Established in 2001 and managed by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, the Indigenous Communities/Mining Industry Regional Partnership Program, now known as Working in Partnership (WIP), aims to support and encourage cultural change which is taking place in relations between Indigenous communities and the mining industry, and promote long term, effective partnerships which benefit all stakeholders. Building effective long-term relationships with Indigenous communities is now part of core business for the exploration and mining industry.
WIP is part of the Australian Government’s commitment to increase opportunities for Indigenous Australians, noting that the exploration/mining industry is one of the few providing employment and business development opportunities for remote communities.
You can read what the Minister for Resources and Energy has to say about the Working in Partnership Program by reading the Minister’s Foreword.
Program activities
Case Studies
The Working in Partnership Program's Information Kit contains case studies on effective partnerships between the mineral exploration and mining industry and Indigenous communities.
Regional Workshops
A key activity of the Working in Partnership Program is the running of a series of regional workshops bringing stakeholders together to promote discussion of ways of developing better relations and outcomes. To date, there have been twelve of these workshops nationally and the final workshop reports can be accessed on this website.
Regional committees
The Working in Partnership Program provides support for regional committees that have formed to take forward the issues raised during regional workshops. At present, a number of these such committee are operating and continue to meet on a regular basis.
Contact
The Working In Partnership Program is an initiative of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. The WIP Secretariat is located within Sustainable Mining Section, Minerals Branch, Resources Division.
For more information on Working In Partnership please contact:
Mr David Abbott
Assistant Manager
Sustainable Mining Section
Minerals Branch
Resources Division
Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism
WIP email: info.partnerships@ret.gov.au
GPO Box 1564
Canberra City
Canberra ACT 2601
To contact the Department via email, please refer to the Contact Us webpage for further assistance.