1. Introduction
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1.1 Indigenous Justice Programme
Between 1990 and 2003, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) administered the Australian Government's law and justice programmes for Indigenous Australians. Funding was allocated to a broad range of regionally-focussed programmes designed to complement existing services delivered by the States and Territories. Funding responsibility was transferred to the Attorney-General's Department in 2004-05 as part of the machinery of government changes following the abolition of ATSIC. The Programme was named the Prevention, Diversion and Rehabilitation Programme and later renamed the Prevention, Diversion, Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice Programme and then the Indigenous Justice Programme.
The Indigenous Justice Programme (IJP) is a competitive grants program administered by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) that funds activities that seek to improve community safety by reducing the high rates of offending and incarceration of Indigenous Australians. The objective is to support safer communities by reducing Indigenous offending, and through that, reduce Indigenous victimisation and incarceration. The Programme seeks to achieve this objective through a national focus that complements State and Territory initiatives, as primary responsibility for criminal law and justice services lies with the States and Territories.
Service providers must provide accessible and culturally appropriate services to Indigenous Australians, regardless of gender, sexual preference, family relationship, location, disability, literacy or language, and demonstrate that the funding proposal will deliver justice outcomes. This means activities that result in a measurable reduction in the rates of offending or recidivism by Indigenous Australians. These activities can therefore be expected to lead to a reduction in Indigenous incarceration or detention and/or an increase in community safety.
In 2013-14 IJP funded 34 activities consisting of 12 prisoner through care programs, 6 youth diversion programs, 13 youth prevention programs and 3 restorative justice mediation activities.
The Indigenous Justice Programme was transferred to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as part of the machinery of government changes in 2013-14 and will form part of the Safety and Wellbeing Programme in 2014-15.
1.2 Project Objective
The Department has commissioned Social Ventures Australia (SVA) Consulting to understand, measure and value the changes generated by programs funded through the IJP. The Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology was used to complete this analysis. Where relevant, a consistent approach was taken to analysing the different IJP programs. The analysis was undertaken to assist the Department and the Youth Prevention and Diversion program ran by the Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation (CHAC), to better understand and articulate the value of programs, and to improve program delivery, including measurement and evaluation of the IJP.
This report outlines the findings of the forecast SROI analysis completed for the Youth Prevention and Diversion program run by CHAC.
SROI is an internationally recognised methodology used to understand, measure and value the impact of a program or organisation. It is a form of cost-benefit analysis that examines the social, economic, cultural and environmental outcomes created and the costs of creating them. The principles of this approach are set out in Appendix 1.
1.3 Project Methodology
This report outlines the findings of the forecast Social Return of Investment (SROI) analysis completed for the Youth Prevention and Diversion program ran by CHAC in Tasmania.
The analysis has been completed across six stages and is presented in Figure 1.1 and Table 1.1 below.
Figure 1.1 - Stages of project methodology
| Stage | Description |
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| Stage 1 Scope project |
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| Stage 2 Understand the change |
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| Stage 3 Measure change |
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| Stage 4 Value change |
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| Stage 5 Calculate the SROI |
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| Stage 6 Reporting |
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Stages 2, 3 and 4 (i.e., understand, measure and value stakeholder outcomes) are the key stages of analysis. As part of each stage, a number of questions need to be considered. These are outlined in Box 1.1 below and are included to highlight the types of issues being addressed.
Box 1.1 - Understand, measure and value
Understand the change
- What is the program logic?
- What is the stakeholder logic?
- What are the changes that matter most to different stakeholders?
- What are the links between the activities and different changes that are expected to be experienced by stakeholders?
- Are the changes consistent between stakeholder groups?
Measure the change
- How would we know if changes have happened?
- How would we measure changes for stakeholders when there is limited data and evidence available?
Value the change
- What is the value of the changes that is forecast to be experienced by different stakeholders?
- Using financial proxies, how valuable is a particular change?
- How long would the change last for (drop off)?
- Would this value have been created anyway (deadweight)?
- Who else is forecast to be contributing to the value being created (attribution)?
- Would this value creation displace other value being created (displacement)?
1.4 Report Structure
The structure of the report is set out below.
- Section 1 includes a description of the project context and analysis
- Section 2 includes an overview of the program and context within which it operates
- Section 3 includes an outline of the scope of the SROI analysis and projected investment
- Section 4 describes the process of understanding the change experienced by the stakeholders
- Section 5 describes the measurement approach adopted for this project
- Section 6 describes the valuation approach adopted for this project
- Section 7 describes the approach for calculating the SROI ratio and tests assumptions
- Section 8 draws conclusions and synthesises the insights from this analysis
- Section 9 makes recommendations.