ATSIC was established under the Hawke federal Labor Government and was dissolved under the Howard LNP government. ATSIC was a Commonwealth statutory body. It was allocated certain consultative and executive powers relating to specific Commonwealth programs. It had a specific governance structure and consultative obligations. Under the leadership of Lowitja O’Donoghue it was regarded as demonstrating its potential as a representative body for Indigenous interests (though not for ‘mainstream’ services for which it had no mandate). But in the second half of its life, under different leadership, and under a different federal government, its reputation and effectiveness declined. During the recent ‘VOICE’ referendum campaign, some commentators suggested that a legislated representative body such as ATSIC should have been restored as a more immediate and positive measure. However, not much was known about ATSIC in the wider community. Moreover, not much was known about any necessary changes for ensuring that a new version would be more effective and legitimate in the eyes of stakeholders and governments. Hence, the research puzzle is to explain the historical factors that strengthened and/or undermined the work of ATSIC, e.g. in terms of leadership; representation/engagement; effective program design of specific programs; and in implementation of service delivery. | 