Noongar Operations Fund

The Operations Fund holds the funds for the Trustee to distribute to the Central Services Corporation and the six Noongar Regional Corporations to fund their operations.

How does the Trustee support the Noongar Corporations?

The Trustee must support the establishment of the Central Services Corporation and the six Noongar Regional Corporations.

Each of the six Noongar Regional Corporations will be allocated funding each year to meet its basic operating and administrative costs. This will be the reasonably budgeted costs of pursuing its objects and complying with the ILUA.

The Trustee will also fund the Central Services Corporation to deliver Core Services and Regional Services.

How much money goes into the Operations Fund?

The Operations Fund will receive $10 million per year (indexed for inflation) from the Western Australian Government for the first 12 years.

After this 12-year period, funding for the Operations Fund will come from the investment earnings of the Noongar Future Fund.

Funds held in the Operations Fund can only be applied by the Trustee to Central Services Corporation and the six Noongar Regional Corporations.

Distributions of Operations Funding

As part of its yearly budgeting process, the Trustee must determine its Annual Operations Budget that is available to fund the operations of the Central Services Corporation and the six Noongar Regional Corporations for that year.

The allocation will depend on a number of factors, including the Corporation’s needs and proposals, with a minimum of 70% of the total yearly amount allocated to the Operations Fund available for allocation to the six Noongar Regional Corporations.

After the Trustee has determined the allocations to the Operations Fund, the Central Services Corporation and the six Noongar Regional Corporations can apply to the Trustee for operations funding.

The budget for distributions from the Trust must not exceed a level which would compromise the long-term viability of the Future Fund. When considering distributions to individual Noongar Corporations, the Trustee must ensure that core functions associated with sound governance are adequately funded within each Corporation.

Other factors the Trustee will take into account include things like the costs associated with maintaining the Noongar Land Estate within the Indigenous Land Use Agreements Region, joint management activity costs, heritage protection costs, land access activity costs, cultural guide costs, as well as other relevant factors.

The agreed funding for each year will be recorded in a funding agreement between the Noongar Corporation and the Trustee. The Noongar Corporations will report against the funding agreement as per the Funding Guidelines in the Trust Deed.

Noongar Corporations will report against previous budgets, provide evidence of sound budget management, and the demonstration of the capacity of the Corporation to soundly undertake the activities proposed in operational plans. The adequacy of reporting will be relevant when the Trustee considers future funding applications. The Trustee may put payment conditions on the release of funds to the Noongar corporations.

What is the operations funding used for?

The Trustee must only distribute operations funding to a Noongar Corporation if the Noongar Corporation is an Eligible Noongar Entity under the Noongar Boodja Trust Deed, and the Trustee is satisfied that the Noongar Corporation is in a position to deliver its core functions.

On the 29th of June 2022, Perpetual Trustee Company Limited (Perpetual), in its capacity as the first Trustee for the Noongar Boodja Trust, advised the State of Western Australia and the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council Aboriginal Corporation (SWALSC) that it had appointed SWALSC as the Central Services Corporation (CSC) under the Noongar Boodja Trust Deed (NBT Deed). This appointment made the CSC an Eligible Noongar Entity and a beneficiary eligible to apply for Operations Funding from the Operations Fund.

Noongar Central Services Corporation Core Functions

  • The Central Service Corporation must be a strong and effective advocate for the Noongar Community with key stakeholders including Governments, community groups, and the private sector.

  • The Central Services Corporation must communicate information regarding the Noongar Agreement, ILUAs and the Trust to the Regional Corporations and the Noongar Community in a culturally appropriate manner, and through a range of mediums.

  • The Central Services Corporation must develop and implement engagement strategies to liaise and work with all levels of government (Local, State and Federal) on matters regarding the Noongar Community, the Noongar Agreement, the ILUAs and the Trust.

  • The Central Services Corporation must conduct research into Noongar Traditional Laws and Customs, history, culture, language, genealogy and further developing cultural resources to service the needs of the Regional Corporations and the Noongar community.

  • The Central Services Corporation must establish and maintain the Noongar Corporations Committee, including providing secretariat support.

  • The Central Services Corporation must develop and manage cultural and community programs, providing delivery support and evaluation services and developing partnerships with service delivery providers.

  • The Central Services Corporation must provide support to the Regional Corporations in identifying economic development opportunities, by way of advice and linkage with public and private service providers.

  • The Central Services Corporation must provide support and assist the Regional Corporations to comply with the ILUAs.

Noongar Central Services Corporation Regional Services

  • The Central Services Corporation must develop and maintain the Common Platform for adoption by the Regional Corporations on an opt-in basis.

  • The Central Services Corporation must provide legal advice to the Regional Corporations regarding compliance with the ILUAs, Trust Deed or the CATSI Act.

  • The Central Services Corporation must assist Regional Corporations to prepare budgets and applications for operations funding.

  • The Central Services Corporation must provide legal and strategic advice to the Regional Corporations regarding the grant of an interest in Cultural Land.

  • The Central Services Corporation must provide legal and strategic advice to the Regional Corporations regarding conversion of Cultural Land into Development Land within the Region.

  • The Central Services Corporation must assist the Regional Corporations to identify and secure external funding.

  • The Central Services Corporation must provide company secretarial support to the Regional Corporations and assist the preparation of reports pursuant to the CATSI Act and the Trust Deed.

Noongar Regional Corporation Core Functions

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must facilitate cultural decision making processes to ensure that, as best as possible, the right people speak for Boodja (country) in accordance with Traditional Noongar Laws and Customs.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must manage lands and develop land management programs for the Noongar Land Estate within the Region.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must engage in cooperative and joint management of the conservation estate managed under the CALM Act with DBCA, and other lands where appropriate.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must be an advocate for the members of the Noongar Agreement Group with key stakeholders including government agencies and the private sector.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must work with the Trustee and the Central Services Corporation to identify and progress property development opportunities across the Noongar Land Estate within the Region.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must develop programs to conserve and protect physical and cultural heritage and ensure proper implementation of the heritage provisions of the Indigenous Land Use Agreements.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must provide support to the Noongar members of the Agreement Group in identifying economic participation opportunities.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must develop cultural and community programs within the Region.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must communicate information about the Noongar Agreement, ILUAs and the Trust to the Agreement Group members in a culturally appropriate manner, and through a range of mediums.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must participate in the Noongar Corporations Committee.

  • The Noongar Regional Corporations must comply with all governance requirements in accordance with the Regional Corporation’s constitution, the ILUAs, and the CATSI Act.