“A true community is not just about being geographically close to someone or part of the same social web network. It's about feeling connected and responsible for what happens. Humanity is our ultimate community, and everyone plays a crucial role.” (Yehuda Berg, N.D) The objective of this report is to construct a community profile report, this will commence with identifying the community, defining its boundaries and geographical region, explore how the knowledge and data has been obtained, before identifying the community population from a Social Determinants of Health perception, exploring links and factors such as Age, Language, Transportation and Logistics, Financial Aspects, Housing, Education and Training, and Socio-Politics. Before following on to explore resources which currently exist within the community and identifying the needs as indicated by the conducted research. For the purposes of this document the term community will signify the population of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders located within the Shire of Boddington, Western Australia. While Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander has been shortened to A&TSI and plural form being A&TSIs, this is to ensure compliance with word count, and enabling delivery of more interesting information on the community.

1. Boddington Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait
Islander Community Profile Report
2018
Introduction
The objective of this report is to construct a community profile report, this will commence with
identifying the community, defining its boundaries and geographical region, explore how the
knowledge and data has been obtained, before identifying the community population from a Social
Determinants of Health perception, exploring links and factors such as Age, Language, Transportation
and Logistics, Financial Aspects, Housing, Education and Training, and Socio-Politics. Before
following on to explore resources which currently exist within the community and identifying the needs
as indicated by the conducted research. For the purposes of this document the term community will
signify the population of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders located within the Shire of
Boddington, Western Australia. While Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander has been shortened
to A&TSI and plural form being A&TSIs, this is to ensure compliance with word count, and
enabling delivery of more interesting information on the community.
Community Research Strategy
Boddington was chosen for this project is due to five years of service as an Employment
Consultant delivering Job Services Australia and Disability Employment Services in the
management of Outreach Services to this area, throughout this time rapport was developed
with the A&TSI community, and it seem like a great opportunity to investigate the impact of
socially constructed circumstances on the community population. A majority of the research
will be conducted with the use of Google Scholar, Web Search, Edith Cowan University World
“A true community is not just about being geographically close to
someone or part of the same social web network. It's about feeling
connected and responsible for what happens. Humanity is our
ultimate community, and everyone plays a crucial role.”
(Yehuda Berg, N.D)

2. Search, and will refer to the recent findings in the 2016 Census through the Australian Bureau
of Statistics website. As suggested by Murray Hawtin and Janie Percy-Smith (2007), it is
essential when conducting a community profile to include the community and/or stakeholders,
therefore in this resulted in telephoning the Community Resource Centre where Lisa Carrotts
took the opportunity to represent the district in answering some questions. As the Chairwoman
of the Interim Committee for the Shire of Boddington and person has lived in the area for over
30 years, Lisa was previously a Real Estate Specialist and Property Manager for the area
spanning over several decades.
The Boddington Population
As defined by the Australia Bureau of Statistics remoteness classifications, Boddington is
geographically identified as Inner Regional Australia, situated at exactly Longitude -32.802,
Latitude 116.471 (Doctorconnect, 2018). Boddington spans across 114.6sq kilometers housing
Figure 1. Graph demonstrating the entire shire population in comparison with the population of Male and Females and Indigenous
Males and Females within the Boddington Community.

3. a population of 83 A&TSIs which accounts for 4.5% of the Boddington population (ABS,
Census Community Profile, 2018). As demonstrated above A&TSIs are a minority within the
region and caters to a high ratio of young people. While there is an Elder, it would seem the
community does not relate to the person, which is said to have lead the community into disarray
according to Lisa Carrotts (2018).
High Ratio of Young People
Looking at the selected medians and averages, the median age of persons for A&TSI is 29
while the remaining population is 40, statistics displays no community members over the age
of 65, A&TSI persons aged between the ages of 2-19 years are the most predominant members
of the community, accounting for 51 out of 83 people, which is a great asset ensuring the
continuation and growth of the community (ABS, Census of Population and Housing,
Boddington, 2018).
Low Literacy and Learning
The Bureau of Statistics notes 17 out of 51 young A&TSIs are attending educational
institutions (ABS, Census of Population and Housing, Boddington, 2018). These numbers
seem to ring alarms in terms of ensuring the wellbeing of community within a modern society,
limited education is a known factor of lack of literacy. As mentioned by the AMA (2007)
“Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders and people who are socio economically
disadvantaged suffer poor health compared with the rest of the population”, advocating the
necessary need for English literacy and language to enable stronger opportunities and
leadership for the community.
Cultural Connection to Language
It would seem according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, no A&TSIs speak their native
language at home (ABS, Census of Population and Housing, Boddington, 2018). According to
a popular academic rigour website known as ‘The Conversation’ who published an article
“When languages die we lose a part of who we are” which clearly links and suggests languages
die due to political, economic or cultural aspects, all being socially constructed and as a result
suggests a loss of language “would be a tragic loss not just for the people and cultures involved,
but for cognitive science as well” suggesting language is linked to the changes in cognitive
behaviours and thoughts (Foltz, 2015).

4. Transportation and Logistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the community has a high rate of registration for petrol
powered passenger vehicles over 10 years old, suggesting the main method of transport is via
personal vehicles (ABS, Boddington Region Data Summary, 2018). From A&TSIs coming
from a disadvantaged environment, this may influence the ability of owning a vehicle, as
previously mention literacy is required to obtain a driver’s license, this is supported by an
article written by Julie Power (2017), suggesting this could potentially result in illegal activities
and criminal convictions, hindering future opportunities.
Financial Aspects
Median income suggests a person from an A&TSI class receives $407, whilst the remaining
population rates at $845 (ABS, Census of Population and Housing, Boddington, 2018).
Breaking this down further records demonstrated 5 A&TSI persons are living on $0 per week,
10 persons living on $150-$299 while at the other end of the scale, the data displays 15 A&TSI
persons receiving over $1,000 per week. From this data, it demonstrates the level of poverty
some A&TSI are influenced to endure and the snowball effect which flows onto health and
social issues.
Housing
With the limited population of A&TSI one would be forgiven to think, this community
population would have sufficient housing. However, the proportion of dwellings that need 1 or
more extra bedrooms for Non-Indigenous persons is 1.2%, for A&TSI persons/households the
data displays a whopping 13.3%, this is quite a significant difference, and suggests particular
homes within the community are not meeting the required needs (ABS, Census of Population
and Housing, Boddington, 2018). Speaking to Lisa Carrotts (2018) exposed the limited
resources and access to Homeswest housing, stating currently there were only 2 properties
available for the area.
Political Influences
The socio-political factors within this community is dedicated to the preservation of resources
and commitment to conservation, hence requiring a bottom up approach to ensure a supportive
government and execution of fairness in the delivery of funds (McMurray and Clendon, p.11,
2011). At present the Shire of Boddington is implementing a new community area with

5. allocated funding. The developers have collaborated with local A&TSIs to implement
opportunities to create a place of interest for Storytime and walk trails in the interest of
attracting visitors to the area and enable a form of active income through Tourism (Shire of
Boddington, 2018). According to Miller Temple (2018) at the population level social
determinants are likely to influence political aspects resulting in a willingness to change
through the use of public policy strategies.
Boddington Resources
Being situated on the Hotham River, Boddington has a large resource of Natural Fauna and
Wildflowers, and a local swimming hole named Ranford Pool which is popular with the
A&TSIs community (Boddington WA, 2018). This provides for a rich environment
contributing to the development of A&TSIs aquatic skills.
Local mine sites and contractors for the mine provide specialised programs to employ A&TSIs
from the community, included teriatry level education an example of this being the Newmont
Kalyagool Kadadjiny Scholarships which are exclusively for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait
Islanders, as demonstrated on the Edith Cowan University website (Edith Cowan University,
2018).
Natural resources within the area include a Mt Saddleback which caters for Bauxite, Copper
and a Gold Mining, along with Mt Wells which is a Gold Mine, as an Employment Consultant
working closely with the employers, it was discovered that there are implementation of
Indigenous Programs providing employment exclusively for the A&TSIs population, although
they needed to pass a Drug and Alcohol, medical and literacy tests and hold a current manual
drivers license, as identified during self-exposure within Job Services Australia while assisting
community members in overcoming barriers and gaining meaningful and sustainable
employment.
The Boddington Old School is the location of the Rural, Regional and Remote Community
Resource Centre, providing outreach services for government and visiting services. In execute
delivery of employment services, an A&TSI person, disclosed a dislike for a community
member, which restricted their opportunities and possibilities to engage with the Shire. This
demonstrates the effects of personal relationships within the extended community and the result
this has on access to services. At present in the Shire of Boddington, there are no Aboriginal
Initiated Projects, however Lisa Carrotts (2018) was previously approached by a community

6. member expressing their interest at having Aboriginal paintings on community building and
Lisa Carrotts supported the idea of having aboriginal paintings around town, and advised she
would fund the project, however it is up the community to organise the people to paint the
walls, from here nothing ever eventuated. Suggesting there may be a need for liaising with the
community to establish the difference range of resources and education on how to obtain the
required needs to meet their goal.
Needs within the Community of Boddington
From the executed research and the use of a sociogram of the township, it seems there is a need
for prioritized extension of relevant housing to cater to the cultural aspects of A&TSIs needs,
however due to limited Homeswest houses available, policies need to address more resources
to overcome this barrier of overcrowding in homes. In addition, a review of income equality
and support services for those who are currently on no income, identify realistic methods of
obtain transportation, reestablishing identity for A&TSI culture including the loss of language,
implementation of literacy and numeracy skills and the inclusion of A&TSIs within the wider
communities working from a bottom up approach.
As cited from Maidment and Bay (2012) “to assist communities to live well socially,
ecologically and in economically sustainable ways, students and practitioners must critically
engage with and be proactive in addressing the ever-changing conditions of those living in rural
and remote areas” which would suggest the need to implement in-depth research methods to
identify what specialised services are required to cater for todays situations and circumstances
faced by the A&TSI community. For this document, the research will not be executed as this
report is devised as a learning tool for the Rural, Regional and Remote Community
Development unit.
However, in speaking with Lisa Carrotts (2018) who portrayed a sense of significance and
suggested that the only way the A&TSI community will engage is if “we put the paint brushes
in their hand” suggesting there may be a lack of understanding on the processes and procedures
in which the A&TSI community needs to take to achieve their goal, or perhaps a lack of
enthusiasm or motivation. With detailed research involving the community this will provide
the answer of what is needed to ensure the general wellbeing, to ensure longevity of the
community, ensuring a legacy for future generations.

7. Conclusion
Overall the A&TSI population is faced with many diversities and barriers, reoccurring factors
which were identified in this research include limited transportation and literacy skills, in
addition to housing and financial aspects, poor relationships within the broader community,
limited skills abilities and access to relevant modern day services. Being a small minority of
the town, this results in the community being left isolated and vulnerable lacking vital
sociological support structures. As reviewed was the social determinants of health for this
community demonstrating the implication of low literacy and learning, eliminated language,
transportation and logistics, financial aspects, housing, and political influences. Housing Crisis
with only 2 homes west houses, and the Political Influences, the social exclusion of committees
and local government resources due to stigmatization. It would seem the community is lacking
structure and guidance within the wider communities and have a range of barriers imposed on
their daily activities and choices in life.

8. References
Australian Medical Association. (2007). Social Determinant of Health and the Prevention of
Health Inequities: AMA Position Statement.
ABS. (2018). Boddington Region Data Summary. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved
from http://www.abs.gov.au/.
ABS. (2018). Census Community Profile, Boddington. Retrieved from
http://www.abs.gov.au/.
ABS. (2018). Census of Population and Housing, Boddington. Retrieved from
http://www.abs.gov.au/.
Boddington WA. (2018). Things to do in Boddington. Retrieved from
https://www.boddingtonwa.com/visitors.
Carrotts, L. (2018, 13th
August) Telephone Conversation.
Doctorconnect. (2018). Search the map. Retrieved from http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/.
Edith Cowan University. (2018). Kalyagool Kadadjiny Scholarship. Retrieved from
http://www.ecu.edu.au/scholarships/details/kalyagool-kadadjiny-scholarship
Foltz, A. (2015). When languages die, we lose a part of who we are. Retrieved from
https://theconversation.com/when-languages-die-we-lose-a-part-of-who-we-are-
51825.
Maidment, J. and Bay, U. (2012). Social Work in Rural Australia: Enabling Practice. Sydney:
Allen & Unwin.
McMurray, A., & Clendon, J. (2011). Community Health and Wellness: Primary Health Care
in Practice (4th ed.). Australia: Elsevier.
Miller Temple, K. (2018). Rural Health Information Hub, Social Determinants of Health:
Transforming the Buzz Phrase to a Rural Action Item. Retrieved from

9. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/rural-monitor/social-determinants-of-health/
Shire of Boddington. (2018). Shire of Boddington Flowing with Natural Beauty. Retrieved
from http://www.boddington.wa.gov.au/.
Power, J. (2017). Driving unlicensed: Indigenous people stuck between a rock and hard place, inquiry
told. As retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/driving-unlicensed-
indigenous-people-stuck-between-a-rock-and-hard-place-inquiry-told-20170525-
gwd4jo.html.
Yehuda Berg. (N.D). Quotes. Retrieved from thinkexist.com.