Kokatha Aboriginal Corporation (KAC) Announcement

Feasibility Study For A Potential Aboriginal Support Hub (ASH) in Port Augusta

Kokatha Aboriginal Corporation (KAC) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Kespoke Pty Ltd to conduct a feasibility study for a potential Aboriginal Support Hub (ASH) in Port Augusta. The project is kindly funded by BHP as part of its Vital Resources Fund to assist Aboriginal people.

The objectives of the project are to assess the merits of a hub for displaced and vulnerable Aboriginal people in and around Port Augusta for support and assistance, including the following:

• Caring of vulnerable Aboriginal people who are temporarily domiciled in Port Augusta.
• Caring of vulnerable Aboriginal people who are permanent residents in Port Augusta and surrounding areas.

A key benefit of this initiative would be bringing together the large number of organisations and agencies who work in this space to collaborate in one physical location. This would provide a massive benefit to disadvantaged Aboriginal people who can come to the one place for a feed, a cup of tea, to access transport home if they wish, or to see services such as health or housing, all in the one location. Additionally, the ASH can be a great mechanism to support local service providers.

It is important to leverage the project to build a local community network throughout Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal providers so that the program becomes sustainable and inclusive. The benefits of the project should traverse all stakeholders in the community.

Kespoke was awarded the project after an extensive go-to-market by KAC, as Kespoke met all the criteria significantly better than all other alternatives. The Kespoke team includes key local Aboriginal people from the successful  Protecting Our People COVID Emergency Response Plan for Aboriginal Communities and COVID Aboriginal Community Jab Days that won a NAIDOC Award.

The Kespoke team will engage all key stakeholders and KAC encourages all to engage collaboratively.