Local Commissioners are Elders or respected community members who encourage individuals appearing before the Commission to take the necessary steps to make lasting changes which will benefit their health, wellbeing, home and community life. Local Commissioners provide guidance and advice, suggesting solutions in keeping with rights, tradition and custom.
The Commissioner and Local Commissioners meet regularly to conference clients and make referrals to community support services, or in certain circumstances, to Services Australia for income management.
Each community in which we operate is supported by a Local Coordinator and has a conference panel constituted by either:
The Commission recognises we are visitors to the country we travel across and work in and that many of our Local Commissioners are Traditional Owners and Elders of their communities. The Commission acknowledges and pays our respects to the Traditional Owners, Elders and Teachers of these lands; to those of the past whose unseen hands guide the actions and decisions of the Commissioners today; to those of the present working for their communities setting the example for the next generation and to those of the future, the Elders not yet born who will inherit the legacy of our efforts.