The Rise of the CDEP Scheme and Changing Factors Underlying Indigenous Male Employment

The dominance of the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme in certain regions of Australia complicates the interpretation of any analysis of indigenous employment. In order to enhance interpretation, the factors underlying indigenous employment should be examined separately for areas where the CDEP scheme is relatively prominent. The 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey and census data between 1981 and 1996 are used to highlight potential biases in the effects of educational attainment (and other factors) on employment prospects of indigenous and non-indigenous populations. As a program designed in part to overcome labour market disadvantage and the lack of local employment options, the CDEP scheme is directed towards indigenous males with poor employment prospects, especially low skilled workers, youth, and people who have difficulty in speaking English. This expansion of the scheme appears to be negatively interacting with the process of human capital accumulation in remote indigenous communities.