Understanding Data Sovereignty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

The concept of Indigenous Data Sovereignty is rapidly gaining prominence, both in Australia and internationally, and is likely to have important implications for developing housing and urban policy. This AHURI Brief explains what Indigenous Data Sovereignty is and how it can be successfully incorporated into data gathering and policy development strategies of government and non-government organisations in Australia.

Please note: currently, in discussion on the philosophies and future directions for Data Sovereignty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the term Indigenous Data Sovereignty is commonly used. AHURI acknowledges that the terms ‘Indigenous Australians’ or ‘Indigenous peoples’ is contested and that the terms ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ or ‘First Nations peoples’ may be preferred by some individuals and groups.

Collecting data is not culturally neutral

Having accurate, relevant data is vital for underpinning evidence-informed policy. When data is collected, the meaning drawn from that data often reflects the cultural values and norms (including any assumption of racial hierarchy) of the wider community. When the data collected is about Indigenous peoples (or any other studied group), there can be biases inherent in those data and statistics that impact on the ways in which Indigenous people are understood by the broader society. 
 

What is Indigenous Data Sovereignty?

Indigenous Data Sovereignty is an objective of an Indigenous-led movement that seeks to change the way Indigenous data is used and understood. 

Indigenous Data Sovereignty refers to the right of Indigenous peoples to exercise ownership over Indigenous data. Ownership of data can be expressed through the creation, collection, access, analysis, interpretation, management, dissemination and reuse of Indigenous data. (Maiam Nayri Wingara 2018) 

Progress in Indigenous Data Sovereignty challenges Australian governments, educational institutions and other organisations to generate and interpret data through an Indigenous worldview. It has the potential to contribute to a change in the policy directions affecting Indigenous people in Australia through changing the narrative, concepts and discourses that inform policy.

How does Indigenous Data Sovereignty work?

Indigenous Data Sovereignty arrangements work through the concept of Indigenous Data Governance. “This is the right of Indigenous peoples to autonomously decide what, how and why Indigenous Data are collected, accessed and used.” It ensures that data on or about Indigenous peoples reflects Indigenous priorities, values, cultures, worldviews and diversity. 

Indigenous Data Governance embraces two key philosophies:

• Data for governance – where Indigenous peoples have the data they need to inform good governance within Indigenous communities, such as having data that is important and relevant to communities to help inform service delivery, allocation of resources, decision making and policy development.
• Governance of data – where Indigenous peoples have decision making power over the rules and processes applied to Indigenous data through the entire data lifecycle. This is particularly relevant to data about Indigenous peoples held by non-Indigenous organisations (e.g. most government agencies).

(Source: Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective (2024) Taking Control of Our Data) 

Facilitating Indigenous Data Sovereignty for informing housing, homelessness and urban policy

The importance of Indigenous Data Sovereignty in developing housing, homelessness and urban policy is a rapidly growing focus, both in Australia and internationally. However, up to now there has been little or no recognition in the housing sector of its potential in helping deliver appropriate policy.

To facilitate Indigenous Data Sovereignty in research and data collection processes for housing, homelessness and urban policy, processes and practices should:

• source Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance and oversight of project creation, development, data interpretation, reporting and dissemination
• have project governance structures in the form of a Mobility Reference Group which comprises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders from across the social housing sector, and other service sectors including Peak Organisations, Government and Non-Government Organisations and service providers
• ensure relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities, rather than solely for Government purposes and/or projects
• contextualise and disaggregate data to local levels that are accessible, meaningful and relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• create an ongoing feedback loop with community to understand what the data means for them and their data needs 
• deliver consistent, transparent and contextualised reporting 
• disseminate data, irrespective of results
• use strengths-based approach to reporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data, including safe, relevant and appropriate use of comparative and sub-analysis
• apply Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interpretation of data to ensure reporting respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, community and interests
• report Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data in context (acknowledging government historical and ongoing impact, and data quality issues).

(Source: adapted from Maim Nayri Wingara (2018), DCJ (2023) and Inside Policy (2023).)

Indigenous Data Governance is being incorporated into Australian government decision making

The Australian Public Service, led by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and with other input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, has developed the ‘Framework for Governance of Indigenous Data’. Under this Framework each Public Service agency is ‘responsible for implementing actions where reasonably practical within their legislative obligations, and identifying areas where it is not practical and why.’ 

The Framework aims to improve governance practices for data related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; provide a greater awareness of Indigenous Data Sovereignty by Australian Government agencies; and provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with greater agency over how their data are governed within the Public Service. It will also support efforts to implement the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, ‘in particular Priority Reform Three (Transforming Government Organisations) and Priority Reform Four (Shared Access to Data and Information at a Regional Level).’

Data collection and storage practices will need to be modified to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in accessing and sharing data at the regional level. 

Enabling Indigenous Data Sovereignty contributes to better policy development

A key principle of the Australian Public Service Framework is that it ‘acknowledges that better outcomes are achieved if First Nations people have a genuine say in matters affecting them—including the use of data to inform policy-making.’ Government and other organisations’ practices that embrace Indigenous Data Sovereignty can be expected to develop more culturally relevant and appropriate ways to understand and address housing and homelessness issues that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. 
 

In late 2024, as part of the National Cities Research Program research project ‘Voicing First Nations Country, community, and culture in urban policy’, AHURI will publish an in-depth paper further exploring the topic of Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Future updates to this Brief may reflect new learnings from that paper, as well as from AHURI’s continuing program of First Nations housing research.