In this chapter we have examined the ‘real’ economy in remote and very remote Australia, where 27 per cent of the Indigenous population resides. Of this population, 17 per cent resides in discrete Indigenous communities, frequently on Indigenous-owned land and very remote from markets and mainstream employment and business opportunity. The customary, Indigenous or non-market sector of the economy makes contributions to Indigenous people’s livelihoods that are not reflected in standard statistical collections like the five-yearly Census of Population and Housing.

The 2002 NATSISS provides strong statistical support for the view that the real economy in remote Indigenous Australia is made up of three, rather than two, sectors. The 2002 NATSISS information reinforces a view that other ABS statistics that ignore the non-market sector understate the extent of Indigenous economic participation and wellbeing. The policy ramifications of this finding is that the customary sector might provide economic opportunity, and that major programs like the CDEP scheme, as well as land rights and native title rights, might be useful instruments to facilitate enhanced customary participation with positive livelihood outcomes.

The 2002 NATSISS has generated some important information on hunting and fishing in some contexts; on paid and unpaid cultural work; and on the impact of employment on the ability to meet cultural obligations. As social scientists, we welcome new data sets that allow testing of new ways of looking at the Indigenous economy. We are naturally very disappointed that these data do not go far enough, and strongly encourage the ABS to enhance efforts to better capture customary activity throughout Australia in 2008.