Members of the Regional Anangu Services Aboriginal Corporation (formerly the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Services Aboriginal Corporation) will regain control of their corporation at midnight tonight. The corporation has undergone significant changes through a special administration process initiated by the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations in February 2009.
The corporation, which was established in 1993, has an office in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and workshops across the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in the north of South Australia. The corporation is owned by Anangu and provides municipal, mechanical and general contracting services to several communities on the APY lands.
The Registrar, Mr Anthony Beven, placed the corporation under special administration on 16 February 2009 after governance and financial management issues were identified.
The improvements made by the special administrators, Peter Lanthois and Stephen Duncan of KordaMentha in Adelaide, include:
- increasing the number of Anangu employed by the corporation—the percentage of Indigenous employees is now over 52 per cent and the majority of all staff live and work on the APY lands
- improving service delivery so that over 85 per cent of all funding is now spent directly on the APY lands
- ending the corporation’s reliance on consultants and lawyers
- finalising all legal proceedings and ensuring that the corporation is now focused on service delivery
- overseeing the appointment of three independent directors to work on a volunteer basis with the directors; namely: Rick Callaghan, Lloyd Roberts and Wally Grimshaw
- ensuring that all outstanding funding agreements with government departments were acquitted and the corporation is compliant with all agreements
- negotiating and submitting a successful tender to secure funding for municipal services delivery across the APY lands.
‘The corporation has made important progress during the special administration. This is a significant Aboriginal organisation, owned and controlled by Anangu. It is pleasing to hand it back to its members today in a stronger position so it can continue to deliver its vital services,’ Mr Beven said.
Corporate governance training was provided by the Registrar’s office for Anangu directors at Marla in South Australia on 15 and 16 February 2010.
See more information about this corporation using ‘Search for a corporation’ at www.oric.gov.au.
Contact:
Lisa Donnelly on (02) 6219 7611
16 February 2010
ORIC MR0910-21