The CATSI Act establishes the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations and allows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups to form corporations. The CATSI Act delivers modern corporate governance standards—
it emphasises the importance of compliance and reporting as a mechanism to improve transparency and accountability. The CATSI Act provides a legislative mechanism to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people build strong corporations, strong people and strong communities.

When interpreting the data in this report readers should be aware of the following:

Data interpretation and limitations

When interpreting the data in this report readers should be aware of the following:

Woolloongabba, Queensland: Few would disagree that the work Link-Up (QLD) carries out is of the highest importance. For more than 30 years the corporation has helped people to connect with relatives that were lost to them because of past Australian Government policies. Up to the 1970s, state and national government practices saw Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children removed from their families and communities.

Derby, Western Austraila: Garl Garl Walbu Alcohol Association Aboriginal Corporation was incorporated in 1988 to contribute to policy and research about alcohol and drug misuse and related problems among Aboriginal people in the Kimberley—and to care for people affected. The corporation is based in Derby, in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia—a long way from Perth and Darwin.

The effect of alcohol and drugs

One of the corporation’s directors, Nola D’Antoine, describes how problematic alcohol and drugs are for this community: