A/HRC/36/46/Add.2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 19 The Programme imposes an inflexible digitalized regime on recipients that issues penalty notices and docks their pay for missed scheduled work. Under the Programme, contracted organizations that provide employment have fewer opportunities to tailor engagement strategies to local communities or to particular individuals. The rate at which jobseekers within the Programme are penalized is around 27 times that of mainstream, predominantly non-indigenous, jobseekers. In practice, these requirements are discriminatory, being substantially more onerous than those that apply to predominantly non-indigenous jobseekers. 59. Housing remains in short supply in many indigenous communities, and low levels of income have forced people into overcrowded or dilapidated housing. While in Darwin, the Special Rapporteur visited Aboriginal town camps and was appalled by the dismal conditions therein, in particular the lack of basic sanitation services. The helplessness and shame that many feel when they are unable to find work results in the entrenchment of poverty and money being spent on illicit substances as opposed to basic needs. The high rates of homelessness, overcrowding and poor housing have a high impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strat Islander health indicators and fuel the disproportionately high rates of Aboriginal children entering the child protection and youth detention systems. K. Compulsory income management 60. The application of a compulsory income management scheme was a key feature of the “Northern Territory Intervention” and persist through its successor, the “Stronger Futures” legislation. The vast majority of those affected by the measures are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. In 2009, the previous Special Rapporteur criticized the impact that the Intervention had had, and specifically the suspension by the Government of the Racial Discrimination Act, which had removed legal protections for Aboriginal peoples in the Northern Territory. 61. While the Racial Discrimination Act was reinstated in December 2010 and legislation was revised and renamed “Stronger Futures” in 2012, it continues to apply punitive measures. During her visit to the Northern Territory, Aboriginal communities told the Special Rapporteur of how they feel stigmatized by being subjected to compulsory income management, forced participation in “work for the dole” schemes (that pay individuals far less than an average reward rate) and the application of fines and welfare reductions for parents whose children play truant from school. As part of the compulsory income management scheme, welfare payments are partially quarantined and provided through a “BasicsCard”, which restricts people’s purchases to specific stores and items. The Special Rapporteur was told by users of the card that it causes humiliation, for example as certain shops require them to queue separately. 62. The administrative costs of running the scheme are very high, and the Special Rapporteur was informed that this has drained financial resources that could have been better invested in improving housing conditions. 63. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, in its 2016 review of the “Stronger Futures” measures, described the scheme as an “intrusive measure that robs individuals of their autonomy and dignity and involves a significant interference into a person’s private and family life”.20 64. In a parallel development, the Special Rapporteur notes that voluntary income management is being trialled in two “empowered communities” following specific requests from the community. Unlike under the compulsory income management scheme in the Northern Territory, local indigenous communities have participated actively in this policy design. The impact of voluntary income management has yet to be fully assessed. 19 20 See www.dpmc.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/employment/community-development-programme-cdp. See http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Human_Rights/ Committee_Inquiries/strongerfutures2/Final_report. 11