Growing Lachlan Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... 2 FOREWORD – GROWING LACHLAN ...... 3 SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW OF KEY FINDINGS ...... 5 Where is Lachlan Shire? ...... 5 Why have we prepared this Growing Lachlan report? ...... 6 How has the report been prepared? ...... 6 What is the focus and structure of this report? ...... 7 What are the key observations, insights and priorities identified in this report? ...... 8 Where to from here? ...... 9 SECTION 2 - WHAT DO COMMUNITY MEMBERS SAY ABOUT LACHLAN? ...... 10 2.1. Who have we talked to? ...... 10 2.2. What have people had to say?...... 11 2.3. What near term priorities have community members identified? ...... 16 SECTION 3 - WHAT DOES OTHER DATA TELL US ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY? ...... 17 3.1. Who lives in our community? ...... 17 3.2. How cohesive and engaged is our community? ...... 21 3.3. How strong is our economy? ...... 22 3.4. How safe is our community? ...... 26 3.5. How healthy is our community? ...... 29 3.6. What do the families in our community look like? ...... 33 3.7. Are our children starting school ready to learn? ...... 37 3.8. Are our children achieving at school? ...... 39 3.9. Are our young people making a positive transition post-school? ...... 43 3.10. Are our older community members living fully and well? ...... 46 3.11. What support services are there in our community? ...... 46 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 55

FOREWORD – GROWING LACHLAN

What is Growing Lachlan? Growing Lachlan is an initiative that has sought to identify the opportunities that the Lachlan Shire community see as being important to maintain, strengthen and grow Lachlan Shire. Over the last two years a team of community representatives has worked to gather and collate data, conduct community surveys and run a series of community conversations to understand how the Lachlan Shire is faring and what community members see as being the key challenges and opportunities facing the community. This Growing Lachlan report is a key output of that work. The report measures the vitality of the Lachlan Shire based on factors such as community health and wellbeing, civic and economic participation and financial security. The report provides local community members, service providers and government representatives with critical information that can help identify community development opportunities and set priorities for action. The intention in undertaking the above work has been to provide a platform to help improve life opportunities and build a strong and prosperous community for all Lachlan Shire residents, now and into the future. The report aims to:  Highlight community members’ opinions about the state of play in Lachlan and their ideas about what is important for the future  Provide a snapshot of how our community is doing on key indicators of wellbeing and  Create an evidence base from which to set community development goals and provide a benchmark against which to track progress. In doing that it aims to:  Provide a platform to bring people together for informed discussions about community needs and priorities and how to best address them  Encourage the development of a shared agenda based on those priorities and  Support alignment of government, business and community resources with community identified priorities. While there are clear themes that emerge through this report in terms of what community members care about, it is important to acknowledge that each of the Shire communities do have specific priorities of their own. This document presents the most common themes across the Shire, while also trying to acknowledge specific interests in different communities. This report is designed to enable community leaders and organisations to plan and develop integrated policies, services and strategies to improve community outcomes across the Lachlan Shire community now and in the future. The report identifies five key areas for focus going forward:  Investing in community renewal  Supporting economic sustainability and development  Improving community safety and crime prevention  Taking care of older and younger generations and  Strengthening cultural recognition, respect and genuine participation. Community members have noted that the last area is one that underscores, and needs to inform, all of the preceding ones.

Our intention The preparation of this report has been supported and resourced through a group that is now being referred to as the Growing Lachlan Alliance (the Alliance). The Alliance includes: Lower Lachlan Community Services, Western Plains Regional Development, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, the Lake Cargelligo/Murrin Bridge Interagency Group and Lachlan Shire Council. Part time Community Connection Officers (CCOs) have been engaged in Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin to coordinate the work of the Alliance and have played a critical role in the production of this report. It is the Alliance’s intention to use and build on this report over time to inform the ongoing development and implementation of a shared community agenda for Growing Lachlan based on the priority areas identified. The Growing Lachlan report will form part of an ongoing series of community resources that will evolve over time. You will see that there are some sections in the report where we are still working to collate information. We have identified the sort of additional information that we want to collect and we are continuing to work with the Lachlan Shire Council, Federal and State Government Departments and regional and local service providers to collect that information. Going forward the Growing Lachlan Alliance will also be looking to work with Lachlan community members, businesses, service providers, supporters and government to explore how best to address the priority areas that have been identified in this report and to develop ongoing data collection, community feedback and measurement and reporting tools to track what is done and delivered through that work. If you are interested in supporting this ongoing work please get in touch with us at [email protected].

The Growing Lachlan initiative is supported by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet as well as:

Our partners

SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW OF KEY FINDINGS Where is Lachlan Shire? Lachlan Shire is located in the Central West region of New South Wales. The Shire is classified as being a remote area under the Accessibility Remoteness Index of Australia. It is in Wiradjuri country, home to the Kalarie, Ngiyampaa and Paakintji people who are part of the Wiradjuri Nation. The Shire is located adjacent to the Lachlan River and is bounded by Bogan Shire and Warren Shire in the north, Narromine Shire, Parkes Shire and Forbes Shire in the east, Bland Shire in the south, and Carrathool Shire and Cobar Shire in the west. Lachlan Shire is 460 kilometres or approximately 6 hours’ drive west of Sydney and 350 kilometres or approximately 4.5 hours’ drive north-west of Canberra.1 The Shire covers a large area of 14,965 km2, taking approximately 3.5 hours to traverse end to end.

Figure 1 – Lachlan Shire

Condobolin is the largest town in Lachlan followed by Lake Cargelligo and Tottenham. There are also a number of smaller towns including Tullibigeal, Burcher, Derriwong, Albert and Fifield.

The community of Murrin Bridge lies just outside the Shire but, because of its proximity and size and the connection that community members have to the Lachlan community, it is largely serviced out of Lachlan, as are a number of other, often relatively small, communities adjacent to the Shire such as Euabalong, Euabalong West, Naradhan, Ungarie and Girral.

1 The Shire has access to two major highways leading north and south, the Newell Highway that links Melbourne to Queensland through the Central West and Kidman Way that links the region with Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Mitchell Highway sits to the north and the Lachlan Valley Way connects Condobolin and Lake Cargelligo with Forbes to the east and Hillston to the west. 2 Community Profile 2012., p4. 5

Why have we prepared this Growing Lachlan report? Like so many regional and rural communities, Lachlan Shire has a number of remarkable strengths, but it also faces a range of challenges relating to its size and remoteness, low population density and ageing population profile, heavy commercial reliance on agriculture and associated difficulty in attracting and maintaining a broad workforce and community service system. There is currently no central document that collates data to create an overall picture of the Lachlan Shire community and how it is faring, or any mechanism for doing that. Although community planning is done at an LGA level and interagency groups exist to try to coordinate services, in the absence of good cross-sector data and community input, coordinated service planning and delivery is difficult. By necessity local services often are not so much driven by locally identified community needs, but instead tend to respond to available funding opportunities. In order to ensure that our community is well positioned to advocate for and deliver on community needs into the future, we need to be able to assess “what is the current state of things”. We need to move away from assumptions and rely on clear evidence and community feedback so that we can understand community perspectives and plan for, and respond to, the needs of the community in a more efficient, coordinated and effective way. This Growing Lachlan report is designed to provide community members, businesses, service providers, supporters and government with information about how Lachlan is faring, overall and across the different communities and population groups that make up the broader Lachlan community. The report is intended to provide a platform to engage community members in informed discussions about what our shared goals and priorities should be for our community and how we can best work together to achieve them. The intention is to:  Provide an accurate snapshot of how our community is doing on key indicators of well being  Develop a resource that can inform community members around key indicators such as quality of life, health and wellbeing  Establish an accurate picture of current services and whether they match areas of community need  Provide community groups and agencies with evidence about the current state of our community in order to determine how we can improve future outcomes  Create a benchmark on which to determine progress of community identified priorities, and, through that  Help increase life opportunities and promote social inclusion to grow and build a strong community. How has the report been prepared? This Growing Lachlan report is the output of a range of work that has been undertaken over the last two years to gather data from government and local service agency sources and to understand the views of the Shire communities. That work has been led by CCO staff in Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin, primarily Shane Phillips in Lake Cargelligo. An external consultant (Regina Hill Effective Consulting Pty Ltd) has assisted in the collection of government data and the preparation of this report. Community members have provided extensive input into the report:  Initially through a series of early stage conversations to help inform and scope the work to be undertaken  Then through a structured community survey that was commenced in late 2015 and completed in early 2016. Just under 580 community members completed that survey either in online format or through one- on-one or group discussions with CCO staff and

 Finally through a series of structured community conversations involving approximately 130 people that were held in mid-late 2016. Those discussions included: ‒ Open public forums in Lake Cargelligo, Condobolin and Tottenham3 ‒ A community walk in Murrin Bridge and a meeting with local Aboriginal community members at the Wiradjuri Study Centre (WSC) in Condobolin ‒ Business house walks and / or interviews in Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin ‒ Meetings with the Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin Interagency Groups and with health and nursing staff at the Multi-purpose Health Centre in Lake Cargelligo ‒ A meeting with Lachlan Shire Councillors and Staff. The above discussions explored what our shared goals and priorities should be to help strengthen the Lachlan Shire and its communities and how we might best work together to do that. What is the focus and structure of this report? This report provides a high level profile or snapshot of the Lachlan Shire based on the desktop research that we have undertaken. It also provides a summary of community feedback provided through a community survey conducted in late 2015 and early 2016 and the series of community conversations conducted in mid-late 2016 to understand what community members think are the key opportunities and challenges facing Lachlan and what they believe we should be focusing on to strengthen and grow our community. The report is broken into three major sections: Section 1 (This section) provides an overview of the work that has been done to date and an executive summary of key insights and priority areas for focus that have been identified through that work. Section 2 Summarises the feedback provided by community members through the community survey and conversations that have been conducted across the Shire in 2015 and 2016. Section 3 Summarises the data that we have been able to collect from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), national, state and local governments and community service providers about how the Lachlan community and community members are faring in terms of their individual and community health and wellbeing, including civic and economic participation and performance. Unless otherwise specified, demographic data included in this report has been sourced from the most recent publically available Australian Census dataset (2011).4 A detailed data table providing a breakdown of the Census data by town and community area is also available. Information about Murrin Bridge has been included where available because of its proximity and the fact that it is largely serviced out of the Shire through Lake Cargelligo. As noted in the Foreword, you will see that there are some sections in the report where we are still working to collate information. We have identified the sort of additional information that we want to collect and we are continuing to work with the Lachlan Shire Council, Federal and State Government Departments and regional and local service providers to collect that information.

3 Some of the Tottenham forums were facilitated by FACS staff undertaking an aligned community consultation process rather than by Growing Lachlan Alliance CCO staff. CCO staff participated in those consultations and were able to access feedback from those facilitating the session. 4 ABS Census 2011., Basic and Extended Community Profiles and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (Indigenous) Profile for Lachlan (A) (LGA14600) ABS Cat. No. 2002.0. 7

What are the key observations, insights and priorities identified in this report? Key observations and insights There are a number of things that stand out in this report that identify areas of strength and opportunity and that raise real concerns and act as a call for action.

Areas of real strength, things that are good to read about:

 There is a strong sense of community pride and belonging in Lachlan.  Many of our families have a strong, long-standing connection to our community.  30 percent of our population 15 years and over volunteer in some capacity. That level of commitment is significant. Our community volunteers so often form the backbone of our townships and contribute to the vibrancy and viability of our communities in a number of ways.  Community members are looking for ways to contribute to our townships and communities in a positive way and help improve the lived experiences of the people who live here, whether they have been part of the Shire for a long time or are new to our community. Things that are not necessarily surprising, but are significant:

 We rely heavily on agriculture and in times of drought that puts significant strain on our community members, our economy and the services that support our community.  Our population is declining and ageing, and a number of our young people are leaving to pursue education and employment opportunities outside of Lachlan.  Transport and access to medical services are ongoing issues and a concern across our community.  1 in 3 of the households in our community still don’t have access to the internet. Things that are surprising and / or concerning, that we need to think about:  Unemployment continues to be high, particularly across our younger age groups.  Our median weekly income is only two thirds of the national average and new business growth is being offset by local business closures.  Crime statistics relating to domestic violence and alcohol related violence are particularly concerning. Lachlan ranked 10 out of 139 NSW LGAs for the number of domestic violence related assault incidents th th 5 recorded in 2014, having rated 6 and 8 in 2013 and 2012 respectively.  We have strong participation and attendance in our pre-school years for children across the Shire; but the vulnerability levels of our children are alarming and a number of children are starting school not well positioned to learn.  Over 20 percent of our population is 65+ years old, yet recent service reviews indicate that the needs of older members of the community were not being met.  Data indicates that the core activity and support needs of community members over 55 years of age are also significant.  The age profile of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community members varies significantly but it is not clear whether, and if so how effectively, this is being taken into account in how we focus and tailor community services to support the different needs across our community.  A lack of cross-cultural awareness and respect between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal community members has been raised as an ongoing issue.  Concerns have also been raised about changing community dynamics as newly arrived communities move into the Shire, indicating that there is a need to consider how we embrace and support those new community members.

5 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au 8

Community identified priority areas Community members have identified a number of issues or areas that they see as being important areas for us to focus on as part of Growing Lachlan, in particular:  Community renewal.  Economic sustainability and development.  Community safety and crime prevention.  The provision of training and employment opportunities.  The need to support our children and young people and older community members, promote health and wellbeing and improve access to recreational opportunities.  The need to address the challenges posed by distance and lack of access to transport. Alongside all of the above areas is a need to strengthen cultural recognition and respect and promote genuine cross-cultural engagement and participation in the Lachlan community. Of the above themes, five areas have been identified as being of particular priority that the community is keen to focus on going forward:  Investing in community renewal.  Supporting economic sustainability and development.  Improving community safety and crime prevention.  Taking care of older and younger generations.  Strengthening cultural recognition, respect and genuine participation. Figure 2 – Community identified priorities

As a result, the Growing Lachlan Alliance will now look to work with community members to build a shared agenda to take action on those priority areas. Where to from here? Our intention is to build on and use this paper over time to inform the ongoing development and implementation of a shared community agenda for Growing Lachlan based on the priority areas that have been identified. We will work with community members to do that. We want to be able to use the report to help focus our resources and effort, reduce duplication, strengthen our collaboration and improve how effectively we work together on the issues that we care about as a community.

SECTION 2 - WHAT DO COMMUNITY MEMBERS SAY ABOUT LACHLAN? Over the last two years the Growing Lachlan Alliance has been holding conversations with community members and conducting surveys to understand what community members think are the key opportunities and challenges facing Lachlan and what they believe we should be focusing on to strengthen and grow our community. 2.1. Who have we talked to? The Alliance has gathered feedback from a significant number of community members. Almost 580 community members completed a community survey and approximately 130 community members have participated in follow up conversations reflecting on the themes identified through those surveys and data gathered through our desktop research process6. Community survey responses 579 people completed the Growing Lachlan community survey, including 532 individual community members, 10 community representatives, 35 people responding on behalf of a service provider working in the community and 2 other people who did not identify the capacity in which they were filling in our survey. Most of those people who completed the survey live in the Shire (555, 96%); the rest live outside the Shire but work in the Shire or for organisations providing services to people in Lachlan (24, 4%). Just under half of the people that completed the survey (48 percent) live in Condobolin and 1 in 5 people (20 percent) live in Lake Cargelligo. We have also had input from people living in a number of smaller towns. This split broadly reflects the general population profile across the Shire. A breakdown of where people have come from is provided in Figure 3.

The people we have talked to have included people of different ages, backgrounds and lived experiences. That breakdown is provided in Figure 4.

Figure 3 – Where the people we have talked to so far live7 Figure 4 – How old they are Location No. % Lake Cargelligo 117 20.2% 69, 12% 51, 9% Aged 13 - 24 years Curlew Waters 2 0.3% Murrin Bridge 14 2.4% 11, 2% Euabalong 2 0.3% Aged 15 - 54 years Tullibigeal 14 2.4% Girral 1 0.2% Aged 55 years or Condobolin 267 46.1% over 168, 29% Derriwong 4 0.7% 280, 48% Multiple Albert 2 0.3% Tottenham 16 2.8% Not specified Tullamore 1 0.2% Ootha 1 0.2% From outside the Shire 24 4.1% Not specified 114 19.7% Total 579 100%

6 This data is summarised in Section 3. 7 Where there were multiple people who provided feedback in one survey response they have been listed only once, so some areas may be under-represented in the above table as a result. 10

The people completing the survey included 71 Aboriginal community members, 4 people from other culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, 5 recently arrived immigrants / new community members, 1 refugee / asylum seeker, 11 people with an impairment or disability and 21 people who are unemployed including 6 young unemployed people. Follow up community conversations Approximately 130 community members participated in a series of structured community conversations held in mid-late 2016 where themes identified through the survey and data from the desktop analysis were shared with community members. Those discussions included:  Open public forums in Lake Cargelligo (25 people), Condobolin (10) and Tottenham (27)8  A community walk in Murrin Bridge (6) and a meeting with local Aboriginal community members at the Wiradjuri Study Centre (WSC) in Condobolin (12)  Business house walks and / or interviews in Lake Cargelligo (1) and Condobolin (8)  Meetings with the Lake Cargelligo (16) and Condobolin (8) Interagency Groups and with health and nursing staff at the Multi-purpose Health Centre in Lake Cargelligo (4) and  A meeting with Lachlan Shire Councillors and Staff (15). While there was some overlap in participation, with a very small number of people coming to more than one meeting, participation was appropriately diverse and substantial. Where people did come to more than one meeting that tended to be because they were representing service providers that operated across different parts of the Shire where they felt it made sense to participate in the separate forums being held across those different areas. 2.2. What have people had to say? The above surveys and community conversations sought to identify what community members think are the key opportunities and challenges facing Lachlan and what they believe we should be focusing on to strengthen and grow our community. The themes coming out of the survey and the follow up conversations have been remarkably consistent. Ten core themes have been identified; one of which relating to strengthening cultural recognition, respect and participation, is seen as underscoring, and needing to inform all of the other ones. Each of those ten themes is explored in turn below. Theme 1 - Strengthening cultural recognition, respect and genuine participation Lachlan Shire is in the heart of Wiradjuri Country. The Shire has strong Aboriginal communities. Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community members expressed the need to continue to work to build cross- cultural awareness, to strengthen engagement between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people and to combat racism. Examples identified by the community of how this might be done include:  Leveraging Lachlan’s cultural assets, including the Wiradjuri Study Centre to promote cross-cultural engagement and awareness  Expanding local NAIDOC events to include the Youth Deadly Awards and include a broader range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations  Exploring opportunities to invest in cultural tourism and invest in, promote and protect cultural sites, including the Murie site to which community access has been closed off for some time

8 Some of the Tottenham forums were facilitated by FACS staff undertaking an aligned community consultation process rather than by Growing Lachlan Alliance, CCO staff. CCO staff participated in those consultations and were able to access feedback from the government representatives facilitating those sessions. 11

 Encouraging Aboriginal participation in local government and providing stronger mechanisms for Aboriginal community members to inform local government decision making  Displaying Indigenous artworks across the community with pride and  Promoting the widespread use of welcome to and acknowledgement of country practices. There is also a changing dynamic emerging in parts of the Lachlan community with the arrival of new people from different backgrounds. Considering how best to embrace and support these new community members is also seen as important for Lachlan’s future. Theme 2 – Investing in community renewal Community members have a strong sense of belonging in Lachlan, with many families living and thriving in the area for generations. Some community members see local pride declining and would like to rebuild it. It seems to be getting harder for people to volunteer their time and participate in community groups and many volunteers are older members of the community, but Lachlan Shire has a strong culture and history of volunteering to build on.

Ideas to boost community spirit and rejuvenate the community include:  Looking to consolidate and / or better coordinate the activity of existing community groups working on like things to make it easier to take advantage of community volunteering and participation  Encouraging more young people to volunteer in the community  Having more community events and projects to bring people together and encourage civic participation and volunteering  Using community radio to promote a sense of community pride and share information about local events, as well as provide opportunities for people to participate in the community and allow younger and older community members to engage with one another  Rejuvenating public spaces and generally improving the main streets in Condobolin, Lake Cargelligo and Tottenham and the look and feel of towns across the Shire more broadly  Doing street murals, painting empty store windows and / or using them to share community information and promote events  Participating in the “Tidy Towns” initiative  Developing the Lake Cargelligo foreshore  Renovating the Civic Cinema site in the main street in Lake Cargelligo and turn it into a community centre and  Cleaning up the cemetery, sporting fields and community spaces in Murrin Bridge. Theme 3 – Promoting economic sustainability and development

We rely heavily on agriculture and in times of drought that puts significant strain on our community members, our economy and the services that support our community. New business growth is being offset by business closures and most of the young people who leave to pursue education and employment outside Lachlan are not returning due to the lack of opportunity to utilise their skills.

Attracting new residents, business and industry and retaining skilled professionals is top of mind in Lachlan.

Suggestions to boost economic development include:  Mapping community assets and reviewing the economic development strategy for the Shire  Setting up a local business mentoring and contact point to help support businesses and promote business connections  Helping businesses to strengthen their online presence and social marketing strategies  Developing strategies to support and attract new residents  Proactively promoting and supporting local businesses, including main street and agricultural ones 12

 Rebuilding the commercial heart of Lachlan towns to attract new shops, particularly a large general merchandise and clothing shop like Target  Improving internet, mobile access and other key infrastructure (including power and water infrastructure to improve reliability of electricity and water supply) and  Encouraging tourism. Tourism is an emerging industry, drawing on the natural beauty of the Lachlan River and the picturesque Lake Cargelligo and Gum Bend Lake. Many community members see this as a potential growth area for the Shire. A number of community members noted that economic development is integral to community renewal and vice versa. Conducting more community events and improving the look and feel of towns across the Shire is seen as also providing an opportunity to provide opportunities for professional development and employment, and to trigger economic development, tourism and recreational opportunities, which would in turn assist in retaining young people in the Shire. Theme 4 - Improving community safety and crime prevention Perceptions of safety and the incidence of crime have a significant effect on how Lachlan people view their community. Vandalism and burglary are of concern to community members. Local crime statistics reflect the high incidence of these crimes, as well as domestic violence assaults and alcohol related violence. Some community members believe that the high incidence of graffiti and crime in the community is related to not having enough constructive and engaging activities for young people to do and to the level of drug and alcohol use in the community. A lack of respect for Elders amongst the younger generation has also been identified as an issue. Early intervention, role modelling and more positive activities for young people are seen as being high potential crime diversion and deterrence options, as is the provision of more effective drug and alcohol support services. Local police facilities and resources have also been identified as requiring improvement. Some other ideas for addressing crime and promoting community safety include:  Looking for opportunities to strengthen young people’s respect for Elders in the community  Increasing the number and visibility of police, particularly at night  Focusing on “community policing” and building constructive relationships between police and community members  Continuing to trial the BackTrack program to help divert young people from crime  Strengthening of youth justice mentoring and case conferencing activity, including involvement of Elders in the conferencing process  Taking steps to help keep children and young people connected with school and improve school attendance  Extending the opening hours for the Lake Cargelligo Youth Centre and increasing social activities for young people, particularly in the evenings and at times when the incidence of youth crime is higher and  Exploring what can be learned from other crime prevention initiatives, such as the work being done nearby in Bourke. Theme 5 – Supporting children and younger people Younger people represent a high proportion of the Lachlan Shire population and supporting them to thrive is a high priority. Pre-school attendance across the Shire is strong, but the high level of vulnerability among our young children is alarming. School attendance is an issue for some children. Unemployment is highest amongst our young people and concerns about disruptive and anti-social behaviour are often linked to concerns about early disengagement from school and work and not having enough constructive activities for young people to do.

Improving local early childhood development, recreation, education and employment opportunities for young people are seen as priorities.

Suggestions for how we might do that include:  Supporting young and vulnerable families to give their children the best start in life by strengthening local early childhood development and specialist maternal, child and family health services  Strengthening youth services  Increasing the hours that the Lake Cargelligo Youth Centre is open  Providing more alternative education and training options  Running programs to address specific risk factors such as mental health and drug and alcohol abuse  Proactively addressing and disciplining anti-social behavior and  Providing more employment support services and pathways to employment programs. Theme 6 - Strengthening training and employment Community members are keen to see the provision of more training and employment opportunities to address the lack of employment and career opportunities for both school leavers and adults. Strengthening access to quality employment services and supports is seen as being important. Murrin Bridge community members noted the specific challenges that are caused by sitting at the “edge” of employment service boundaries and how that can make it difficult to access training and employment support options in Lachlan. They are keen to work out a way of addressing this issue. Suggestions for how we might strengthen training and employment opportunities include:  Supporting economic development  Developing and investing in a local workforce development strategy  Identifying available employment opportunities, including part-time and casual employment options  Conducting a skills audit to identify workforce development and employment opportunities  Linking in with schools to help align vocational and career development activity with local employment needs  Reviewing existing training options being delivered through TAFE on the same basis  Strengthening local training options, particularly in areas where there are service gaps or workforce needs such as early childhood development, nursing and aged care  Encouraging on the job training and  Providing more employment support services, not only in Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin but in smaller communities too, and providing more pathways to employment programs (e.g. like the Beacon program). Community members have noted that there is an opportunity to use existing community programs, such as the Men’s Shed initiative in Tottenham to deliver training. Theme 7 – Supporting older people Lachlan’s population is projected to continue ageing and recent service reviews indicate the needs of older community members are not being met. Particular concerns have been raised about local access to residential care options, particularly in Lake Cargelligo. Care for dementia patients has also been identified as a particular issue. Suggestions for how to improve older community members’ wellbeing include:  Improving access to public and community transport to help older community members access available health and community services and activities  Building an aged care facility in Lake Cargelligo  Strengthening the provision of specialist aged care services, including dementia and podiatry services  One option for doing that is by providing outreach-based access to specialist services to older community members through local residential aged care and health facilities. 14

Theme 8 - Strengthening overall health and wellbeing Community members also raised concerns about the lack of access to medical services more generally, including GP and specialist health services and ambulance and hospital services.

Community members across the Shire noted the limited services now being provided through the Condobolin hospital, particularly the lack of provision of surgical and obstetric services. Tottenham and other smaller communities also noted concerns about having inadequate access to ambulance services.

Many community members noted that there was a need to attract additional service providers to Lachlan and / or encourage outreach services to be provided on a more regular basis.

Community members in Murrin Bridge particularly noted their concerns over the recent closure of their local Aboriginal Health Centre.

Suggestions for how to address the above issues include:  Attracting an additional GP to Lake Cargelligo  Reviewing the provision of health services to Murrin Bridge  Increasing the provision of outreach based allied health services  Mapping community demand for specific specialist services such as dental services, mental health, counselling, speech and occupational therapy and podiatry and using that information to attract outreach services  Improving transport access to medical services, including ambulance access  Increasing the provision of Royal Far West services  Running targeted support groups for families and children with additional health and development needs and  Exploring options to link into university partnership9 and specialist training programs to help cover key service gaps. Theme 9 – Improving access to recreational opportunities A number of community members noted that they thought that the community would benefit from improving the availability and range of recreational and entertainment activities that people can access. In many cases they linked this to helping to improve community spirit and participation, as well as helping to provide more constructive activities that young people could engage in as a means of preventing youth delinquency and crime.

Suggestions for how to do this include:  Having more community festivals and events  Strengthening youth services and men’s shed style programs  Increasing the hours that the Lake Cargelligo Youth Centre is open  Continuing to invest in and maintain existing community recreation facilities and  Investing in all season indoor sporting and recreation facilities in Lake Cargelligo. Theme 10 – Improving access to transport Access to transport was also identified as a key factor that limits community members’ ability to engage in work, access services and participate in social activities as well as encourage tourism.

Murrin Bridge community members noted that the cost of getting transport to and from Lake Cargelligo to do basic things such as grocery shopping is a significant financial impost.

9 For example with Macquarie University, Australian Catholic University and University of Technology Sydney. 15

The need to improve access to transport by increasing the range of transport options and connections both within the Shire and to regional centres and strengthening access to public and community transport has consistently been identified as a priority.

Suggestions for how we might do that include:  Maintaining community transport services and looking for ways to reduce the cost of those services and support community members to cover them  Considering options to provide a grocery delivery service to Murrin Bridge  Exploring options to better leverage Isolated Patients Transport and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAS) funding to help community members access specialist health services that are not available locally and  Encouraging the setup of Uber based services in larger communities. The above ten themes were remarkably consistent across the Shire and were reflected both in the community survey responses that were received10 and in the community consultations that were conducted. 2.3. What near term priorities have community members identified? When asked which of the above themes they thought were most important to focus on as a starting point, community members participating in the community conversations conducted in mid-2016 identified five areas as being of particular priority:  Investing in community renewal  Supporting economic sustainability and development  Improving community safety and crime prevention  Taking care of older and younger generations and  Strengthening cultural recognition, respect and genuine participation. Again, the identification of these areas in conversations with community members was remarkably consistent. Given that, the above five themes provide an important starting point for us as we think about Growing Lachlan and a useful context when reflecting on what Census and other community data tells us about our community and how it is going and considering how to best focus our effort.

10 See Appendix 1 for a detailed analysis of the survey responses that we received. 16

SECTION 3 - WHAT DOES OTHER DATA TELL US ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY? 3.1. Who lives in our community? The Lachlan community is made up of a number of individual towns and communities, each of which has its own story. The Shire has a strong Aboriginal community and is made up of a mix of people, some of whom have lived and worked in the Shire for a long time and some of whom are relatively new to the community. 3.1.1. Population size and growth11

It is estimated that 6,450 people currently live in the Shire12, just slightly less Population than the 6,476 people living in the Shire at the time of the last Census in 2011.13 The population is projected to continue to decline slightly over the 6,775 ERP 14 next ten to twenty years. This trend is consistent with many of NSW’s rural 0.4 person / km2 15 communities.

The population in Lachlan is spread across the Shire, with just under 90 Approx. 90% of pop. percent of the population living in the three largest towns. Based on 2011 in the 3 largest towns Census data, approximately 60 percent of the population is based in Condobolin, 20 percent in Lake Cargelligo and 10 percent in Tottenham: Condobolin 3,743 (57.8%) Lake Cargelligo 1,380 (21.3%) Population Growth Tottenham 635 ( 9.8%) 0.8% 2006-14 A number of the towns in Lachlan are small. The smaller communities for which data has been able to be collected in this paper have populations that range from less than 100 to 250 or 350 people.

People living in those smaller communities tend to rely on outreach services or services in the larger towns in or outside of the Shire. A breakdown of our population by community is provided in Figure 5.

11 ABS 3218.0 Regional Population Growth, Australia.

14 NSW State and Local Government Area Population, Household & Dwelling Projections: 2014 Final. 15 ABS 3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2013-14. 17

Figure 5 – 2011 population by location (Census 2011)

Lachlan Shire (A) 6,476 Lake Cargelligo (inc. Curlew Waters) 1,380 Murrin Bridge 98 Tullibigeal 383 Condobolin (inc. Burcher, Kiacatoo, Fairholme, Maimley) 3,743 Ootha (inc. Derriwong) 91 Fifield (inc. Boona Mount) 287 Tottenham (inc. Albert) 635 Hermidale (inc. Bobadah) 302 Jemalong (inc. Warroo, Corinella) 263 Euabalong 377 Tullamore 373 Ungarie 321

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000

3.1.2. Gender and age profile From a gender perspective, the population in Lachlan is relatively evenly split Gender Profile between men and women.

The age profile of the male and female population is relatively similar and has not varied significantly over recent years. 50% : 50% Relatively higher proportions of the population lie within the younger (under 15) and older (65+) age groups than in other age groups in the community. Age Profile (note: younger age splits vary to Approximately 1 in 5 people in the Shire are under 15 years old (21%); 1.5 in reflect education pathway ) 5 are aged under 25 years (31%) and just over 1 in 5 people are aged 65 years or 16 65+ 21% over (21%). 55 - 64 13% The population is ageing. There is projected to be a decline in the number of 45 - 54 12% children and young families and young adults in the community over coming 35 - 44 11% 17 25 - 34 12% years and an increase in the population aged 55 years and over. 20 - 24 5% The above trend is reflected in the increasing median age of the population, 15 - 19 5% which at the time of the last Census was 40.18 5 - 14 14% 0 - 4 7% 0% 10% 20% 30%

16 NSW State and Local Government Area Population, Household & Dwelling Projections: 2014 Final. 17 AHMRC NSW 2012. 18 ABS Upper Lachlan Shire Regional Data Summary 2013.

There is some variation in age profile across the Shire. In particular, Murrin Bridge has a higher proportion of children and young people compared to other communities (which is reflective of the general variation in the average age profile of the Aboriginal population compared to the non- Aboriginal population across the Shire). Tottenham has a slightly higher proportion of older community members than other parts of the Shire

Figure 6 – Age breakdown by community

Lachlan Shire (A) Lake Cargelligo (inc. Curlew Waters) Murrin Bridge Tullibigeal 0-4 yrs Condobolin (inc. Burcher, Kiacatoo, Fairholme, Maimley) 5-14 yrs Ootha (inc. Derriwong) 15-24 yrs Fifield (inc. Boona Mount) 25-34 yrs Tottenham (inc. Albert) 35-44 yrs Hermidale (inc. Bobadah) 45-54 yrs Jemalong (inc. Warroo, Corinella) 55-65 yrs Euabalong 65+ yrs Tullamore Ungarie

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

3.1.3. Cultural background Most of the people living in Lachlan were born in Australia (5,912, 91.3%); in most cases both parents were also born here (5,436, 89.8%). This is significantly different to the NSW average. (At a state level 26% of the population was born outside Australia.19)

Only 3.5% of the population was born overseas and 1.5% is from a non- English speaking background, compared with 10.8% and 5.2% for the total regional NSW population respectively.20 Between 2006 and 2011, the number of people in Lachlan Shire born overseas increased by 34 and the number of people from a non-English speaking background increased by 21 21. Aboriginal community members make up 16% of the population, which is much higher than the NSW average of 2.5%.22 Those community members include Kalarie, Ngiyampaa and Paakintji people who are part of the Wiradjuri Nation.

A number of Aboriginal community members live in Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin, as well as in smaller towns like Euabalong and Murrin Bridge. Murrin Bridge started off as a mission in 1949, a place set up by the government to accommodate Aboriginal people who were forcibly removed from their traditional lands as part of the NSW Aborigines Legislation and Assimilation Policy at that time. The legacy of that disposition and the forcible removal of Aboriginal people from their land continues to have an impact on the community.

The age profile of the Aboriginal population is significantly younger than that of the non- Aboriginal Pop Non-Aboriginal Aboriginal population, in line with national trends. . At the time of the 2001 Census the median age of 6% 65+65+ 21% 8.4% 5555 - -64 64 15% the Aboriginal population in Lachlan was 22 years 9.9% 4545 - -54 54 14% (compared to 44 years for the non-Aboriginal 10.5% 3535 - -44 44 11% population). 11.9% 2525 - -34 34 11% 16.9% 1515 - -24 24 10% The gender profile also varies slightly when 36.4% 0 -0 14 - 14 18% compared to the general population, with there 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0% 10% 20% 30% being a slightly higher proportion of females (53%) compared to males (47%).

19 http://www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au. In Lachlan for people who were born outside Australia the most common countries of birth were the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa and the Philippines.

21 Community Profile., p13. 22 http://www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au 20

3.1.4. Inward and outward migration We have not yet been able to source any data about how many people are moving into and leaving the Shire on an annual basis.

Community members have observed that a number of families and young people are leaving the community to access education, work and social opportunities not available to them in Lachlan and have suggested that it is important to consider what can be done to address that in order to offset the decline in population.

Community members have also noted the importance of trying to attract new residents to the Shire, particularly people with professional and trade based skills that are not well represented in the community.

Additional information: we are keen to try to get a better understanding of how many people are moving into and out of the Shire and will be working with the Council to try gather more information in this area. 3.2. How cohesive and engaged is our community?

Strong communities are ones that are cohesive, where community members are actively engaged in the life of the community and where there is a strong sense of community identity and spirit.

Measures of community cohesion and engagement are often reflected in community perception surveys and the level of civic participation and volunteering.

3.2.1. Volunteering and community participation Volunteering 2011 Census data indicates that the Shire has a relatively strong culture of volunteering with just under 1 in 3 people aged 15 years or more 30% pop. 15yrs+ volunteer volunteering in the community (30.4%), including both men (27.5%) and women (33.3%).

Community feedback indicates that it is getting harder to get people to volunteer their time and participate in community groups.

3.2.2. Community spirit, identity and pride Community feedback also suggests that there has been a decline in the way that community members view the community. A number of community members that we have consulted have noted that there is a need to try to rebuild a sense of pride in the community and to do more to bring community members together through community events and projects. A number of people have highlighted a need to embark on a program of community renewal to rejuvenate towns across the Shire and (re)build a sense of pride. 3.2.3. Community cohesion Some community members have also identified the need to build cross-cultural awareness, to strengthen engagement between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community and to address issues of racism.

Concerns have also been raised about the changing dynamic that is emerging in some parts of the community with the arrival of new community members, identifying a need to consider how the community engages with new community members, particularly those from different cultural backgrounds and lived experiences.

3.3. How strong is our economy?

There are a range of factors that communities can look at to evaluate their economic strength and the ability of the economy to create jobs and contribute to financial security and wellbeing. Municipal service activity, new business development, business performance and labour force indicators, such as the employment to population ratio, labour force participation, employment and unemployment figures, often tend to be used to get a general sense of how well the economy is tracking. The strength and resilience of the local economy, in particular its ability to deal with the ups and downs in economic cycles, play an important role in the life and wellbeing of the community.

3.3.1. Local Government rates base The Lachlan Shire Council services approximately 4,165 properties.23. It has an overall rates base of approximately $4,930,000.

The Council is responsible for maintaining local municipal services and spends approximately $23,172,000 per annum delivering core community services as follows:

Governance $341,000

Administration $4,903,000

Public Order & Safety $830,000

Health $591,000

Community Services & Education $1,993,000

Housing & Community Amenities $1,103,000

Recreation & Culture $3,206,000

Mining Manufacturing & Construction $90,000

Transport (Roads) & Communication $8,850,000

Economic Affairs $1,25,000

The Shire also provides and maintains public water and sewerage services across Lachlan.

23 Lachlan Shire Council Annual Report 2014-15. 22

3.3.2. Business activity

The gross regional product (GRP) for Lachlan Shire in 2014 was $276M; 3 percent of the GRP for the overall Central West Region of NSW.24 GRP Agriculture is by far the biggest industry in the area, accounting for 59% of the businesses in the region, followed by construction (5%) and rental, hiring and real estate (5%). Sheep, cattle and grain farming account for $276M 28.5% of the employment in Lachlan. The heavy dependence on Agriculture the biggest agriculture means that the area is highly subject to weather based cycles contributor impacting agricultural production.

Tourism is an emerging industry, drawing on the natural beauty of the Lachlan River and the picturesque Lake Cargelligo and Gum Bend Lakes. Community feedback indicates that many community members see this as an important potential growth area for the Shire.

At the time of the last Census Lachlan had 1,083 businesses, just under half

of which employed staff:  Businesses employing 1 – 4 employees 250 (23.1%)

 Businesses employing 5+ employees 176 (16.4%)  Other businesses 657 (60.7%) 2,964 people were employed and earned approximately $129.3M in salaries and wages in Lachlan in 2011. A further 1,537 people ran their own unincorporated businesses and generated $26.2M in earnings.

In 2011 there was a relatively high annual level of business turnover though; Businesses the number of new businesses that opened (90) was almost the same as the number that closed (96). 1,083 businesses The most recently available figures for 2013 indicate that there were slightly fewer businesses in Lachlan Shire than in 2011, with 1,042 16% employing 5+ staff businesses, with 10 percent of those businesses employing more than 5 25 staff.

Community feedback indicates that the closure of local businesses, particularly retail shops, has been noticeable and has had an impact not only on the economy but also on community vibrancy and morale. Many community members noted that the loss of Target in Condobolin has left a gap in the community, making it particularly hard to purchase general merchandise and clothing locally. A number of people noted that they now have to shop online or outside of the Shire, meaning that their money is going out of the local area rather than contributing to the local economy. A number of community members have noted the importance of trying to attract more shops and bring a large retail outlet back into town.

24 Factsheet Lachlan Shire Council. www.investnswcentralwest.com.au/opportunities-by-region/lachlan- 2/#Lachlan%20Profile 25 ABS Lachlan Shire Regional Data Summary 2013.; www.ABS.stat.gov.au 23

Community members have highlighted the importance of supporting local businesses and making sure that the key services such as banks do not exit the community. Many community members that we have spoken to have noted the need to try to attract new residents, as well as new businesses and industries, to Lachlan to support sustainable economic development in the community and maintain a viable consumer and ratepayer base. 3.3.3. Labour force participation and employment Labour force participation In 2011 Lachlan had an employment to population ratio of 56.1%, 2015 which is similar to the NSW rate of 56.2% but lower than the national Lachlan #% 26 Central West 68.0% rate of 62.2%. NSW 64.7% There were 5,096 people aged 15 years or over in Lachlan in 2011. Australia 65.3%

Approximately 3 in 5 of them were engaged in the labour force, either working or actively looking for work (2,998, 58.8%). Most of those Unemployment rate 2015 community members were employed (2,661, 89%), either full (1,856) Lachlan #% or part-time (805). A further 196 people (7%) were employed but were Central West 7.1% away from work. NSW 5.2% Australia 5.8% Most of the people who were working were engaged as paid employees (2,412). Approximately half of those workers were men (51%) and half women (49%). The age profile of those workers was relatively evenly split across the 15 – 64 year age groups. Older Unemployment rate workers made up a significantly smaller proportion of the paid (2011 shown, 2015 TBC) workforce. 1.2% 1,816 (35.6%) of the working age members of the community were not 55 - 64 2.9% in the labour force. 142 people were unemployed. Based on local 3.9% 35 - 44 5.1% Employment Service Area (ESA) data a significant proportion of those 7.0% people are likely to have “qualified” as being long term unemployed 20 - 24 7.9% (i.e. have been unemployed for over 12 months).27 7.2% Avg. 4.7% At the time of the last Census the average unemployment rate was 4.7%. Unemployment rates were higher for younger job seekers 0.0% 5.0% 10.0% though, with youth unemployment rates at 7 - 8%.

26 The employment to population ratio shows the number of people that are employed as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over. ABS 6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Jan 2012. 27 DEEWR Overview of Lachlan ESA Labour Market 2011.

Unemployment rates have been increasing.28 In 2015 participation rates across the ESA were 68%, the unemployment rate was 7.1% and the youth unemployment rate was 15.9%. The participation rate was 29 higher than the State and National average, as were the unemployment rates.

A number of community members have raised concerns about the lack of employment and career opportunities in Lachlan for both school leavers and adults and have highlighted the importance of trying to address this issue. Some community members have noted that more needs to be done to help young people prepare for the transition into work and to support people who are seeking work to access constructive training and employment opportunities.

Additional information: we are keen to try to get a more detailed understanding of labour force participation and unemployment rates for school leavers and adults in Lachlan. We will be working with Centrelink and local ESA service providers to try to access this data. 3.3.4. Industries with opportunity Data from the Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences conducted by the then Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) in 2011 identified a number of occupations that were seen as being difficult for employers in the Central West ESA to fill, including:30 High skill level Medium skill level Low skill level (bachelor degree or higher) (certificate II to associate degree) (compulsory secondary education to certificate I)  Accountants  Motor mechanics  Sales assistants  Registered nurses  Structural steel and (general)  Midwives welding trades workers  Kitchen hands  Early childhood (pre-  Electricians  Domestic cleaners primary school)  Butchers  Other miscellaneous teachers  Child care workers labourers  Fire fighters  Aged / disabled carers  Bar attendants and baristas Service providers and employers that we have spoken to have also noted the challenge in recruiting and retaining staff across a number of areas, particularly early childhood development, teaching, nursing and medical areas. Some community members have suggested that there is a need to consider what types of incentives can be offered to encourage key professionals to move into the community. Some have also noted that housing availability and affordability is a factor that is influencing the ability to attract and retain staff. Additional information: we are keen to try to get a more detailed understanding of where there is (unmet) demand for employees and to map the current and prospective demand for and supply of skills in the community to help inform any work that we do in relation to training and job generation. We will be working with Council and the local Chamber of Commerce to try to source this data.

28 Factsheet Lachlan Shire Council. www.investnswcentralwest.com.au/opportunities-by-region/lachlan- 2/#Lachlan%20Profile. 29 DEEWR Overview of Lachlan ESA Labour Market 2011. 30 DEEWR Overview of Lachlan ESA Labour Market 2011.

3.4. How safe is our community?

Community perceptions of safety and the incidence of crime have a significant influence on how people view their community and how they engage in it. It is important for people to feel safe and to be free from the risk or incidence of violence.

3.4.1. Crime and community safety A number of community members have identified crime and community safety as being a significant issue in the community. They have highlighted the levels of vandalism and break and enters as being a key concern; the high incidence of which is reflected in local crime statistics.

Figure 7 – Lachlan LGA crime statistics January - December 201431

Rate per 32 33 Offence group Offence type No. incidents 24mth trend LGA Rank 100,000 pop. Major offences Assault - domestic violence related 57 844.7 Stable 10 (only offence groups for Assault - non-domestic violence related 50 741.0 Stable 12 which incidents Sexual assault 4 59.3 - 36 committed shown) Indecent assault, act of indecency and other sexual offences 12 177.8 - - Break and enter dwelling 93 1,378.2 Stable 7 Break and enter non-dwelling 42 622.4 Stable 12 Motor vehicle theft 28 414.9 - 5 Steal from motor vehicle 77 1,141.1 Stable 10 Steal from retail store 7 103.7 - 104 Steal from dwelling 62 918.8 Stable 3 Steal from person 2 29.6 - 73 Fraud 14 207.5 - 107 Malicious damage to property 129 1,911.7 Stable 12

31 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_crime_stats/bocsar_lgaexceltables.aspx 32 Trend information is not calculated (-) if at least one 12-month period in the selected timeframe had less than 20 incidents. 33 Ranks are only calculated for Local Government Areas (LGAs) with populations greater than 3000 people (n=141). 26

Rate per Offence group Offence type No. incidents 24mth trend LGA Rank 100,000 pop. Other Assault Assault Police 2 29.6 - - Harassment, threatening behaviour and private nuisance 43 637.2 Stable - Other offences against the person 5 74.1 - - Other Theft Receiving or handling stolen goods 1 14.8 - - Stock theft 8 118.6 - -

Other theft 38 563.1 Stable -

Arson 12 177.8 - -

Drug offences Possession and/or use of cannabis 25 370.5 Stable - Possession and/or use of amphetamines 4 59.3 - - Possession and/or use of other drugs 8 118.6 - - Dealing, trafficking in cannabis 2 29.6 - - Cultivating cannabis 1 14.8 - - Other drug offences 9 133.4 - - Prohibited and regulated weapons offences 10 148.2 - - Disorderly conduct Trespass 35 518.7 Stable - Offensive conduct 13 192.6 - - Offensive language 21 311.2 - - Criminal intent 2 29.6 - -

Liquor offences 42 622.4 Stable -

Against justice procedures Escape custody 1 14.8 - -

Breach Apprehended Violence Order 23 340.8 Stable - Breach bail conditions 29 429.8 Stable - Fail to appear 0 0.0 - - Resist or hinder officer 9 133.4 - - Other offences against justice procedures 1 14.8 - - Other offences 17 251.9 - -

A number of people have noted that they believe that the incidence of crime is related to there not being enough constructive activities for young people to participate in and to issues of drug and alcohol use in the community.

A number of community members have highlighted the need to develop a strategy to respond to these issues and have suggested that there is a need to address drug and alcohol issues in the community, strengthen youth engagement and diversion, discipline and deterrence strategies, increase the presence of police and strengthen local police facilities.

Additional information: we are keen to build a better understanding of the underlying factors that are contributing to the above crime rates and the way in which offenders are being dealt with (i.e. whether they are being placed on diversionary programs, community and / or statutory detention orders) as well as community perceptions of safety and crime and what can be done to help people feel more secure. We will be working with the NSW Department of Justice, NSW Police, the Council and community service providers to try to gather this information

3.4.2. Family violence Lachlan ranked 10 out of 139 NSW LGAs for the number of domestic violence related assault incidents th th 34 recorded in 2014, having rated 6 and 8 in 2013 and 2012 respectively.

Police data indicates that there were 59 domestic violence related assault incidents recorded in Lachlan in 2014; a rate of 870.8 per 100,000 population. Crime and hospital data for Lake Cargelligo and Murrin Bridge indicates that there appears to be a strong relationship between alcohol related incidents and domestic violence, particularly within the Aboriginal community, with just under 1 in 3 alcohol related 35 incidents involving Aboriginal people being identified as being domestic violence related.

Some community members have raised concerns about family violence and the need to address it. A number have noted the need to address alcohol and drug misuse.

3.4.3. Child safety We have not yet been able to source comprehensive data about the number of child protection notifications, substantiations and child protection placements into statutory and non-statutory care.

Additional information: we will be working with the FaCS and local community service providers to try to build a better understanding of the safety of children in our community and the response that is being made to keep our children safe.

34 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au 35 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Factsheet (prepared in collaboration with NSW Health) 28

3.5. How healthy is our community?

The physical, emotional and spiritual health of the people in our community is critical not only to individual wellbeing but also to the broader wellbeing of our community.

3.5.1. General health The provision of core health and hospital services in the Lachlan Shire are split across two local health service districts: Murrumbidgee Local District Health (MLDH), servicing Lake Cargelligo and the surrounding communities, and Western NSW District Health (WNDH), servicing Condobolin and the surrounding communities.

Figure 8 – Local NSW Health Districts

Murrumbidgee Local Health District Western NSW Local Health Service

Both of our Local District Health Services have identified that there are relatively high rates of preventable and potentially preventable death and hospitalisation in their regions; in particular relating to: smoking, 36 alcohol consumption, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, injury and mental health.

To address that, the health services have identified that there is a need to focus more on prevention and early intervention to improve local health outcomes (as well as manage pressures on hospital and 37 specialist services).

38 Particular areas that have been identified as ones for focus include:  Smoking prevention and cessation  Alcohol management  Nutrition and physical activity interventions  Diabetes prevention and management  Childcare, particularly for Aboriginal children during their first 1000 days of life and  Continuing and strengthening existing community services to help address mental health issues.

36 NSW Health Annual Report 2014-15. 37 NSW Health Annual Report 2014-15. 38 NSW Health Annual Report 2014-15. 29

Aboriginal health and the health and care needs associated with supporting the ageing population have 39 also been identified as important areas to focus on.

Additional information: we will be working with MLDH and WCDH and local community and allied health services to collate key health statistics to get a more detailed understanding of the key health issues impacting our community including: hospital admissions and community based health service occasions of service, the most common reasons for admission or service and the number of AOD and mental health service occasions and admissions.

3.5.2. Maternal, infant and child health Maternal peri and ante-natal health has a significant impact on both Infant health risk mother and child. Poor maternal health, smoking and drug and alcohol consumption during pregnancy can all have an adverse effect 17.4% women on infant birth weight and health. There are also a range of other reporting smoking during individual and environmental factors that can influence a child’s pregnancy (MLHD 2011) health and development. It is critical that children get the best start that they can in life and that any issues are identified and addressed 50% Aboriginal mothers as early as possible.

39 NSW Health Annual Report 2014-15. 30

Health service data suggests that a number of women in Lachlan are potentially putting the health of their babies at risk by adopting behaviours that are known to have adverse impacts. For example, 2011 data from MLHD indicates that a significantly higher proportion of mothers, particularly Aboriginal mothers, accessing their services report smoking during pregnancy than 40 the NSW average. Data also indicates that a number of young children in the community are demonstrating health and developmental issues. The Royal Far West Bus provides whole of child health and developmental screenings for children aged 3-5 years old. In a recent visit to Lake Cargelligo the above service saw 68 children aged between 3-6 years and conducted a range of child health, immunisation, oral health, hearing, food and nutrition, speech and language development and fine and gross motor skills assessments. 49 of those children (72%) were identified for referral to local or specialised health services. The majority of those referrals were for oral health (dental), audiometry (hearing) and speech pathology. 8 children (12%) were referred to Royal Far West with complex developmental concerns requiring a full pediatric 41 developmental assessment; 6 of those children were Aboriginal children.

Additional information: we are keen to build a better understanding of maternal and child health across the Shire. We will be working with MLHD and WCHD, maternal and child health service providers and schools to source:

 Data about maternal health  Ante-natal and early childhood health statistics, including: the proportion of low birth weight babies, smoking in pregnancy, age 2 immunisation rates, maternal and child health check data, FACS home visit and support group participation data and hospital admissions for 0 -4 year olds  School readiness health assessment data including: the number of children receiving a school health assessment and the percentage requiring follow up referral and the most common types of referral and  Hospital admissions and community based health service occasions of service for 5 - 14 year olds and the most common reasons for admission or service.

3.5.3. Adolescent health Additional information: we will also be working with MLDH and WCDH, community and allied health services and schools to source information about adolescent health including: hospital admissions and community based health service occasions of service for 15 - 19 year olds, the most common reasons for admission or service and the number of AOD and mental health service occasions and admissions.

40 NSW Health MLHD Women’s Health 2014., p.16 41 Healthy Kids Bus: Lake Cargelligo Report 2015. 31

3.5.4. Women’s health Additional information: we will be working with MLDH and WCDH and community and allied health services to source information about women’s health including: female hospital admissions and community based health service occasions of service for women 20 years and over, the most common reasons for admission or service and the number of AOD and mental health service occasions and admissions.

Additional information: we will be working with MLDH and WCDH and community and allied health services to source information about men’s health including: male hospital admissions and community based health service occasions of service for men 20 years and over, the most common reasons for admission or service and the number of AOD and mental health service occasions and admissions. 3.5.6. Disability Funding for a range of disability services will come under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) from June 2018.

Based on the 2011 Census 1 in 10 people in Lachlan need help or assistance in one or more of the three core areas of self-care, mobility and communication because of a disability, long term health condition (lasting six months or more) or old age (635, 10%).

While a significant number of those people are older members of our community aged 55+ years (240, 48%), there are a number of younger People with a core community members that also require assistance. activity need

65+ 193 In 2014 Lake Cargelligo HACC had 392 clients, 216 receiving Home and 55 - 64 47 Community Care Services (HACC) and 176 receiving disability related 45 - 54 30 42 services. 35 - 44 19 25 - 34 14 Additional information: we will be working with MLDH and WCDH, local 20 - 24 10 disability support service providers and schools to build a more detailed 15 - 19 8 5 - 14 understanding of the number of people with disability support needs, the 19 0 - 4 3 nature of the support that they require and the adequacy of existing service -50 50 150 250

42 NSW Government Health Murrumbidgee Local Health District 2014., p.5. 32

3.5.7. Access to medical, specialist and hospital services A number of community members have identified a lack of access to medical and specialist services and the need to travel long distances to access services as being an issue. That feedback is confirmed by service provider surveys that indicate that families identify access, cost and distance for services as being a barrier to accessing timely treatment and support.43 Community members have also raised concerns about access to ambulance and hospital services and the adequacy of local hospital facilities. Some community members and service providers have also noted that the split delivery of health services through different Local Health Districts and community and allied health service providers across the Shire is also an issue and potential source of inefficiency. 3.6. What do the families in our community look like?

3.6.1. Household and family profile

It is estimated that there are currently 2,650 different households living in Lachlan44, slightly more than the 2,510 households identified in the 2011 Households census. Most are family households (1,850, 69.8%). The balance is single 2,650 households (700, 26.4%) or group (50, 1.9%) households

Of the family households: Single Parent Families  Just over 2 in 5 are estimated to be couple households with no children (800, 30.2%)  Just under 2 in 5 are two parent families with children (750, 28.3%)  0.5 in 5 are single parent households (250, 9.4%). Approx. 10% of families are single parent Based on 2011 Census data, a significant proportion of single parent families families are made up of mothers / other female family members looking after their own or related children. At the time of the 2011 Census over 3 in 5 have dependent eighty percent of one parent families fell into this category (84.9%). children under 15 Approximately 3 out of 5 single parent families have dependent children 1 in 3 are jobless families under 15 years.

45 Approximately 1 in 3 single parents are not in the labour force (33.5%) or unemployed (3%).

Average household sizes are relatively small (estimated to be 2.4 people per household; however there are a number of larger families. Extended Aboriginal households are often larger than non- Aboriginal households.

Approximately 2 in 3 people aged 15 years or over do unpaid domestic work (67%). Just over 2 in 5 of those people do more than 15 hours unpaid domestic work per week (40.1%). Most of those people are women.

Just over 1 in 4 people provide unpaid care for their own or others’ children (28.6%).

Just over 1 in 10 people provide unpaid care, help or assistance to family members or others with a disability (12.8%).

43 Healthy Kids Bus: Lake Cargelligo Report (Sept 2015)., p.9. 44 NSW State and Local Government Area Population, Household & Dwelling Projections: 2014 Final. 45 2011 Census expanded Community Profile, Table 31. 33

3.6.3. Income, housing situation and financial security

Income

Median weekly personal, family and household incomes in Lachlan are all Median Weekly Family significantly lower than the NSW and Australian average. Income 2011 median weekly: Lachlan Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal Australian $1,481  Personal income is: $445 $356 $467 Lachlan  Family income is: $985 $772 $865 $985  Household income is: $846 $800 $867. Median incomes are significantly lower for Aboriginal community members than non- Aboriginal community members.

Over 1 in 3 households have a gross weekly income of less than $600 (35.6%). That is significantly greater than the State (24.2%) and National averages (23.7%).

Some community members that we have spoken to have highlighted the incidence of poverty and socio-economic disadvantage within the Lachlan community. Some of the people have specifically noted the high cost of living n Lachlan and, in particular, the high cost of food and housing.

Access to Government payments

A number of community members are eligible for and access government Families accessing support payments to help them to get by (2013 except for family benefit data which relates to 2011): family tax benefits  Family tax benefit A: 687 families  Family tax benefit B46: 56 700  Total family benefits: 700  Single parent parenting payment: 120  Income support supplement: 26  Aged pension: 810  Service pension: 32 People accessing  Carer payment: 84 NewStart Allowance  Disability support pension: 333 job seekers  Youth allowance47: 21 205  NewStart allowance48: 205

46 Family Tax Benefit Part B gives extra help to single parents and families with one main income. An example of this may be where one parent stays at home to care for a child full time or balances some paid work with caring for a child. This payment is income tested.

47 For full time study or apprenticeship.

48 For people who are unemployed and looking for work aged 22 years or older but under age pension age who meet residency requirements. 34

In 2011 23% of the working age population (15 – 65 years old) were accessing a Centrelink benefit. That was similar to the proportion of people claiming benefits across the Central West ESA (22%) but was higher than the State and National average (17%).49

The proportion of working age people on Disability Support Pensions (9%) was also higher than the State and National average (5%).

The proportion of people claiming NewStart Allowances was higher (5% compared to 4%) and Youth Allowance was lower (2% compared to 3%).50 68.3% of the people received support for more than 365 days (2012).

Additional Income Support Data from Department of Human Services at June 2016.

The following data contributed by the Department of Human Services as at June 2016 gives us a closer breakdown of the two larger communities within the Shire that are in receipt of income support from Centrelink: Urban Centre/Locality Payment Count of Count of Non- Indigenous Indigenous Condobolin Youth Allowance 26 17 Newstart Allowance 7 4 Parenting Single 6 13 Assistance For Isolated Children 3 Parenting Partnered 3 1 Disability Support Pension 3 4 Carer Pension 1 4 Abstudy 6 Condobolin Total 49 49 Lake Cargelligo Youth Allowance 11 4 Parenting Single 3 5 Carer Pension 2 1 Newstart Allowance 1 6 Parenting Partnered 1 Abstudy 3 Lake Cargelligo Total 17 20 Lachlan Shire LGA (A) Youth Allowance 22 55 Parenting Single 19 10 Abstudy 12 Newstart Allowance 10 10 Carer Pension 5 3 Disability Support Pension 5 6 Parenting Partnered 2 5 Assistance For Isolated Children 2 18 Lachlan Shire LGA (A) Total 77 107

49 DEEWR Overview of Lachlan ESA Labour Market 2011. 50 DEEWR Overview of Lachlan ESA Labour Market 2011. 35

Additional information: we are keen to try to update this data with Centrelink and will be working with them to do that.

Housing

Housing availability and affordability has been noted as being an issue by a number of community members.

At the time of the 2011 Census, just under 1 in 3 people aged over 5 years had lived at a different address 5 years ago (28%), just over 1 in 10 lived at a different address one year ago (12%). It is not clear whether that is because they moved home within the Shire or moved into the Shire during that time.

The average value of a private home in Lachlan in 2013 was in approximately $350,000.

At the time of the Census, 2 in 5 households owned their own home and 1 in 5 were paying off a mortgage. Monthly mortgage repayments averaged $867 (about 20% of monthly household income).

For the remaining households that rented, monthly rental payments averaged $110 (about 13% of average household income). Just under 1 in 4 of the families (173 families) that were renting in Lachlan then were living in NSW Housing Authority or housing cooperative or community properties.

Census data indicates that in a number of cases the homes in which families are living are overcrowded and require more space. This is more often the case for Aboriginal families with 8.6% of homes needing 1 or more extra bedrooms (compared to 1.2% of non-Aboriginal homes).

Homelessness

Additional information: we still need to confirm how many people are homeless or at risk of homelessness within our community. We will be working with local community service providers to try to understand that.

Mortgage & rental stress

A relatively small, but relevant, number of families are estimated to be under some form of mortgage (3.4%) or rental stress (4.2%) where mortgage or rental payments constitute more than 30% of the household income.

Outstanding fines

The incidence of unpaid fines and warrants can also be a key indicator of individuals and families under financial stress. We have not yet been able to source data about this.

Community members have noted concerns about the incidence of debt in the community, connected in many cases to the drought, and have raised concerns about the ability of individuals and families to deal with the financial and emotional pressures associated with that.

Additional information: we need to work with the NSW Department of Justice to understand the incidence of unpaid fines and warrants in the community.

Access to transport

Transport is critical for people to be able to participate in work and access services and social activities. A number of community members have noted that access to public and community transport is a critical issue.

193 (7.8%) households in Lachlan do not have their own registered motor vehicle. While that is lower than the state (10.4%) or national (8.6%) averages the geographic nature of the region and limited access to public transport mean that the lack of access to a vehicle is potentially more problematic.

Household access to the internet

A number of community members have also raised concerns about poor internet and mobile telephone coverage in the region and the impact that has on business, service provision and social interaction. Approximately a third of households did not have home based access to the internet at the time of the last Census (932, 37%). 3.7. Are our children starting school ready to learn?

Research shows that healthy children who start school ready to learn are better placed to engage well at school and to develop and learn. Because of that, it is important that we make sure that parents and children are supported to make the best start in life. 3.7.1. Child wellbeing and readiness

The Australian Early Childhood Development Index (from 2015 called the Australian Early Development Census) (AEDC) data is collected nationally every three years through a teacher survey.51 It provides a snapshot of how children across a community are developing at the time they enter school. The AEDC measures five areas of early childhood development:  Physical health and wellbeing (which measures children’s physical readiness for the school day, physical independence and gross and fine motor skills)  Social competence (which measures children’s overall social competence, responsibility and respect, approaches to learning and readiness to explore new things)  Emotional maturity (which measures children’s pro-social and helping behaviour, anxious and fearful behaviour, aggressive behaviour and hyperactivity and inattention)  School based language and cognitive skills (which measures children’s basic English literacy, interest in literacy, numeracy and memory, advanced literacy and basic numeracy) and  Communication skills and general knowledge (which measures those two factors). Although information is collected from teachers, results are reported for the community where children live, not where they go to school. To protect student privacy, data is only reported at a community level where the number of children included in the sample is sufficiently large. In the case of Lachlan, AEDC data is available for the Lachlan Shire as a whole and for the communities of Condobolin and Lake Cargelligo / Tullibigeal combined. Data relating to towns or locations for which specific community level data is not available are included in the Lachlan level data.

51 All AEDC data taken Lachlan NSW AEDC Community Profile 2015. 37

In 2011 there were 553 children aged 0 – 5years in Lachlan, of those 110 were aged 5 years old. 99 children were included in the AEDC survey in 2012 of who 97 had valid AEDC scores and could be included in analysis meaning that just under 90 percent of students were included in the AEDC. Just over a third of the children included in the AEDC that year were of Aboriginal background (35.4%).52 Just over a quarter of children included in the 2012 AEDC, or 1 in 4 children, were identified as being developmentally vulnerable on one or more of the AEDC domains (26 children or 26.8%) and 1.5 in 10 children were identified as being vulnerable on two or more domains (15 children or 15.5%). The former result was significantly lower than the previous AEDI assessment for Lachlan (down from 34.1% in 2009). There was no statistically significant change in the latter figure over the same period. AEDC results for 2015 show a further reduction in vulnerability. 103 children were included in the AEDC in 2015. Approximately 1 in 6 children were identified as being developmentally vulnerable on one or more of the AEDI domains (17 children or 17.9%) and just under 1 in 10 children were identified as being vulnerable on two or more domains (9 or 9.4%). The above improvements mean that child developmental vulnerability in Lachlan is now slightly lower than both the NSW and Australian averages. (In 2009 and 2012 this was not the case). Although the AEDC results for Condobolin have tended to be lower than Lake Cargelligo / Tullibigeal in the past, that trend has been reversed in the most recent set of results. It is not clear why that is the case. Figure 9 – Lachlan AEDC results 2019 - 201553

Region (including local communities) Vulnerable on one or more Vulnerable on two or more domains(s) (%) domains(s) (%) 2009 2012 2015 2009 2012 2015 Australia 23.6 22.0 22.0 11.8 10.8 11.1 NSW 21.3 19.9 20.2 10.3 9.2 9.6 Lachlan 33.9 26.8 17.9 19.2 15.5 9.4 Condobolin 27.7 22.2 22.1 16.7 9.3 11.6 Lake Cargelligo/Tullibigeal 60.0 32.4 9.5 32.5 29.4 4.8

16.5 percent of students were identified by teachers as requiring further assessment to identify health and / or developmental support needs in 2015 (compared to 15.2% in 2012).54 6.8% of children were identified as having special needs status. Just under 1 in 10 children (9.4%) were identified as coming unprepared to school by being dressed inappropriately or coming to school late, hungry or tired. 55

52 It is important to take into consideration what the profile of the 10% of children who were not included in the survey might be when interpreting the AEDC results, and how that might have influenced the results.

53 Table 26, Lachlan NSW AEDC Community Profile 2015. 54 Table 4, Lachlan NSW AEDC Community Profile 2015. 55 Table 11.1, Lachlan NSW AEDC Community Profile 2015. 38

While Lachlan’s performance in the most recent AEDC shows considerable improvement, particularly in the case of Lake Cargelligo / Tullibigeal, just under 1 in 5 students remain vulnerable on one or more domains when they start school, 1 in 10 are coming to school unprepared to learn and a number require further assessment to identify potential support needs. The above data highlights the importance of having access to key early childhood development and health specialists to be able to identify and respond to specific developmental and early stage learning needs; as well as being able to help parents and families to support their children to develop and learn effectively. A number of community members noted that the lack of access to specialists such as speech and occupational therapists is an issue, in addition to the lack of access to more general medical and health services. Some service providers also noted the challenge that they face in attracting and retaining specialist early childhood development staff. 3.7.2. Participation in early childhood education Approximately 4 in 5 (80.6%) of the children in the Lachlan Shire for whom data was collected for the 2015 AEDC participated in some form of non-parental early childhood education or care in the year before they started school. Those figures are lower than both the NSW (87.4%) and Australian (91.3%) participation rate. Just under 3 in 4 children (72.8%) had attended preschool in the year before they started school. This was also slightly higher. 56 3.7.3. Parental engagement in early childhood learning When asked “Would you say that this child has parents(s) /caregiver(s) who are actively engaged with the school in supporting their child’s learning?” teachers completing the 2015 AEDC indicated that they would not for just over 1 in 10 children (11.7%).57

3.8. Are our children achieving at school?

Participation in education has significant economic, social and civic benefits. The successful completion of school provides a strong starting point from which young people can embark on their adult lives. Mainstream schooling is not a good fit for some students, in which case alternative learning contexts can provide a better setting in which to learn. It is important that we provide every child with an opportunity to engage in learning and support them to realise their full potential.

3.8.1. School engagement and attendance Participation in education

In 2014 1,245 students were enrolled in the ten mainstream primary and secondary schools servicing the Shire, 818 primary school and 427 secondary school students (compared to 1,108 at the time of the last Census when there were 632 primary school and 476 secondary school students).

56 Table 3, Lachlan NSW AEDC Community Profile 2015. 57 Table 5.2, Lachlan NSW AEDC Community Profile 2015. 39

Figure 10 –Primary school enrolment58

School 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Lake Cargelligo 116 94 109 118 140 130 144 St Francis Xavier 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 Tullibigeal CS 29 25 22 32 24 21 29 Ungarie CS 56 63 74 67 59 61 55 Condobolin PS 327 294 294 262 273 279 272 St Joseph's School 0 0 0 0 0 0 140 Tottenham CS 87 76 72 74 74 72 74 Euabalong West PS 14 15 16 16 19 17 17 Tullamore CS 49 50 54 63 49 56 51 Total 678 617 641 632 638 636 818

Figure 11 – Secondary school enrolment59

School 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Lake Cargelligo 109 100 102 110 110 111 108 Tullibigeal CS 27 29 30 26 23 23 19 Ungarie CS 31 38 34 32 32 27 34 Condobolin HS 229 258 249 253 238 221 220 Tottenham CS 39 29 31 31 28 26 21 Tullamore CS 25 33 31 24 18 24 25 Total 460 487 477 476 449 432 427

We have not yet been able to collect data about how many children are learning in alternative (non- school) settings.

2011 Census data indicates the almost 9 in 10 children aged 5 – 14 (88.3%) were attending school (or an alternative educational institution) at that time. Participation rates were slightly higher for girls than boys (90.4% compared to 86.1%).

Participation rates dropped off significantly in the 15 – 19 year age group with only 6 in 10 (60.2%) young people attending school or participating in some form of alternative education or training. Participation rates were slightly lower for girls than boys in this age group (58.2% compared to 62.1%).

Some community members have indicated that they are concerned about the school dropout and non- attendance rates of children in our community and have identified a need to provide families and children with more support to participate in school. A few community members have noted that there is a need to think about how we can better support students for whom mainstream school is not a good fit.

Additional information: we are keen to understand what the 2014 participation rate is estimated to be and the breakdown between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. We are also keen to get a better understanding of the availability and take up of alternative learning programs. We will be working with local schools and service providers to source the above information.

58 Annual School Reports 2014. 59 Annual School Reports 2014. 40

School attendance

2014 attendance rates vary across our schools. In a number of cases attendance rates are below the State average, in some cases significantly below. All of our schools have recognised the need to improve and maintain attendance in their Annual School Reports and the importance of supporting families and students in order to do so.

Figure 12 – Student attendance rates (%) (2014)60 (highlighting used to show areas where attendance exceeded the State average)

Lake St Francis St Joseph's Condobolin Condobolin Tottenham Euabalong State Tullibigeal Ungarie Tullamore CS Cargelligo Xavier School PS HS CS West PS Average K 89.7 96 NA 96.2 72 93.4 - 93.6 - 94.3 95.2 1 90.8 85 NA 92.9 83 92.6 - 94.6 96.9 93.3 94.7 2 88.9 93 NA 92.2 93 94.3 - 93.2 95.8 96.3 94.9

ary 3 92.7 92 NA 97.4 90 91.7 - 96.2 98.1 96.1 95.0

m 4 89.7 99 NA 96.2 90 94.5 - 92.0 93.9 94.8 94.9

Pri 5 89.9 94 NA 91.4 90 91.4 - 94.5 95.4 95.7 94.8 6 85.5 91 NA 97.1 96 94.6 - 94.7 - 93.8 94.2 Total 89.5 92.9* NA 94.4 88* 93.3 - 94.2 96 94.7 94.8

7 85.5 - NA 93.0 - - 88.4 89.1 - 87.7 93.3 8 84.5 - NA 85.7 - - 90.3 97.1 - 93.1 91.1

9 72.2 - NA 83.9 - - 80.6 91.3 - 92.9 89.7

dary

n 10 77.9 - NA 78.7 - - 75.2 89.7 - 97.7 88.1

Se 11 63.2 - NA 90.4 - - 66.4 87.9 - 73.6 88.8 12 75.5 - NA 97.7 - - 84.0 74.1 - 87.7 90.3 Total 76.8 - NA 88 - - 80.3 87.7 - 93.3 90.2

Additional information: We are keen to understand how attendance rates vary between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students, how schools manage attendance and to understand how many students were suspended or expelled during the 2014 school year. We will work with local schools to try to source this data.

60 Annual School Reports 2014. 41

3.8.2. Student learning NAPLAN results

NAPLAN assesses aspects of literacy including reading, spelling, punctuation and grammar and writing as well as numeracy. NAPLAN tests provide the school with valuable information on the literacy and numeracy skills of children that are essential for ongoing learning. School results vary overall and by year level cohort. They suggest that some students and class groups are doing well and that some are below the benchmark level for their age group. All of our schools have recognised in their Annual School Reports that they need to support students with lower literacy and numeracy levels to develop their skills.

Figure 13 – Average school NAPLAN results for reading and numeracy (2014)61 (green highlighting shows where school average is over statistically similar schools and national average, grey where results are over statistically similar school average) [note that the results for different year levels relate to different groups / cohorts of students, they do not track student groups through school]

Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year 9 Average 2014 score Average 2014 score Average 2014 score Average 2014 score School name School Similar Aust. School Similar Aust. School name School Similar Aust. School Similar Aust. Lake Carg. CS 347 351 418 431 440 501 Lake Carg. CS 488 492 546 523 525 580 St Francis X.PS 448 351 418 473 440 501 ------Ungarie CS 406 393 418 491 477 501 Ungarie CS 546 522 546 513 558 580

i Tullibigeal CS Below reporting threshold Below reporting threshold Tullibigeal CS Below reporting threshold Below reporting threshold

ad Condobolin PS 360 337 418 427 427 501 Condobolin HS 485 483 546 536 515 580

Re St Joseph's 395 391 418 476 476 501 ------Tottenham CS 456 407 418 499 489 501 Tottenham CS Below reporting threshold 515 569 580 Euab. West PS Below reporting threshold Below reporting threshold ------Tullamore CS 403 410 418 468 493 501 Tullamore CS 584 536 546 526 572 580

Lake Carg. CS 332 349 402 438 434 488 Lake Carg. CS 492 546 546 532 534 588 St Francis X.PS 510 349 402 484 434 488 ------Ungarie CS 399 381 402 489 465 488 Ungarie CS 573 519 546 523 561 588

Tullibigeal CS Below reporting threshold Below reporting threshold Tullibigeal CS Below reporting threshold Below reporting threshold racy Condobolin PS 351 339 402 404 424 488 Condobolin HS 486 484 546 542 526 588 St Joseph's 399 380 402 449 464 488 ------

Nume Tottenham CS 420 392 402 499 476 488 Tottenham CS Euab. West PS Below reporting threshold Below reporting threshold ------Tullamore CS 400 395 402 471 479 488 Tullamore CS 554 534 546 567 657 588

Additional information: We are keen to understand more about how our students are performing and what additional supports students and their families need to help students to achieve their full potential. We will work with local schools to try to source this information.

61 My School website. www.myschool.edu.au 42

3.8.3. School completion At the time of the last Census just under half of the population aged 20 – 24 years old in 2011 had completed year 12 or an equivalent qualification; a quarter had completed year 10.

Figure 14 – School completion (2011)

15 – 19 years 20 – 24 years 15 years & over Year 12 or equivalent 29% 47% 30% Year 11 or equivalent 13% 10% 7% Year 10 or equivalent 30% 25% 32% Year 9 or equivalent 12% 6% 11% Year 8 or below 4% 2% 10% Did not go to school - - 1% Highest year of school not stated - 10% 8%

Additional information: We are keen to source 2014 year 10 – 12 retention and completion data and understand the proportion of students that completed VET programs as part of their Year 12 studies and how many completed their HSC. We will be working with local schools to try to source that data.

3.9. Are our young people making a positive transition post-school?

Education and training plays a critical role in providing people with the life and vocational skills required to participate in the workforce. Research shows that people with qualifications at Certificate III level or above are more likely to be employed, earn more and be less susceptible to changes caused by economic downturn and industry restructuring than people with lower levels of 62 educational attainment.

It is important that we support young people to make a positive post-school transition and provide both young people and adults in our community with the opportunity to access further education and training. 3.9.1. Post-school transition Exposure to work

Research shows that there is value in having young people engage in part time work or workplace based experience when they are still young to help inform their vocational and career choices and position them to transition into full or part time work after school.

At the time of the 2011 Census 7 in 10 young people aged 15 – 19 years (72.4%) were fully engaged in study and / or 63 work:  Approximately half (49.2%) of those young people were studying full time  1 in 10 (9.8%) were also working part time while they studied full time  1 in 10 were working full time (9.6%) and  A small number were studying part time while they did

62 Nechvoglod and Beddie 2010., pp.9 and 36. 63 ABS.stat.gov.au 2011 census data. 43

that (2.7%) or balancing part time work and study (1.1%). The above figures indicate that, while some students are getting exposure to work during their senior school years, many are not. Some community members have noted the importance of supporting young people in the community to access part time work to provide them with exposure to the workplace and give them work experience before they leave school. Post-school transitions

Figure 15 – Student post-school destination outcomes (2014)64

Cargelligo Tullibigeal Ungarie Condobolin HS Tottenham CS Tullamore CS # Year 12 students Seeking employment 69% - 50% 19% NA - Employment - 100% - 30% NA 100% TAFE entry - - - 16% NA 67% University entry 31% - 50% 37% NA - Other - - - - NA - Unknown - - - - NA - 3.9.2. Participation in further study and life-long learning A number of community members have also noted the importance of providing both school leavers and adults with access to quality training and further education options.

A number of people have commented on the need to strengthen local TAFE training options and to make sure that they are better aligned with industry and learner demand. A number have also noted that many young people leave the community to access better training and work opportunities outside of the community. One community member has suggested that Lachlan should actively work to get a tertiary provider to establish a campus in the Shire to try to offset this.

At the time of the 2011 Census just over 1 in 10 people aged 20 – 24 years old were engaged in education (12.9%). The proportion of women participating in post-school education was significantly higher than that of men (17.3% compared to 8.3%). Given that a smaller percentage of females aged 15 – 19 years were participating in education, this may suggest that a number of women are returning to education after having left school early.

In 2012, 64 young people received a Youth Allowance for further study or apprenticeship training.

Only a small proportion of people aged 25 years and over were involved in education (2.3%). Again, women were more likely to be engaged in education than men (3% compared to 1.7%).

The stronger tendency of women to participate in post-school education is reflected in the higher proportion of women having non-school qualifications.

64 School Annual Reports 2014. 44

Figure 16 – Proportion of people with a post-school qualification (2011)

Qualification level Persons Males Females No. people with a non-school qualification 2,185 1,047 1,138 Postgraduate Degree Level 1.3% 1.2% 1.4% Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate Level 2.2% 1.1% 3.3% Bachelor Degree Level 15.3% 9.3% 20.8% Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level 12.7% 9.0% 16.1% Certificate Level: 39.3% 50.8% 28.7% Certificate Level not disclosed 3.8% 3.4% 4.0% Certificate III & IV Level 31.5% 44.3% 19.7% Certificate I & II Level 4.1% 3.1% 5.0% Level of education inadequately described 3.3% 2.0% 4.5% Level of education not stated 25.9% 26.6% 25.2%

Additional information: we are keen to understand more about the pathway that young people and adults are taking into further study and the difference between different groups, including Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal community members. We will be working with schools and the local TAFE to build a more detailed understanding of that.

3.9.3. Youth employment As was noted earlier, youth unemployment rates are higher than average.

A number of community members have identified the need to address youth unemployment as being a key priority for the region and have indicated that there is a need to both work to generate more employment opportunities in the community and to provide more support for young people to access employment.

Additional information: we are keen to build an understanding of the specific needs that young job seekers have. We will be working with them, Centrelink and local employment service providers to try to build a more detailed understanding of that.

3.10. Are our older community members living fully and well?

Our older community members form an important part of our society. They are active, vibrant members of our economy and society and they act as our elders and guides. As the age balance of our community shifts we need to make sure that the older members of our community remain active and are appropriately supported and cared for. 3.10.1. Ageing population

In 2011 approximately 1 in 5 members of the community were aged 65 Aging population years or over (1,213, 18.7%); 1 in 10 were aged 85 years or over (159, 2.5%). 193 (15.9%) of the community members aged over 65 years had a core 18.7% pop. 65 yrs+ activity need and required support, approximately 1 in 10 of those were Aboriginal community members. 1.5 in 10 with a A further 47 community members aged 54 – 65 years old also had a core core activity need activity need; approximately 1 in 3 of those were Aboriginal community members. 3.10.2. Aged Care Supports And Services A review of the Lake Cargelligo Multi-purpose Service in 2014 found that the aged care needs of older members of the community were not being met; particularly in relation to the local provision of low level dementia care and high residential care. The report noted that in many cases community members requiring high residential care were needing to be cared for in other communities while they waited to access care locally.65 The need for more aged care services and the importance of providing local aged care facilities so that older community members do not have to move away to access support has been reiterated by a number of community members.

Additional information: we are keen to build an understanding of the specific needs of older members in our community and will be working with them, MLHD and CWHD and community service providers to try to build a more detailed understanding of that.

3.11. What support services are there in our community?

We are working to build a map of the services in our community, the types of support that they provide and the means by which they do that. We hope to be able to share that mapping shortly. That mapping will highlight the impact and variation of different service boundaries.

65 Lake Cargelligo Multi-purpose Service: Service Statement 2014., p.2.

Appendix 1 – summary of issues identified by community members

Community members identified a number of issues or areas that they thought were of importance that should be a focus for the community. We have charted the number of times a particular area was identified as a priority by people through the community survey that we conducted in Figure A1 below. We have also summarised the sorts of things that people identified in each area in tabular format in Figure A2.

Figure A1 – Summary of key issue areas identified by community members through the community survey

Declining population 41 34 Unequal distribution of resources across the Shire 25 62

Lack of community spirit 32 17 Need to strengthen culture 2 76 Need for more access to transport 42 12 Alcohol and drug misuse 57 13 Lack of health / medical services 103 24 Family violence and abuse 9 124 Need to strengthen early childhood development services 5 134 School attendance / education support needs 29 13 Need to strengthen access to local further education & training 16 18 Unemployment / lack of employment & career opportunities 53 13 Impact of poverty & disadvantage 17 2 Shop closures 100 95 Poor internet & mobile coverage 17 42 Need to improve disability support 1 70 Water security 29 17 Aspects of community governance & Council management 11 47

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Figure A2 – Summary of key ideas identified in relation to each priority issue area by community members through the community survey (the number of people referencing a particular issue is identified on the right hand side of the left column) Small / declining population and rate base 41 Declining population People moving away to access better work / opportunities Need to retain and / or attract new residents

Pressure to regionalise / amalgamate with other Shires 34 Concerns about implications for service delivery Regionalisation Differences in perspectives on pros and cons associated with amalgamation Split view between Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin about whether it would be best to amalgamate with Parkes or Bland

Perceived division between towns (Lake Cargelligo and Condobolin) within the Shire 25 Unequal distribution of resources View that there is not fair / equitable distribution of services / resources across the community across the Shire Concern that there is a need to keep small towns viable Need to provide funding for small communities in the Shire

Beautify / clean up town 62 Fill vacant shopfronts in main street Fix footpaths and nature strips Landscape / clean up parks Need for community renewal Provide more public seats Provide more parking Tidy up homes and yards Improve animal management

View that there is a need to strengthen community spirit / engagement 32 Lack of community spirit Need to reinitiate / increase community activities / events Encourage more people to volunteer / engage in community groups

Sense that there is a lack of community cohesion 17 Concerns about relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, racism, segregation and the need to be more inclusive Community cohesion View that there is a lack of respect between different groups within the community and younger and older community members Concerns about the impact that new community members are having on the dynamics in town View that there is a need to help young people feel more connected to the community

Need to strengthen culture Need to build on and strengthen culture 2

Concerns about distance from basic services and the need to travel to access them 76 Isolation & impact of distance Concerns about the loss of services generally Challenges associated with recruiting and retaining staff

Need for more public / community transport to be able to access services and participate in sporting and 42 Need for more access to transport community activities Need for a taxi service

Concerns about health issues in the community 12 Health issues Need for improved preventative health / health care (particularly for Aboriginal community members)

Concerns about drug and alcohol misuse 57 Alcohol & drug misuse Lack of access to AOD services

Concerns about mental health needs 13 Mental health Lack of access to general counselling and mental health services Challenges associated with recruiting and retaining mental health professionals

Concerns about the loss of medical / health services 81 Lack of access to GP and specialist services (including dentists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech therapists, Lack of health / medical services occupational therapists) Challenges associated with recruiting and retaining GPs and other health professionals Concerns about access to hospital and ambulance services 22

Housing availability & affordability Concerns about housing availability and affordability 24

Concerns about family breakdown, violence and anger management 8 Family violence & abuse Concerns about child neglect and abuse 1

Concerns about crime and community safety 93 Violent and delinquent behaviour Crime / community safety Need for an increased police presence / improved police facilities Need for stronger youth justice responses (including early intervention and diversion) Concerns about vandalism 31

Need to strengthen early childhood Strengthen early childhood development services 5 development services Improve access to specialist services

Need to strengthen youth services 27 Need to strengthen youth services & Need to engage young people more effectively provide more things for young people Need to provide more activities for children and young people (particularly in small towns and after 107 to do school and on weekends) Need to invest in sporting / recreational facilities

Need to improve school attendance 29 Support school attendance / education Need to increase investment in schools support needs Need to provide a broader range of education and support options Need to strengthen educational offerings so that fewer students move away to go to boarding school

Exit of young people from the Young people leaving town for education / work opportunities 13 community for education / work

Need to encourage young people to pursue further education 16 Need to strengthen access to local Need to provide more / better quality learning options further education & training Need to increase TAFE course options Need to better align course offering to demand

Need to provide more cultural, sporting and recreation options generally (not just for 18 Need for more things for people to do children and young people)

Lack of employment and career options for both school leavers and adults 53 Lack of employment & career Lack of access to unemployment support services opportunities Need to generate jobs / expand career options Lack of opportunities

Impact of the drought 13 Impact of the drought Debt / inability to access finance

Poverty and disadvantage 14 Impact of poverty & disadvantage High cost of food / cost of living Welfare dependency 3

Gambling Need to address gambling 2

Closure of shops (Target) 100 Shop closures Lack of shops (particularly clothing shops) Implications on people spending money online or in other regional centres with negative impact on local economy

Need to support economic development 43 Need to attract new business / industries Need to support small businesses Need to be entrepreneurial Need to promote economic Need to compete online development Need to support local businesses 21 Need to keep banks open 2 Need to grow tourism industry 18 Need to maintain the water level in Lake Cargelligo 11

Poor internet and mobile telephone coverage 17 Poor internet & mobile coverage High access costs

Implications of having an ageing population 42 Need for more aged care services and support for older community members Ageing population Particular need for dementia, short term home care and respite support services Need to improve ability of older community members to access local services

Need to improve disability support Lack of access to disability support services 1

Need to maintain roads 43 Need to improve road safety Build and maintain community infrastructure 16 Need to maintain / improve essential Need to improve use of existing facilities services Need to improve reliability of electricity supply 2 Need to improve environmental sustainability 4 Need to provide recycling 3 Need to improve waste management 2

Need to improve drinking water quality 24 Need to improve water security Need to improve water management / security Need to address high water rates 5

Lack of service coordination / duplication of services 17 Split provision of services from different areas (e.g. across Murrumbidgee and Central Western NSW Health) Lack of engagement in interagency coordination structures / communication barriers Service delivery / coordination Lack of information about available services Increased reliance on larger, regional service providers without reference to smaller local providers Need to address counterproductive / competitive behaviour Need to manage cost shifting from Federal and State governments and compliance requirements

Need to improve responsiveness of Shire Council 8 Strengthen strategic (long term) / civic leadership Aspects of community governance & Address dysfunctional decision making / behaviour Council management Strengthen local recruitment Address high Council rates 3

We analysed the survey based feedback that we collected by geography and by age group to see whether or not the themes that were being identified by different communities or groups across Lachlan were similar or varied significantly.

While there was some variation across the different communities represented, common themes emerged across many of our communities. We have mapped the number of people identifying key issues by community and shaded where 10 percent or more of the community identified an area as being an important area of focus in Figure A3 below.

Figure A3 – Areas identified by community members as being most important to focus on - by location (highlighting shows were 10 percent of more of respondents identified area)

Areas identified by community members as being al

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most important to focus on when asked: “If we

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ndobolin could focus on one thing to improve our rge

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ake community what do you think that should be?” L Ca Alb Curlew Waters Murrin Eua T Co De T T O O U T

Community renewal 25 1 5 38 1 3 23 96 Economic development / sustainability 16 1 2 72 5 23 119 Culture 1 1 2 4 Community cohesion 1 3 4 Crime prevention / community safety 7 1 26 8 42 Early childhood development 1 5 2 8 Education 2 1 1 1 5 Employment & training 10 1 4 1 19 1 1 1 11 49 Children & young people 16 5 1 1 23 2 7 55 Older people (ageing population) 7 1 2 3 1 2 16 Poverty 1 2 3 Housing 1 1 6 2 10 Health & wellbeing 11 4 33 2 6 56 Recreation 3 1 1 1 11 12 29 Infrastructure & essential service provision 9 1 7 6 4 27 Service delivery & coordination 8 2 1 4 15 Transport 1 1 4 4 2 12 Governance 8 1 1 8 7 25 Total 125 2 5 17 2 15 260 4 21 1 2 121 575

There was some variation across the different age groups in our community though. Younger community members tended to focus on the need for community renewal, economic development, crime prevention, improved access to education and training, health and wellbeing and recreation. Older community members focused on the need for community renewal, economic development, health and wellbeing and the need to support our children and young people.

Figure A4 – Areas identified by community members as being most important to focus on - by age group (highlighting shows were 10 percent of more of respondents identified area)

Areas identified by community members as being most ars ars

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important to focus on when asked: “If we could focus on one d

4 4

2 5

thing to improve our community what do you think that should - - y

be?” 13 15 55

d d d

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otal

Ag Ag Ag Multiple Not T Community renewal 6 55 28 5 2 96 Economic development / sustainability 7 64 40 1 7 119 Culture 2 2 4 Community cohesion 3 1 4 Crime prevention / community safety 5 18 13 1 5 42 Early childhood development 5 1 2 8 Education 3 1 1 5 Employment & training 8 28 10 3 49 Children & young people 3 33 15 1 3 55 Older people (ageing population) 10 5 1 16 Poverty 2 1 3 Housing 4 4 2 10 Health & wellbeing 7 25 17 1 6 56 Recreation 7 16 1 1 4 29 Infrastructure & essential service provision 3 11 10 2 1 27 Service delivery & coordination 1 8 3 3 15 Transport 4 6 2 12 Governance 1 5 13 1 5 25 Total 48 293 169 14 51 575

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reference Description ABS Census Basic ABS, Census 2011, Basic Community Profile Lachlan (A) (LGA14600), Community Profile 2011 ABS Cat. No. 2001.0, Canberra, 2012. ABS Census ATSI Profile ABS, Census 2011, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples 2011 (Indigenous) Profile for Lachlan (A) (LGA14600), ABS Cat. No. 2002.0, Canberra, 2012. ABS Census Extended ABS, Census 2011, Extended Community Profile Lachlan (A) Community Profile 2011 (LGA14600), ABS Cat. No. 2005.0, Canberra, 2012. ABS Working Population ABS, Census 2011, Working Population Profile for Lachlan (A) Profile 2011 (LGA14600), ABS Cat. No. 2006.0, Canberra, 2012. ABS Cat. No. 3218.0 ABS, Regional Population Growth, Australia, Cat. No. 3218.0, Canberra, 2012. ABS Cat. No. 6202.0 ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Cat. No. 6202.0, Canberra, 2012. AEDC Community Centre for Community Child Health, AEDC Community Profile, Lachlan Profile, Lachlan NSW NSW 2015, RCH, Melbourne, 2015. AHMRC2012 2012 Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Centre, The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Centre of NSW Annual Report 2011-12, AHMRC, NSW, 2012. Annual School Reports NSW Department of Education and Communities, Condobolin Public 2014 School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities, Condobolin High School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities, Euabalong West Public School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities, Lake Cargelligo Central School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities, St Francis Xavier Primary School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities. St Joseph’s School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities, Tottenham Central School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities, Tullamore Central School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities. Tullibigeal Central School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. NSW Department of Education and Communities. Ungarie Central School Annual Report 2014, DEC, NSW, 2015. Community Profile 2012 Multicultural NSW Lachlan LGA Community Profile Report., Multiculturalism NSW, NSW, 2012. DEEWR Overview of DEEWR, Overview of Lachlan ESA Labour Market 2011, DEEWR, Lachlan ESA Labour Canberra, 2012. Market 2011

Reference Description Lachlan Shire Council Factsheet Lachlan Shire Council at Factsheet www.investnswcentralwest.com.au/opportunities-by-region/lachlan- 2/#Lachlan%20Profile Lake Cargelligo Murrumbidgee Local Health District, Lake Cargelligo Multipurpose Multipurpose Service: Service: Service Statement 2014, MLHD, NSW, 2014. Service Statement 2014 NSW Bureau of Crime NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research , NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Statistics and Research Factsheet: Murrin Bridge and Lake Cargelligo: Factsheet 2014 Crime and Hospital Data (DG 1412108) prepared in collaboration with NSW Health, BoCSR, NSW, 2014 Healthy Kids Bus: Lake Royal Far West, Healthy Kids Bus: Lake Cargelligo Report September Cargelligo Report 2015 2015, Royal Far West, NSW, 2015. Nechvolglod and Beddie Lisa Nechvoglod & Francesca Beddie, Hard to Reach Learners: What 2010 Works in Reaching and Keeping Them?, Victorian Adult, Community and Further Education Board, Victoria, 2010. NSW Health Annual NSW Department of Health, NSW Health Annual Report 2014-15, Report 2014-15 NSW Department of Health, NSW, 2015. NSW State and Local NSW Department of Planning and Environment ., NSW State and Local Government Area Government Area Population, Household & Dwelling Projections: 2014 Population 2014 Final, NSW, 2014. Lachlan Shire Council Lachlan Shire Council, Lachlan Shire Council Annual Report 2014-15, Annual Report 2014-15 LSC, NSW, 2015.

Useful websites: www.ABS.stat.gov.au www.aedc.gov.au www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au www.myschool.edu.au