The Outback Communities Authority (OCA) is a

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

(SA) created under the ''Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009''. It has been established to "manage the provision of public services and facilities to outback communities" which are widely dispersed across the Pastoral Unincorporated Area which covers almost 60% of South Australia's land area. The authority has its seat at both

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state cap ...

which is located outside the unincorporated area and at Andamooka. The authority serves an area of , slightly smaller than France. The area has a population of 3,750, of whom 639 are

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, and includes several large pastoral leases and mining operations. The authority's area of responsibility does not include Aboriginal

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...

s, the largest of which are

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...

in the northwest of SA and

Maralinga Tjarutja The Maralinga Tjarutja, or Maralinga Tjarutja Council, is the corporation representing the traditional Anangu owners of the remote western areas of South Australia known as the Maralinga Tjarutja lands. The council was established by the ''Mara ...

in the west of SA.

History

'' Wangkangurru (''also known as ''Arabana/Wangkangurru, Wangganguru, Wanggangurru, Wongkangurru)'' is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

spoken on Wangkangurru country. It is closely related to

Arabana language Arabana or Arabuna is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan family, spoken by the Wongkanguru and Arabana people. The language is in steep decline, with an estimated 250 speakers according to 2004 NILS, to just 21 speakers ...

. The Wangkangurru language region was traditionally in the South Australian-Queensland border region taking in Birdsville and extending south towards Innamincka and

Lake Eyre Lake Eyre ( ), officially known as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, is an endorheic lake in east-central Far North South Australia, some north of Adelaide. The shallow lake is the depocentre of the vast endorheic Lake Eyre basin, and contains th ...

, including the local government areas of the

Shire of Diamantina The Shire of Diamantina is a local government area in Central West Queensland, bordering South Australia and the Northern Territory. Its administrative centre is in the town of Bedourie. Like most places in Queensland with the "Diamantina" nam ...

as well as the Outback Communities Authority of South Australia''.'' ''

Yawarrawarrka The Yawarrawarrka (also written Yawarawarka, Jauraworka) were an in Indigenous people of South Australia. Country According to the calculations of Norman Tindale the Yauraworka's tribal lands encompassed some , running north of Cooper Creek to ...

'' (also known as ''Yawarawarka'', ''Yawarawarga'', ''Yawarawarka'', ''Jauraworka'', ''Jawarawarka'') is an Australian Aboriginal language of Far Western Queensland. The traditional language region includes the local government area of the

extending into the Outback Communities Authority of

towards Innamincka.

Outback Areas Community Development Trust

The ''Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009'' established the Outback Communities Authority as the legal successor to the ''Outback Areas Community Development Trust'' which had previously been established in 1978 under the ''Outback Areas Community Development Trust Act 1978''.

Organisational structure

The authority consists of a board of seven members of which four must be residents of client communities. The board oversees a small team of support staff led by a general manager. As of 2012, support staff consisted of six persons employed full-time with one additional person employed part-time.

Client communities

As of 2014, the authority provided services to the following communities: Andamooka, Beltana, Blinman,

Border Village Border Village is a settlement located in South Australia within the locality of Nullarbor on the Eyre Highway at the border with Western Australia. The settlement, which is 12 km east of Eucla, was named in 1993 by the South Australian ...

, Cockburn, Coorabie, Copley, Fowlers Bay, Glendambo, Innamincka,

Iron Knob Iron Knob is a town in the Australian state of South Australia on the Eyre Peninsula immediately south of the Eyre Highway. At the 2006 census, Iron Knob and the surrounding area had a population of 199. The town obtained its name from its pro ...

, Kingoonya, Leigh Creek, Lyndhurst, Marla, Mannahill, Marree,

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road ...

, Parachilna, Penong, Pimba, William Creek, Woomera and

Yunta Yunta is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's east about north-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is a service centre supporting both the local area and travellers passing through on the Ba ...

Surrounding LGAs

Because of the size of the Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia, the authority provides services in an area bounded by a large number of

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...

(LGAs), 29 in total, both in South Australia and in the adjoining jurisdictions of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , e ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aus ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. Its service area also completely surrounds the Municipal Council of Roxby Downs and the District Council of Coober Pedy. The following LGAs, which border the unincorporated area, total 27 with 17 being in South Australia:

Citations and references

Citations

References

External links

Outback Communities Authoritymap of communities
{{coord, 32.490245, S, 137.762817, E, format=dms, display=inline,title Local government areas of South Australia Far North (South Australia)