Our Story
Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory — APONT
History
In 2007, the Commonwealth Government imposed the Northern Territory Emergency Response legislation (the Intervention) directly impacting upon remote Aboriginal people and communities without any prior consultation with Aboriginal people or their representative organisations.
In October 2010, an alliance of Aboriginal peak organisation came together to discuss and work collaboratively to address such policies and programmes impacting of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.
APO NT’s founding members were the Central Land Council, Northern Land Council, the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, and the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory.
Whilst each founding member maintained its own mandate through legislative or constitutional roles and responsibilities and decision-making processes, APO NT became the informed voice on key issues affecting Aboriginal people, their rights, health, livelihoods and future.
The APO NT alliance was instrumental in working collaboratively to negotiate new ways forward for Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. Alongside this was a need to be able to coordinate engagement between Aboriginal organisations in responding to the plethora of government policy, programmes and actions, at the Commonwealth and Territory level impacting on Aboriginal people.
APO NT has always sought to act in the best interests of Aboriginal people around rights and equity to receive mainstream service delivery, local community control, good governance, health, housing,
alcohol, and law and justice reforms. APO NT members represent Aboriginal people living in remote, very remote and regional centres of the Territory, through to the urban areas.
APO NT’s achievements include:
- Establishing a collective voice for Aboriginal organisations across the NT to influence policy directions of the Northern Territory, Commonwealth and Local Governments;
- Facilitating Territory wide forums with representatives of Aboriginal communities who had significant input into policy change with respect to Housing, Homelands and Outstations, Alcohol management, Employment, Income Support, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Governance;
- Achieving Australia wide endorsement of the APO NT Partnership Principles by non-government organisations operating on Aboriginal land;
- Building partnerships with the NTG’s Departmental Heads and Ministers;
- Establishing the Aboriginal Governance and Management Program (AGMP) in 2013, to strengthen governance in Aboriginal organisations;
- Building a new Aboriginal Community-Controlled peak representative body for Aboriginal housing in 2019, Aboriginal Housing NT (AHNT); and
- Playing a senior leadership role as members of the national Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled peak organisations (Coalition of Peaks) including the negotiation of the first ever National Agreement and Targets on Closing the Gap between responding to the plethora of government policy, programmes and actions, at the Commonwealth and Territory level impacting on Aboriginal people. Australian Governments and representatives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
To coincide with its 10th anniversary, APO NT’s members decided to undertake a refresh of its governance, membership, funding arrangements and operations.
A key driver for the refresh and developing Terms of Reference for Governance and Operations was the signing of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap in July 2020. It requires that every State/Territory/Commonwealth Government develops and delivers a jurisdictional implementation plan in partnership with the Coalition of Peaks and other Aboriginal partners.
A refreshed APO NT alliance expects to represent Aboriginal people from across the Northern Territory in developing and delivering the NT’s Closing the Gap jurisdictional implementation plan.
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APO NT History
APO NT Structure
WE ARE ACTIVELY SEEKING MEMBERSHIP AND EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST TO BE A NTAECC DIRECTOR
ABORIGINAL PEARK ORGANISATIONS OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY - APONT
NTAECC
After years of lobbying and implementation of a funding agreement administered by the education departments of NT Labor and CLP governments’ the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT Aboriginal Corporation (APONT) has established a peak representative body for education for the NT.
The name of the legal entity is the NT Aboriginal Education Consultative Council Aboriginal Corporation ICN 11857.
The corporation will be known as NTAECC for consistency and alignment with the names of Indigenous peak bodies for education around Australia.
NTAECC was incorporated as a legal entity under the CATSI Act in April 2026. NTAECC will be an advisory body to governments to ensure our voice is heard when it comes to education for Aboriginal people in the NT.
Objectives
1. Enter into a partnership agreement with the NT Department of Education and Training and become a member of NATSIEC
2. Establish partnership approaches and advocate to ensure all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Northern Territory receive quality, culturally appropriate and accessible education at all levels
3. Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to lead education initiatives which transmit their histories, languages, traditions and culture through education, training and learning
4. Build education and learning into community values, norms and practices as the basis of building knowledge, skills and capabilities to improve economic and social prosperity in Aboriginal communities.
5. Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators, staff and students in their education, training and learning aspirations, including the provision of appropriate career pathways and pathways for further education and training.
6. Advance Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government commitments to Closing the Gap Priority Reform 1—Formal partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
7. Advance Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government commitments to Closing the Gap priority reforms and socio-economic outcome areas that target education.
8. Ensure free, prior and informed consent in decision making and when engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities regarding decisions about education, training and learning issues
Governance.
In the first three months after incorporation the corporation will be governed by an interim board of directors with up to 12 members. The interim board of directors will:
1. Develop strategies to attract membership of the corporation
2. Represent NAETECC at Territory and National education forums, and
3. Act as an advisory body to Territory and Commonwealth governments
The term of the interim board of directors will end at the first general meeting due three months after the date of incorporation. At the first general meeting the term of the interim board of directors will end and the positions will be declared vacant. The members in attendance at the meeting will elect and appoint a new board of directors for a term of 2 years.
The corporation will ask members to appoint directors who are resident in regions throughout the NT.
The appointed directors will have experience and/or qualifications in specialist areas of education and have:
• current or previous employment in the NT education system
• cultural knowledge and authority
Together, the directors will have experience and/or qualifications in early childhood education, primary education, secondary education, vocational education and training, higher education and homeland schooling.
Membership
The corporation will have two classes of membership
A Full Member must be:
• at least 15 years old
• an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person that permanently resides in the Northern Territory
An Associate Member must be:
• at least 18 years old
• a person who is not eligible to be a full member
• a permanent resident in the Northern Territory
Directors:
There will be a maximum of 12 directors
A director must be:
• at least 18 years old
• be a Full Member
IF THIS IS YOU - WE ARE ACTIVELY SEEKING MEMBERSHIP AND EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST TO BE A NTAECC DIRECTOR
Please complete the membership form and the director nomination if you would like to be appointed as a director.
Application for membership form and
Board MemberNomination form
Please send forms or if you have questions please see contact details below:
education@apont.org.au
Phone: 08 7936 8620
9A Rowling Street, Casuarina NT 0810
