The principal elements of a CDEP scheme in Torres Strait are laid out, in a very general way, in Fig. 14.1. We can think of these elements as forming inputs and outputs. The inputs are the standard CDEP funding, any wage savings the council is able to make, and funds from other funders and employers. Other funders can include the community school, the child-care centre, the council office and health clinic, and the State and Commonwealth governments. These other funders and employers may provide part of a full-time wage for an employee, trainee or apprentice, with the CDEP providing the other part of the wage. Councils tend to see all of these funds as forming a development pot which they can use for various purposes, or outputs. Under a 'no work, no pay' rule, wage savings occur when people decide not to turn up for CDEP. This is easily managed by using a time clock and getting people to clock on and off.^[25]

The outputs shown in Fig. 14.1 are the normal or basic CDEP part-time work (the arrangement in Torres Strait is often for participants to work alternate weeks), some infrastructure development, and the full-time employment and training just described. Thus, there are two main kinds of output: part-time work and full-time work and training. The full-time positions are subsidised by the wage savings and by funds from the other employers. Or, looked at another way, the full-time positions are subsidised by the CDEP.