The Northern Territory's largest Indigenous legal organisation has set about restructuring their operation in the wake of a trouble-plagued 18 months, including the stepping-down of board chairman Hugh Woodbury
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) has faced a series of difficulties, including the Federal Court finding they unlawfully sacked former chief executive Priscilla Atkins after she had raised allegations of misconduct amongst senior members of staff, and appointing Mr Woodbury as chairman despite the Arrernte man previously pleading guilty to assault.
On Thursday the organisation said they had commenced changes to their board, which will include modernising its Constitution and a review of the size and structure of the board.
NAAJA said the changes to the board came about as it "embarks on the next phase of an ongoing program designed to strengthen governance and operations across the fast-growing organisation".
These include Mr Woodbury standing down.
"Several directors have advised that they are stepping down from the NAAJA board, while Hugh Woodbury has advised of his intention to step aside as chairman at the end of the month. He will remain a director on the board," a NAAJA spokesperson said.
NAAJA was forced to defend their decision to appoint the Mr Woodbury when they knowingly knew he had previously pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-pregnant partner.
They have also faced difficulties finding a long-term chief executive - with six interim announcements in less than two years - in the wake of Ms Atkins' dismissal, with the Federal Court last year putting an injunction on the board, preventing it from recruiting or advertising for her former position.
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National Indigenous Times has seen a petition calling for the removal of the board and members to maintain the organisation.
"It seems that the situation with NAAJA has reached a critical point," the petition, which The Australian reported had been written by former acting deputy chief executive Leeanne Caton said.
Ms Caton stood down from her role after only five months earlier this year.
"The potential loss of funding for this essential service, which has been a cornerstone of legal support for Aboriginal people for over five decades, is deeply concerning," the petition read.
"The issues I have highlighted regarding governance, non-compliance with funding body requests, internal conflicts, and unconstitutional decision-making are serious and could indeed jeopardise the future of this vital service."
The petition notes there is a real worry Aboriginal children will be further entrenched in the justice system after the new NT government announced plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10.
"Without NAAJA, clients will be dealt with by Non-Aboriginal Legal service providers," it said.
NAAJA said they'd been working with the Office of the NT Attorney General and appointed advisors to implement recommendations by KPMG in a strategic, governance, and operational review operation review last year.
"As the KPMG report noted, NAAJA has significant strengths, including the quality of its service delivery, which was found to be client-centric, responsive, and committed to achieving the best outcomes for clients, as well as its committed staff and deep community ties," the spokesperson said.
"The review also noted that NAAJA had grown substantially in size and complexity over the preceding 15 years and recommended updates to systems, processes, and procedures to service the needs of a larger organisation."
Since the review NAAJA have said they have implemented a number of changes.
These include a review of IT systems; reviewed and approved a new executive management team structure which now comprises a Deputy CEO role; engaged special advisers to support the board including through the provision of training; and undertaken a review of numerous internal policies including HR Services, Aboriginal Employment, and Workplace Health and Safety policies.
"NAAJA will shortly commence a process of recruiting new directors with appropriate experience and expertise across the fields of governance, finance, legal affairs, and risk management, as well as critical first-person experience and knowledge of Aboriginal communities and their needs," the spokesperson said.
