Training and information sessions

ORIC provides a range of training programs for boards of directors of Indigenous corporations about the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act), the corporation's rule book and other aspects of effective governance. Various support materials and publications are available online or by request.

ORIC’s corporate plan calls for us to:

support the attainment of qualifications by individual members or directors of Indigenous corporations
deliver training about the operations of the CATSI Act, the rule books of corporations and good practice in corporate governance.

One of ORIC’s unique features is our broad training program, which includes:

Our principal training objectives are to:

improve the skills of potential and existing directors through their individual accreditation against key competencies
improve governance and management within developing sectors (for example, family violence, women's organisations, highest risk essential service organisations)
facilitate the progress of this project by mainstream providers—with ORIC providing limited, highly targeted and tailored special training in conjunction with other related initiatives.

The outcomes we expect from the training are:

improved directorship and management for targeted individuals and corporations
recognised accreditation of directors against competencies
widely accessible training solutions for directors—available through mainstream and Indigenous-specific providers.

Review of training for Indigenous corporations

In 2005 ORIC (ORAC as it was known then) reviewed its training, using independent examiners’ and trainers’ reports, an independent impact assessment of the Certificate IV in (Business) Governance, as well as its own data.

This review found that the training was working well, contributing to safer communities and building Indigenous wealth and employment.

Impact assessment report

In August 2005 ORIC (ORAC as it was known then) commissioned an independent assessment of the impact of ORIC's training package (three-day introductory corporate governance workshop and the Certificate IV in Business (Governance)). The research company, Social Compass, found that the training package met its aim of improving the skills of Indigenous directors, members and key staff and demonstrates ORIC's changing role—from purely incorporation and supervisory powers to a more contemporary capacity building role.

'The program improves the social capital of corporations, and is having sustained environmental, cultural, social and economic impacts. In this sense the impacts of the program greatly outweigh the financial and non-financial investments .... All the graduates perceived that the learnings gained lead to a transformation in the way in which they understood their roles and responsibilities and had equipped them with the necessary skills to perform their core functions effectively and efficiently'.

Download An impact assessment of the training pilot program in Queensland Certificiate IV in Business (Governance):

Report by Social Compass, 18 August 2005. Published: March 2006

Page updated: 30 Apr 08