Media Release
Wednesday 30 August, 2006
Child Support Agency's Donny Mara—Having a Ball
Running around the footy field as a kid growing up in Townsville, Torres Strait Islander, Donny Mara never imagined he would grow up to spend his days helping separated parents.
Donny joined the Child Support Agency three months ago as a full-time Debt Management Service Officer and is loving it.
"At the moment, I think I'm the only Torres Strait Islander working for the CSA and that makes me bloody proud to be here as an Indigenous person making a contribution for all TSI people," said Donny.
He said he thinks it's tremendous how CSA's encouraging the recruitment of Indigenous people.
"I'm enjoying the CSA experience to the max, I have support from my colleagues who have made me feel comfortable in this new working environment," said Donny.
"It would be awesome to see more Indigenous employees in this field so that Indigenous customers can feel more comfortable talking to an Indigenous Case Officer in regards to their child support matter."
"I'm very proud to be working for CSA and I hope that more Indigenous people come on board to help and advise other Indigenous families."
Donny's also a member of CSA's Indigenous Staff Network (ISN). The network's role is to support Indigenous Australian employees of CSA and to work with the agency to promote cultural awareness and respect. Recommending improvements to regional and metro services for Indigenous customers is also a key part of their role.
Olympic athlete and Indigenous Ambassador for the Department of Human Services, Kyle Vander-Kuyp said, "The CSA understands that Indigenous peoples' needs are different to others and this is where I think having the ISN is great for Indigenous officers like Donny."
An average day for Donny involves calling customers to help them with their child support payments and gathering information from employers or banks.
He said, "I love the investigative work and in-depth research. Never in my life did I think I would end up doing a job like this."
His supervisor, Catherine Thomas thinks Donny's an excellent representative, not just for the CSA but also for Australian society.
"Donny's a strong role model as he's committed to his own development and is very keen to share his experiences and lead other Indigenous Australians to seek employment within the Australian Public Service," said Ms Thomas.
Donny advises any Indigenous person out there thinking about a career in the public service that, "It's an awesome career opportunity to be in the public service. It's a challenge but there's a great support network."
Last month, the CSA launched its Indigenous Recruitment and Career Development Strategy 2006–08 in time for NAIDOC Week.
The Strategy was developed to improve CSA's recruitment and retention of Indigenous Australians, like Donny, as employees.
In the past six months, 14 new Indigenous officers joined CSA, adding to the 30 Indigenous officers already delivering services to separated parents around Australia.
When Donny's not pounding the footy field with the Queanbeyan Kangaroos or hard at work at the CSA, he dances with a Torres Strait Islands dance troupe called Beizam Koedal, meaning shark crocodile. It represents the Eastern and Western parts of the Torres Strait.
Donny says his most memorable performance was recently in front of his colleagues at the CSA's Branch office.
"There was a real buzz in the air, lots of people asked me questions afterwards about my culture and I was really proud to share that with them. Its opportunities like this which breaks the barriers."
Donny Mara has played rugby league since he was 14, represented the Townsville Stingers, North Queensland Marlins under 17s squad and toured with the Inaugural Australian Aboriginal Rugby League side in England in 1996. He also travelled through New South Wales playing rugby league and wound up in the ACT six years ago to play for various clubs including West Belconnen Warriors, Boomanulla Raiders.
"My family's very proud of all my achievements, as it's a reflection of my upbringing. My four brothers, younger sister and parents wish I would come home. I've been away for nearly 10 years on my own and they miss me very much."
Media contact:
Media enquiries should be directed to media@csa.gov.au or contact (02) 6272 8540
