Norfolk Island state services partnership

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring stable service delivery, strong regulatory frameworks and comparable rights and protections for the Norfolk Island community through long-term arrangements for provision of state-level services.

The Australian and Queensland governments entered into an enduring partnership to support provision of state services to Norfolk Island in October 2021 through the Intergovernmental Agreement on State Service Delivery to Norfolk Island. The partnership provides certainty and stability in key areas of state-level service delivery for the Norfolk Island community, such as education and health care.

The IGA commenced on 1 January 2022.

The Queensland Government is currently:

  • delivering education services at the Norfolk Island Central School (NICS);
  • providing support and oversight of the Norfolk Island Health and Residential Aged Care Service (NIHRACS); and
  • supporting Norfolk Island residents to train or retrain in a vocation.

The Queensland Government has an extensive track record of delivering high-quality services to its community. Queensland is a strong fit to provide state-level services to Norfolk Island, bringing relevant capability and expertise to service delivery, including experience in delivering high quality state services in remote and island settings.

The agreement between the Australian and Queensland governments allows for the addition of other state services over time. Work is under way to identify additional services that Queensland may deliver to Norfolk Island in the future. We will keep the Norfolk Island community informed and engaged as next steps are determined and decisions made.

The Australian Government continues its focus on improving the range of services, legislation and regulatory frameworks that apply on Norfolk Island, in consultation with the community.

Further information