The agreement was signed by chief executive officer of Dubbo Regional Council Murray Wood, mayor Mathew Dickerson, chairperson of Dubbo Aboriginal Community Working Party (DACWP) Robert Riley, and vice chairperson of the DACWP, Ashleigh Knight.

Previously, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed between both bodies where the council went to DACWP for advice around Aboriginal issues in the community. The MoU was signed by Cr Dickerson in 2015, but for unknown reasons the last council "let that drop off".

"I'm sure [the last council] still did work together where possible, but it's nice to have those arrangements formalised so that there's reasonable and fair expectations on both sides," Cr Dickerson said.

"The importance of this was really all about strengthening ties between council and the Aboriginal community."

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Cr Dickerson said the partnership agreement could not be easily scrapped because it was a formal council resolution, and that the DACWP now had the council's "ear".

The agreement stated that the council regarded the DACWP as a representative body for Dubbo's Aboriginal community. It said all Aboriginal community-controlled organisations must work closely with DACWP through the agreement.

The DACWP comprises of members from Aboriginal community-controlled organisations such as the Dubbo Local Aboriginal Land Council and traditional owner groups.

Since the new partnership agreement had been put before councillors, voted on, and formally approved, DAWCP chairperson Robert Riley said it was "a more substantial document" compared to the previous MoU.

"For us as a community, we believe that it's exciting times," Mr Riley said.

"Hopefully, in the terms of a partnership, it'll be a true consultation process with the Aboriginal community from now on."

The new agreement essentially promises to consult with the DACWP on different issues involving Aboriginal people and communities. One of the issues that Mr Riley mentioned was social housing.

"Council has a lot of land, and there's a huge shortfall of social housing in Dubbo," he said.

"Potentially just inviting the working party to some of the meetings that council may have. [When] they may meet with the real estate agents, hopefully we could have an input there around some issues that community has around getting rentals."

Mr Riley also said the partnership agreement would benefit the whole community and not only Aboriginal people.

He said consultations had led to the opening of the Wiradjuri park in the botanical gardens, and in a few years, will result in an Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Dubbo.

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