRE.
“The recommendations are aimed at strengthening the accountability, transparency, delivery and impact of each initiative, and the governance structures for the overall plan,” Mr Barnes said.
The Ombudsman’s 308-page OCHRE review report can be accessed at this PS News link.
