National Native Title Tribunal - Goals, Performance Measures, Strategies & Priorities

Corporate Plan 2016 - 2020

National Native Title Tribunal Goals

The NNTT's goals are based on three strategies that we will use to focus our operations and priorities over the next four years. Our performance against these strategies will be reported in the Annual Performance Statement for the FCA.

The NNTT reviews our strategies and priorities each year to ensure that our plans remain relevant to our purpose and the operating environment.

The foundation for the strategies in our corporate plan is the President’s Review conducted in 2015. Adopted review recommendations are incorporated in the corporate plan and reflect the continuing work within the NNTT to improve its responsiveness and external focus whilst improving internal efficiency.

Much has been achieved over the past year to improve customer service, build organisational capability and improve access to information and services. In addition, the NNTT has actively participated in discussions about improvements to the native title system and has worked collaboratively with other agencies to identify ways the NNTT can improve its effectiveness within the native title sector.

In the past 12 months, the NNTT has continued to roll out technological innovations designed to improve service delivery and client access, as well as improve productivity. The NNTT has also undertaken extensive collaboration with the Federal Court and other users and conducted research to better understand and respond to their needs.

This plan continues to build on the NNTT’s track record of innovation and collaboration in order to position it to respond to the challenges ahead and ensure it has a skilled and agile workforce able to deliver the vision.

Performance Measures

The NNTT strives to be an externally focussed organisation, responsive to client and stakeholder needs. We will measure our success by monitoring how well our services meet the needs of clients and stakeholders.

Our success will also be measured by how effectively we can grow the volume and diversity of assistance requests and claims mediation referrals that we receive each year. Increasing the volume of requests for assistance by clients and stakeholders by service type and FCA referrals for mediation will be used as our key performance indicators and reported on in our Annual Performance Statement.

1.  Strategic Objective - Promote service excellence and innovation

This strategy underpins our ongoing commitment to be more externally focussed and responsive to the needs of clients.

The NNTT will continue to identify ways to improve collaboration with clients and stakeholders and will continue to conduct market research to improve our understanding of their needs.

The NNTT has recognised the emergence of other peak bodies which are now engaging with the native title system as it moves towards a post-determination phase. In response, the NNTT has broadened the scope of its engagement strategy and is seeking to work with these bodies to improve the overall operation of the native title system.

Collaboration, continued development of tailored and culturally appropriate services and agility in delivery are at the heart of this strategic goal. These will be supported by an ongoing project to simplify our processes to improve accessibility and leverage new digital platforms and other technologies to improve efficiency.

Technology will be an important enabler to achieve the strategy, as will ensuring that the skills and capabilities of staff are aligned.

Our strategies over the next four years are to:

1. Position the NNTT to be recognised as a capable and effective mediation and facilitation service provider
2. Leverage technology to develop culturally appropriate services and information for clients
3. Develop our internal capability and culture to focus on service excellence, and
4. Standardise and simplify processes to improve our efficiency and responsiveness to our clients’ needs.

Priorities for the 2016–17 plan year

In the 2016–17 plan year, we will undertake the following projects and deliverables:

2.  Strategic Objective - Reshape our culture and capabilities

Over the next four years, we will continue to build organisational capability, including cultural respect and safety. Our goal is a passionate, engaged and skilled team who are committed to our vision.

An internal communications unit has been established in the NNTT to ensure that staff are engaged with the strategy and that they understand our vision and value proposition.

A significant aspect of our culture change program will be the development and launch of a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP will consolidate our commitment to developing cultural competence and building relationships with the communities that we serve.

Our strategies over the next four years are to:

1. Build a passionate, dynamic and inquisitive workforce
2. Align our skills and capabilities with the needs of the organisation
3. Build cultural competency, and
4. Communicate meaningfully with our staff to engage them with our value proposition and vision.

Priorities for the 2016–17 plan year

In the 2016–17 plan year, we will undertake the following projects and deliverables:

3.  Strategic Objective - Promote services to improve client access

Proactive engagement with clients and stakeholders to improve access to services and develop services which meet their needs is critical to the achievement of our vision.

The NNTT is committed to ensuring that our employees are culturally competent and that our services are appropriate and respectful. We will consult widely with stakeholders and clients to improve our understanding of the issues and barriers faced by external clients when they interact with the NNTT and proactively seek out opportunities to build on our existing knowledge and capabilities in this area.

A significant aspect of our strategy is to build a broader educative role with a range of external stakeholders to increase their knowledge of native title law, policies and to raise their awareness of the social impact of native title. In the past year we have worked with banks, mining companies and local government to improve their awareness of native title issues. We have also collaborated with the Human Rights Commission and the President, members and senior staff have presented papers at conferences both in Australia and overseas.

Our strategies over the next four years are to:

1. Establish the NNTT as the pre-eminent provider of native title information
2. Engage with our clients to promote the vision of a shared country, shared future, and
3. Simplify and improve our practices and procedures to make them more accessible for clients.

Priorities for the 2016–17 plan year

In the 2016–17 plan year, we will undertake the following projects and deliverables: