Name
The name of the Advisory Group is the Pilot First Nations Trade and Investment Advisory Group (the Pilot Advisory Group).
Authority
The Pilot Advisory Group is authorised by the Deputy Secretary (Trade and Investment Group) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Department).
Purpose
The purpose of the Pilot Advisory Group is to facilitate a collaborative partnership between First Nations Australians and the Australian Government, through the Department, with a view to amplifying First Nations' views and embedding perspectives across:
- Australia's international trade and foreign investment policy
- trade negotiations, including negotiation objectives and implementation
- trade advocacy, communication and promotion
- pathways to help grow First Nations' export capability and opportunities
- how to ensure that the benefits of Australia's international trade and foreign investment efforts are realised by and shared with First Nations people, businesses and communities
- other priorities related to trade and investment and identified by First Nations representatives, supportive of a self-determination approach and shared decision-making.
The Pilot Advisory Group may help to inform key fora such as the Trade 2040 Taskforce, the Ministerial Council for Trade and Investment and its associated Senior Officials Trade and Investment Group, and other mechanisms as appropriate.
Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of the Pilot Advisory Group are to:
- participate actively in their representative capacity, including a commitment to attend all meetings (virtual and in person)
- share information and member perspectives about issues tabled for discussion
- provide frank advice to government about its trade and investment work
- bring forward issues for the Pilot Advisory Group's consideration, consistent with the Pilot Advisory Group's purpose as outlined in these Terms of Reference.
In authorising the Pilot Advisory Group, the Department has reciprocal responsibilities to the above, as well as providing funding and resourcing for agreed member fees and travel, and secretariat tasks.
Chair
The Chair for the Pilot Advisory Group is the Ambassador for First Nations People. In absence of the Chair, an interim Chair will be nominated by the Department.
Secretariat
The Department will be the Secretariat for the Pilot Advisory Group.
The Secretariat role will include:
- practical secretariat functions, including meeting logistics, papers and management of members' appointments, fees and travel arrangements;
- liaison with the Chair as it relates to their role for the Pilot Advisory Group
- liaise and engage with Pilot Advisory Group members, and across the Department and government, to bring priority trade and investment issues to the Pilot Advisory Group for discussion
- engagement across the Department and government to take forward the pilot Advisory Group's priorities where possible and provide feedback to the Pilot Advisory Group on progress.
Membership
The Pilot Advisory Group will be comprised of, and must not exceed, a maximum of twelve members, excluding the Chair, at any given time.
All members will be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and will offer trade and/or investment expertise or lived experience.
Members will be identified through an expression of interest process.
Applicants may apply in an individual capacity or as a representative from a national-scale First Nations organisation or network that is involved in trade and investment policy or activities.
In considering members for the pilot Advisory Group, the selection process will preference options that ensure that the pilot Advisory Group's membership has balanced representation across gender, geography and sectors, and maximises opportunity to 'join-up' existing efforts by various organisations and networks on First Nations trade and investment.
All members to the Pilot Advisory Group will be appointed by the Deputy Secretary of the Department.
The Secretariat will keep all active members and the Chair informed of any changes to membership.
If a member that was appointed as a representative of a First Nations organisation or network resigns their position, the organisation or network may be invited by the Secretariat to nominate a replacement member.
If a member that was appointed as an individual applicant resigns their position, the Department will facilitate a public expression of interest process to identify a replacement member or may make an appointment from a recently held expression of interest process.
Proxies
Members may delegate attendance to a Proxy with prior written notice to the Secretariat. The attendance of Proxies will be noted at the beginning of a Pilot Advisory Group meeting and included in the minutes. Proxies must sign required Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Agreements prior to engaging in the meeting. Proxies will not be able to claim sitting fees or travel costs for their participation.
Ex-Officio Members
Additional Ex-Officio members may be considered as a means of ensuring connectivity with related fora. The inclusion of Ex-Officio members can be nominated by the Chair, any member, or the Secretariat, for consideration by the Pilot Advisory Group.
Ex-officio members may be invited to join the Pilot Advisory Group by the Deputy Secretary of the Department, after having considered the views of the Pilot Advisory Group. Ex-Officio members must sign required Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Agreements prior to joining the Pilot Advisory Group.
Ex-Officio members will not be able to claim sitting fees or travel costs for their participation.
Member Sitting Fees and Travel Costs
Members will be remunerated for their participation (meeting fees and travel costs) in the Pilot Advisory Group in accordance with the Remuneration Tribunal (Remuneration and Allowances for Holders of Part-time Public Office) Determination 2024 and the Remuneration Tribunal (Official Travel) Determination 2024 (or any replacement determinations).
Members will not be entitled to claim meeting fees if they are participating in the Pilot Advisory Group as a representative of an organisation and already claiming a salary for time spent on Advisory Group business.
Full details of payment terms and conditions will be specified through the relevant Letter of Appointment with each member.
Meetings
The Pilot Advisory Group will meet up to four times per year, twice in-person and twice virtually. Additional meetings require agreement by the Secretariat in consultation with the Chair.
More than half of members must be present to form a quorum. Administrative decisions about group process should be made by consensus.
The in-person meetings will be facilitated with the ability for members unable to attend in person to participate through telephone or video conferencing, subject to meeting any confidentiality requirements. Scheduled in-person meetings may be held exclusively by telephone or video conferencing where holding the meetings in-person is not practical, subject to meeting any confidentiality requirements.
The Secretariat will advise members of the Meeting format, composition, and location prior to the finalisation of the meeting Agenda.
In consultation with members, the Secretariat may also invite external representatives to join meetings as required by the agenda for that meeting. This may extend to subject matter experts, including people with lived experience, for the purpose of presenting on topics, providing advice, or hearing directly from the Pilot Advisory Group. Participation by Government representatives will be determined by the Secretariat in consultation with the Chair, on a meeting-by-meeting basis.
Out of Session
Government matters requiring urgent attention may be brought to members out of session, as required (e.g. time sensitive trade negotiations). Members will not be reimbursed for time contributed on out of session matters, unless expressly agreed in advance by the Secretariat in consultation with the Chair.
Agenda, Meeting Papers & Minutes
The Secretariat will circulate a draft agenda for a meeting at least three weeks in advance of the date of the meeting. Any member may propose an agenda item (with or without agenda papers) related to the Pilot Advisory Group's purpose.
The Secretariat will circulate a final agenda and agenda papers at least one week in advance of the date of the meeting.
Items submitted after this time may be considered under "Any Other Business", unless the member requests the item be considered as an item at a subsequent meeting.
The Secretariat will circulate draft minutes of a meeting within three weeks of the meeting, to be adopted at the next meeting.
Communiques will be published on the DFAT website after each meeting to support transparency and accountability.
Confidentiality
Members may, on occasion, be provided with sensitive material. Members must treat this material with the utmost care and discretion and not disclose it to anyone outside the Pilot Advisory Group without the Department's express permission.
All members, ex-officio members and Proxies must have signed a Confidentiality Agreement to receive sensitive material or to participate in a meeting at which sensitive material may be discussed.
Members must sign the Confidentiality Agreement on appointment to the Pilot Advisory Group. Proxies must sign the Confidentiality Agreement prior to their attendance at a meeting.
Declaration of Interests
Members will serve on the Pilot Advisory Group as a representative of their nominating First Nations business organisation (if nominated) and in the interests of the broader First Nations business community and will not represent their own personal interests.
Members will be expected to uphold the values of honesty and integrity and commit to the highest standards of governance and probity.
Where a member has, or could be perceived to have, a direct financial or other interest in matters under consideration that may be regarded as affecting their ability to impartially perform their duties as a member of the Pilot Advisory Group, that member should make a declaration of that interest to the Secretariat. The declaration should be made at the time of their appointment as a member or as soon as the situation arises, whichever comes first.
Examples of actual or perceived conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Financial interests – for example, company directorships or partnerships, shareholdings, trusts or other significant sources of income.
- Personal interests – this includes situations where the advice given by a member is, or could be perceived to be, influenced by the member's personal interest.
Declarations of interests will be recorded in the Minutes of each Meeting and the Chair may request members to remove themselves from any portion of a Meeting where discussion would relate to the subject of the declared interest.
Declarations of interest requirements apply equally to ex-officio members and Proxies.
Departmental representatives are subject to confidentiality and conflict of interest obligations via the APS Code of Conduct. Any breach will generally be dealt with by the Commonwealth as an employment matter.
Revising Terms of Reference
A request to revise these Terms of Reference may be raised by the Chair, any member, or the Secretariat, for consideration by the Pilot Advisory Group. Decisions to amend these Terms of Reference must be made by the Deputy Secretary of the Department, as the authorised delegate.
Review
The Pilot Advisory Group will be established to operate for a twelve-month period in the first instance, commencing on the date of the first meeting of the Pilot Advisory Group.
The Pilot Advisory Group, in partnership with the Chair and the Secretariat, will commence review of the efficacy of the Pilot Advisory Group in meeting its stated purpose within ten months of its establishment.
The review will include consideration of any developments in related First Nations advisory or representative functions.
The terms of reference for the review will be agreed with pilot Advisory Group members.
A decision will be taken by the Deputy Secretary in response to this review, about the future of the Pilot Advisory Group beyond the initial twelve-month pilot period.
This decision may include but not be limited to advice on the selection of members, the term of members, the process for refreshing appointments over time, the termination of members or the dissolution of the group itself.
Members will initially be appointed for a 12-month period, with the option to extend up to an additional 24 months at the discretion of the Deputy Secretary, subject to the findings of the review.