Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory:
Implementation approach for the Alcohol Management
Plan (AMP) Community Fund
The Australian Government is publishing this implementation plan because it is
committed to working with Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory, their
representatives and leaders to effectively implement Stronger Futures in the
Northern Territory measures.
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory
In 2011, the Australian Government released the Stronger Futures in the Northern
Territory discussion paper and held meetings in over 100 communities and town
camps to discuss with Aboriginal people new approaches and ideas for the future.
Aboriginal people told the Government that they were concerned about the
devastating effects alcohol abuse is having on families and wanted more help to
tackle alcohol abuse.
The Australian Government has made a 10 year commitment to work with Aboriginal
people in the Northern Territory to build strong, independent lives, where
communities, families and children are safe and healthy. Stronger Futures in the
Northern Territory is a $3.4 billion investment and responds directly to what
Aboriginal people told the Government is important to them.
The Australian Government will work with Aboriginal people in both large and small
communities to support local jobs, tackle alcohol abuse and encourage children to
go to school, as well as provide basic services, including health, education and
police. The Australian Government will talk to Aboriginal people in each community
about how best to deliver services under Stronger Futures, providing Aboriginal
people with more responsibility for services within their own community.
The Australian Government will support Aboriginal organisations to deliver services
under Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory and all services will be expected to
employ Aboriginal people wherever possible.
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Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory tackling alcohol abuse measure
The Tackling Alcohol Abuse measure is one part of the Stronger Futures in the
Northern Territory approach to address the serious levels of social and economic
disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. The
Alcohol Management Plan Community Fund is one element of the Stronger Futures
Tackling Alcohol Abuse measure.
What is the objective of this measure?
The objective of the Tackling Alcohol Abuse measure is stated in the Stronger
Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012 which commenced in July 2012.
The objective is “to enable special measures to be taken to reduce alcohol-related
harm to Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.” This is aimed at improving the
safety of the most vulnerable individuals, families and communities, particularly
women and children.
This objective is being pursued through an integrated package of initiatives aimed at
addressing alcohol related harm through reducing the demand for alcohol and
limiting and monitoring the supply of alcohol.
Why is this measure included in the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory
package of measures?
People in the Northern Territory have consistently expressed concern, including
during the three formal Australian Government consultations since 2008, about the
devastating effects alcohol abuse is having on too many families. Alcohol abuse is a
major contributing factor to the high levels of Aboriginal disadvantage, including low
life expectancy, poor health, poor education and poor employment outcomes,
especially in the Northern Territory. The evidence confirms that alcohol abuse
contributes to a significant harm on people, families and communities.
The Stronger Futures tackling alcohol abuse legislative and funding measures
respond to calls for alcohol restrictions to continue; more policing and stronger
penalties for grog running; and support for people with drug and alcohol problems.
Key elements of the measure
The Stronger Futures Tackling Alcohol Abuse measure comprises a range of
elements that are either legislatively based or are to be delivered as programs or
services with funding provided by the Commonwealth.
The overarching strategy is to work with communities to help them to develop
community driven approaches to better deal with alcohol abuse, particularly through
the development of Alcohol Management Plans.
This is supported by legislative provisions that are aimed at stabilising the
environment to give time for the longer term community driven approaches to be
developed and implemented.
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The key elements of the Tackling Alcohol Abuse measure are:
 alcohol restrictions;
 Alcohol Management Plans;
 more services and support to help communities manage problem drinkers,
including alcohol and other drug treatment services in areas with local plans
and local workers to provide care;
 assessment of licensed premises;
 respectful alcohol and prohibited material restrictions signage;
 licensing and compliance activity;
 collection, analysis and reporting of alcohol related harm data;
 a review of the Northern Territory Liquor Act and the Stronger Futures alcohol
provisions commencing in the second half of 2014.
Consultations on draft Alcohol Management Plan minimum standards were held in
November and December 2012. These consultations focussed on the Northern
Territory and included discussions with community members. In February 2013,
Minister for Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP, announced the five
minimum standards for Alcohol Management Plans in the Northern Territory. These
are now enacted in the form of a legislative instrument under the Stronger Futures in
the Northern Territory Act 2012. Funding to support community members to
participate in plans that reduce alcohol-related harm will be available. This draft
implementation plan provides a further opportunity to comment and provide ideas
and suggestions on the implementation of the Alcohol Management Plan Community
Fund.
As this implementation plan is concerned with the Alcohol Management Plan
Community Fund, the focus is on Alcohol Management Plans and the reduction of
alcohol related harm.
Alcohol Management Plans
What are alcohol management plans?
Alcohol management plans are intended to enable local people to have more say in
how to control alcohol in their communities, through strategies to reduce the supply
of, and demand for, alcohol. The ultimate aim is to reduce the level of alcoholrelated harm, and provide greater protection for those who are most vulnerable,
particularly women and children, and provide help for people with alcohol problems.
Alcohol management plans are voluntary – communities are not required to make
them. It is a community choice.
An alcohol management plan is an agreement across a particular community or
region to tackle the harm caused by alcohol abuse in a way that works for the
community or group of communities. It must have a strong focus on reducing
alcohol-related harm and improving community safety, particularly for women and
children. It will help the community work together to find ways to reduce the amount
of alcohol consumed, help problem drinkers to change their behaviour and minimise
the harm caused by alcohol abuse in the community.
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Even if a community is dry, an alcohol management plan can help to identify support
needs for vulnerable women and children and people with alcohol problems. This
might include activities such as improving levels of participation in rehabilitation
services for people returning to their community to stop drinking, or education about
the harm that drinking has on young people’s health.
Alcohol management plan legislative provisions
The legislative provisions relating to alcohol management plans are set out in the
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012.
To help ensure that alcohol management plans are of a high quality and strongly
focused on reducing alcohol-related harm, the legislation provides that all alcohol
management plans must meet stringent new minimum standards.
The Commonwealth Minister for Indigenous Affairs has the authority to approve an
alcohol management plan if it meets the minimum standards. There are five
minimum standards and these are designed to ensure that alcohol management
plans are directed at the reduction of alcohol related harm.
Alcohol management plans are intended to work within, and do not automatically
replace, existing alcohol restrictions in communities. Any proposals for lifting or
reducing alcohol restrictions will be considered separately from the processes for
development and approval of alcohol management plans.
Funding and governance arrangements
The Australian Government has allocated $23.6 million over eight years in the
Alcohol Management Plan Community Fund for community based projects to
support harm reduction and supply and demand reduction strategies as part of an
alcohol management plan, and for governance and leadership support for people
involved in alcohol management planning.
Table 1 below sets out the proposed funding, at the time of preparing this draft plan,
across the eight years
Table 1: Alcohol Management Plan Community Fund
Year
2012- 2013- 2014- 2015- 2016- 2017- 2018- 2019- 2020- 2021- Total
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
0
2.5
4.7
3.8
3.6
3.7
3.7
1.7
0
0
23.6
Australian
Government
Funding
($m
rounded)
Note: The figures above are subject to rounding
This grant funding is for the delivery of local activities and services specific to a
community’s circumstances, and can only be accessed to complement the
development and implementation of an alcohol management plan. Types of activities
funded may, for example, include community development and governance capacity
building, support for greater uptake and participation in alcohol rehabilitiation and
treatment services and assessment services, health promotion and anti-violence
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education, referral and resource development, and early intervention, harm reduction
and prevention activities.
The identification of suitable activities for this grant funding will arise during the
alcohol management plan development and implementation phases and in the
support processes between Government and the community. These activities will be
varied and will:



be community endorsed and driven, and support the community by providing
for local solutions as part of the alcohol management plan development and
implementation process;
contribute to the safety of and provide support for vulnerable women and
children and people with alcohol problems; and
assist in the development of strategies for reducing alcohol related harm
including reducing alcohol supply and demand in communities.
Further details on eligibility for this funding and the activities on which it can be spent
are available in the program guidelines which will be published on this website
shortly.
Expected outputs and outcomes
Outputs
The expected output is communities that are better supported to develop their own
solutions to alcohol-related harm in their local area. It is expected the funding from
the Alcohol Management Plan Community Fund would assist in achieving better
community engagement and greater community capacity in the development of an
alcohol management plan and the resourcing of strategies contained in alcohol
management plans to reduce alcohol related harm locally.
Outcomes
The expected outcome of the funding is alcohol management plans that include
robust and effective approaches that have been identified and committed to by
communities and key stakeholders to reduce alcohol-related harm locally.
How will it be implemented?
Community members will be supported to develop alcohol management plans by
trained government workers who will also use the expertise of local service providers
and health and education professionals in identifying services and programs that
could support alcohol management plans.
To assist communities develop alcohol management plans that are effective in
addressing alcohol related harm, the minimum standards are being accompanied by
a set of guidelines and tools such as checklists and templates to use when
developing a plan to make sure the plans cover:
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




who is involved in developing and managing the plan;
how the plan will address alcohol-related issues in the community;
roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders;
how the plan will be reviewed; and
the geographic area that is covered by the plan.
Stronger Futures Commitment to Aboriginal Service Providers and Aboriginal
Employment
Under Stronger Futures, the Australian Government is strongly committed to
developing the capacity of Indigenous service delivery organisations and increasing
employment opportunities for Aboriginal people. Aboriginal employment targets are
being set for all Stronger Futures measures to encourage service providers to invest
in employing Aboriginal staff and developing their skills. Our approach to increasing
Aboriginal employment through this measure is to look for opportunities in funded
projects that provide employment for Aboriginal people. We will also be encouraging
larger service provider organisations which receive funding through this measure
and that do not have an Aboriginal employment strategy in place to consider
developing a Reconciliation Action Plan as a first step towards employing Aboriginal
staff.
Tackling alcohol abuse – a shared responsibility of governments
The Commonwealth and Northern Territory Governments share the responsibility for
dealing with the damaging impact of alcohol abuse on Aboriginal people and
communities in the Northern Territory, working closely with Aboriginal people.
The Northern Territory Government has statutory responsibility for alcohol regulation
and licensing arrangements, as do other state/territory jurisdictions within their
borders. This includes responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the
Northern Territory Liquor Act.
The Commonwealth assumes a strong leadership role in the development and
implementation of strategies to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
In recognition of the significant level of Indigenous disadvantage in the Northern
Territory, the Commonwealth has committed to provide long-term funding through
the Stronger Futures package complemented by legislation to work alongside and
support the Northern Territory Government in meeting its responsibilities.
The long term funding is delivered through the National Partnership Agreement on
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory and the Tackling Alcohol Abuse
Implementation Plan under the National Partnership Agreement.
Links to other programs
The Australian Government’s position regarding alcohol management is clear approaches to alcohol management must focus on reducing harm and protecting
vulnerable people, particularly women and children, from the devastating effects of
alcohol. Under the Community Safety and Justice Implementation Plan under the
Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory National Partnership Agreement, the
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Australian Government is continuing funding for sixty additional police officers in
remote areas for a further ten years. Under the Health Implementation Plan under
the National Partnership Agreement, additional support is being provided for
rehabilitation and treatment of people with alcohol and drug problems. Funding is
also being provided to maintain community night patrols across eighty communities.
The Australian Government is encouraging jurisdictions outside the Northern
Territory to adopt the minimum standards in relation to alcohol management
activities in Aboriginal communities.
Evaluation, monitoring and review
The Stronger Futures Evaluation Framework provides the broad conceptual
framework for the evaluation of the National Partnership Agreement on Stronger
Futures in the Northern Territory (Stronger Futures) and associated Implementation
Plans. The framework provides guiding principles to ensure that evaluation is of high
quality but flexible and improves ongoing system and program understanding and
management for government, participants and stakeholders. The framework
supports a co-operative, harmonised and transparent approach with evaluation as a
partnership, including Indigenous communities as participants and collaborators in
the evaluation process.
As outlined in the Stronger Futures Evaluation Framework, the government will
publish six monthly public reports on progress in implementing the
package. Implementation of the Alcohol Management Plan Community Fund will be
reported in the six monthly Stronger Futures Progress Report.
The Stronger Futures legislation requires that the Tackling Alcohol Abuse provisions,
which include the alcohol management plans provisions, be reviewed in 2014. The
Alcohol Management Plan Community Fund will be part of this review.
Other evaluation of the Alcohol Management Plan Community Fund will be part of
the evaluation of the Tackling Alcohol Abuse Implementation Plan, by the
Implementation Plan owners, prior to the Stronger Futures mid-term evaluation in
2016-17 and the Stronger Futures outcome evaluation in 2019-20.
Lead agency
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is
the lead agency for the implementation of this measure.
Contact and questions
If you have any comments or questions please email:
SFNTalcoholmanagementplanfund@fahcsia.gov.au or phone 02 6146 3600.
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