Doomadgee group joins SPARC project, backing community-led reform under Closing the Gap

A Doomadgee-based community organisation has joined a new research partnership aiming to strengthen Indigenous leadership and shared decision-making, as national data again shows Australia is falling short on most Closing the Gap targets.

Gunawuna Jungai Ltd has become a community partner in the SPARC Research Project (Shared Power for Advocating for Reform Collectively) an initiative designed to support Indigenous-led reform across the Priority Reform areas of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

The project brings together community leadership coalitions, government partners and a dedicated research team to co-design, implement and evaluate approaches focused on four reform areas: formal partnerships and shared decision-making; building the community-controlled sector; transforming government organisations; and shared access to data and information at a regional level.

Under the National Agreement, the aim is to change how governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. One of the key principles, outlined in the Priority Reforms, is that “Decision-making is shared between government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

Gunawuna Jungai is one of four Queensland-based community leadership coalitions involved in SPARC, alongside the Yarrabah Leaders Forum & Jabu Mugay Ltd, the Woorabinda Leaders Group, and Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) in Cairns.

Gunawuna Jungai Board Chair Athol Walden said the project responds to the reality that many targets remain out of reach, despite years of commitments and plans.

“That gives the Doomadgee community real hope” Mr Walden said.

He said the difference, from his perspective, is that the project places communities in the driver’s seat rather than treating them as a consultation afterthought. “SPARC respects our cultural authority and our right to self-determination.” Mr Walden said.

The partnership is being framed against a broader national picture. Recent Productivity Commission data shows only four of the 19 national Closing the Gap targets are currently assessed as on track, with several worsening areas including suicide and adult incarceration. Advocates have repeatedly argued that progress depends on governments properly resourcing community-controlled organisations and sharing power in decision-making.

The SPARC project is also explicitly focused on practical changes at a local level: strengthening community-led governance, improving transparency and accountability in service delivery, and ensuring communities can access and use data to make informed decisions about priorities.

Government partners named in the project include the Queensland Health Reform Office and the Queensland Department of Women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multiculturalism.

For Doomadgee, the promise of SPARC will ultimately be measured in outcomes residents can see – better services, stronger accountability, and reforms that reflect local cultural authority. For the broader public, it offers another test of whether Closing the Gap can move beyond policy ambition to sustained, Indigenous-led change.