Centre for Indigenous Policy Research (CIPR)

The Centre for Indigenous Policy Research (CIPR) was established at The Australian National University in April 1990. The principal objective of CIPR (formerly CAEPR) is to undertake high-quality, independent research that will assist in furthering the social and economic development and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout Australia. It aims to combine academic and teaching excellence on Indigenous economic and social development and public policy with realism, objectivity and relevance.

Australia’s major social science research centre focusing on Indigenous economic and social policy from a national perspective, it is a unique national and international centre, a leading research think-tank on Indigenous policy issues, and operates in a complex political arena. Since 1990 it has established an unrivalled reputation and track record in a difficult public policy area of national significance. A central goal at CIPR is to continue to create and build long-term partnerships with Indigenous stakeholders with a view to supporting and working with key individuals and organisations in the areas of research, education and policy development.

The Neoliberal State, Recognition and Indigenous Rights  »

New paternalism to new imaginings

Edited by: Deirdre Howard-Wagner, Maria Bargh, Isabel Altamirano-Jiménez
Wednesday, 25 July, 2018

The impact of neoliberal governance on indigenous peoples in liberal settler states may be both enabling and constraining. This book is distinctive in drawing comparisons between three such states—Australia, Canada and New Zealand.


Teaching ‘Proper’ Drinking? »

Clubs and pubs in Indigenous Australia

Authored by: Maggie Brady
Friday, 1 December, 2017

In Teaching ‘Proper’ Drinking?, the author brings together three fields of scholarship: socio-historical studies of alcohol, Australian Indigenous policy history and social enterprise studies.


Indigenous Data Sovereignty »

Toward an agenda

Tuesday, 1 November, 2016

As the global ‘data revolution’ accelerates, how can the data rights and interests of indigenous peoples be secured?


Reluctant Representatives »

Blackfella bureaucrats speak in Australia’s north

Authored by: Elizabeth Ganter
Tuesday, 1 November, 2016

‘How can you make decisions about Aboriginal people when you can’t even talk to the people you’ve got here that are blackfellas?’ So ‘Sarah’, a senior Aboriginal public servant, imagines a conversation with the Northern Territory Public S


Better Than Welfare? »

Work and livelihoods for Indigenous Australians after CDEP

Edited by: Kirrily Jordan
Monday, 1 August, 2016

The end of the very long-standing Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme in 2015 marked a critical juncture in Australian Indigenous policy history.


Engaging Indigenous Economy »

Debating diverse approaches

Edited by: Will Sanders
Friday, 1 April, 2016

The engagement of Indigenous Australians in economic activity is a matter of long-standing public concern and debate.


Indigenous Australians and the National Disability Insurance Scheme »

Wednesday, 1 October, 2014

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the major policy innovations of the early 21st century in Australia, representing a new way of delivering services to people with a disability and those who care for them.


My Country, Mine Country »

Indigenous people, mining and development contestation in remote Australia

Authored by: Benedict Scambary
Wednesday, 1 May, 2013

Agreements between the mining industry and Indigenous people are not creating sustainable economic futures for Indigenous people, and this demands consideration of alternate forms of economic engagement in order to realise such ‘futures’.


Survey Analysis for Indigenous Policy in Australia »

Social Science Perspectives

Thursday, 1 November, 2012

Indigenous policy is a complex domain motivated by a range of social, cultural, political and economic issues.


Demographic and Socioeconomic Outcomes Across the Indigenous Australian Lifecourse »

Evidence from the 2006 Census

Authored by: Nicholas Biddle, Mandy Yap
Wednesday, 1 December, 2010

Across almost all standard indicators, the Indigenous population of Australia has worse outcomes than the non-Indigenous population.


Power, Culture, Economy »

Indigenous Australians and Mining

Edited by: Jon Altman, David Martin
Saturday, 1 August, 2009

Research over the past decade in health, employment, life expectancy, child mortality, and household income has confirmed that Indigenous Australians are still Australia’s most disadvantaged group.


Contested Governance »

Culture, power and institutions in Indigenous Australia

Edited by: Janet Hunt, Diane Smith, Stephanie Garling, Will Sanders
Wednesday, 1 October, 2008

It is gradually being recognised by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that getting contemporary Indigenous governance right is fundamental to improving Indigenous well-being and generating sustained socioeconomic development.


Agency, Contingency and Census Process »

Observations of the 2006 Indigenous Enumeration Strategy in remote Aboriginal Australia

Edited by: Frances Morphy
Saturday, 1 December, 2007

The Indigenous Enumeration Strategy (IES) of the Australian National Census of Population and Housing has evolved over the years in response to the perceived ‘difference’ of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.


The Social Effects of Native Title »

Recognition, Translation, Coexistence

Edited by: Benjamin R. Smith, Frances Morphy
Monday, 1 October, 2007

The papers in this collection reflect on the various social effects of native title.


Assessing the Evidence on Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes »

A focus on the 2002 NATSISS

Edited by: Boyd Hunter
Thursday, 1 June, 2006

This monograph presents the peer-reviewed proceedings of the CAEPR conference on Indigenous Socioeconomic Outcomes: Assessing Recent Evidence, held at The Australian National University in August 2005.


Indigenous People and the Pilbara Mining Boom »

A baseline for regional participation

Authored by: John Taylor, B. Scambary
Sunday, 1 January, 2006

The largest escalation of mining activity in Australian history is currently underway in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.


Social Indicators for Aboriginal Governance »

Insights from the Thamarrurr Region, Northern Territory

Authored by: John Taylor
Friday, 1 October, 2004

John Taylor is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, Canberra.


Health Expenditure, Income and Health Status Among Indigenous and Other Australians »

Sunday, 1 August, 2004

Using data from the 1995 National Health Survey (NHS) this study asks the question—what is the relationship between income, health expenditure and health status for the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Australia?


The Indigenous Welfare Economy and the CDEP Scheme »

Saturday, 1 May, 2004

In recent debates about the Indigenous welfare economy, the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme has not been given the attention it deserves.


Aboriginal Population Profiles for Development Planning in the Northern East Kimberley »

Authored by: John Taylor
Monday, 1 March, 2004

John Taylor is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, Canberra.


Making Sense of the Census »

Observations of the 2001 Enumeration in Remote Aboriginal Australia

Monday, 1 March, 2004

Special enumeration procedures for Indigenous Australians were introduced in the 1971 Census, and have been a feature of the Australian national census ever since.