Terry Williams

Portfolios
Education & Training, CMD: Government Policies, Priorities & Projects, COAG, Employment

Mr. Terence Williams (Terry) was born at Narrabri, on the North West Slopes and Plains of NSW and is a proud member of the Kamilaroi Nation. Terry is the eldest of eight brothers and sisters.

Terry first became involved in Indigenous affairs at the age of eighteen when he was elected to Chair the Narrabri Local Aboriginal Advancement Association. Since then he has been involved at the state and national level and has worked in the government and education sectors.

On obtaining his Intermediate Certificate at Narrabri High, Terry commenced an apprenticeship and qualified as a radio and television technician. He was then conscripted into the Australian Army and completed two years National Service. On returning to Narrabri he worked in his trade until 1975, when he was one of seven Aboriginal people recruited into the Australian Public Service as designated officers with the Department of Employment and Training.

During his nineteen years of service with the Department, Terry worked as an Assistant Vocational Officer, Manager of the Commonwealth Employment Services at Moree and Casino, Director of Field Operations with the Aboriginal Employment and Training Branch NSW and Section Head of Community Programs, with the Aboriginal Employment and Training National Office.

Terry has broad experience in public administration, particularly in employment and training programs for Indigenous people from both national policy and program development standpoints. This experience was recognised in 1992 when Terry was awarded the Department of Employment, Education and Training’s Australia Day Medallion for his demonstrated commitment to the effective running and morale of the Department’s Indigenous policies and programs. During this time he gained a Bachelor of Arts in Administration. He is currently completing a Masters of Arts in Administration by research.
On resigning from the Public Service, Terry established his own consulting company, which enabled him to give back his skills to the Indigenous

ommunity. Terry was engaged by the University of Canberra as a part-time lecturer at the Ngunnawal Centre, teaching units of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation Program. As Acting Director of the Centre, Terry wrote, introduced and lectured in three Indigenous Study units, creating the University’s first Indigenous Study Minor. At present, as the University’s Indigenous Student Equity Officer, Terry is working on the University’s admission programs to ensure better access to university study for Indigenous students.

Terry has also been involved in the early years of the Aboriginal Legal Service in NSW and the Moree Boomerangs Rugby League Club. Currently he is a member of the Capital Region Area Consultative Committee, Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Advisory Council and the CIT Yurauna Centre Advisory Committee as Chair. He is also a former Councilor with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), Queanbeyan Regional Council and the ACT Chief Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council.

As a twenty-year member of the ACT Indigenous community Terry has given his time and energy to promote better services and amenities in Canberra and the region. He is particularly sensitive to cultural and communication problems and to the competing pressures on the delivery of services to the Indigenous community of Canberra.

Terry and his wife Shirley, along with their two daughters and five grandchildren, will celebrate their ruby wedding anniversary in June 2009.