8   Aboriginal housing assistance

(1)  The Aboriginal Housing Office has the principal functions of:

(a)  planning and developing programs and services to assist Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders in meeting their housing needs, and

(b)  delivering those programs and services, and

(c)  evaluating those programs and services from time to time in order to determine whether they continue to effectively meet the housing needs of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders.

(2)  In exercising those principal functions, the AHO is:

(a)  to liaise with other government agencies and non-government bodies in the delivery of Aboriginal housing programs and services, and

(b)  to co-ordinate Aboriginal housing programs and services with other programs and services that are provided by government agencies (including Commonwealth agencies) and non-government bodies to assist Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, and

(c)  to develop priorities for Aboriginal housing programs and services in accordance with the objects of this Act, and

(d)  to advise the Minister on Aboriginal housing policy, and

(e)  to develop and implement strategies for the employment of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders in the delivery of Aboriginal housing programs and services.