The Northern Territory Government is committed to tackling child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities and to overcoming Indigenous disadvantage through a long term generational plan of action – Closing the Gap.

The Northern Territory Government has committed $286.43 million towards 5 year actions to implement Closing the Gap. This commitment includes:

• $79.36 million for child protection
• $38.61 million to implement the Remote Area Policing Strategy, community justice and other safety measures
• $10.11 million for alcohol and drug management
• $23.4 million to achieve better health outcomes
• $42.32 million for housing in Indigenous communities
• $70.68 million towards education
• $13 million to improve Indigenous employment and economic development
• $8.95 million towards better cross-cultural understanding and engagement in service delivery.

The package includes 223 positions:

• 1 Children’s Commissioner
• 10 child protection workers
• 37 additional specialist Family and Children’s Services (FACS) staff
• 40 Police – Remote Policing Strategy, Child Abuse Task Force
• 4 specialist alcohol rehabilitation workers
• 26 family violence support workers
• 10 community corrections officers
• 10 school counsellors
• 47 teachers and assistant teachers for remote schools and preschools
• 3 specialist Department of Employment, Education and Training staff
• 1 Aboriginal and Islander education coordinator
• 2 court clinicians
• 1 witness assistance officer
• 8 alcohol compliance inspectors
• 23 specialist FACS staff for the Child Abuse Taskforce.

Resourcing Fact Sheet (PDF document, 400 kilobytes)