Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples – Overview

DCA acknowledges the Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respect to them, and to Elders past, present and emerging. 

DCA supports the proper recognition of the unique status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our country’s history and of ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices are central in any discussions around recognition and reconciliation.  

Many organisations are committed to engaging with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and providing employment opportunities is a key part of this engagement. 

But genuine inclusion is about more than simply creating employment opportunities. 

Genuine inclusion must begin with reconciliation. There can be no genuine workplace inclusion while our First Nations Peoples are excluded from opportunities, and we as a nation do not address race relations, equality and equity, unity, institutional integrity, and historical acceptance. 

It also requires creating an organisation that understands and respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Providing a safe and welcoming environment should be a critical part of any workplace’s diversity and inclusion strategy and planning. 

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people have experienced significant exclusion from Australian society for many years. Ending that exclusion is foundational to D&I. 

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Leading Practice
  1. Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI), “Self-Determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”
  2. Victorian Public Sector Commission, “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Self-Determination”
  3. Australian Human Rights Commission, “Self-Determination”
  4. Christian Eva et al., “‘It’s Self-Determination. Blackfullas Making Right Decisions for Blackfullas’: Why Indigenous-Owned Businesses Create Better Indigenous Employment Outcomes,” Australian Journal of Social Issues 59 (2024): 29–56.
  5. Diversity Council Australia et al., Gari Yala (Speak the Truth): Centreing the Work Experiences of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians (Sydney: DCA/Jumbunna Institute, 2020)
  6. Victorian Public Sector Commission, “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Self-Determination”
  7. Eva et al., “‘It’s Self-Determination. Blackfullas Making Right Decisions for Blackfullas’: Why Indigenous-Owned Businesses Create Better Indigenous Employment Outcomes.”
  8. Eva et al., “‘It’s Self-Determination. Blackfullas Making Right Decisions for Blackfullas’: Why Indigenous-Owned Businesses Create Better Indigenous Employment Outcomes.”
  9. Jumbunna and Diversity Council Australia, Gari Yala (Speak the Truth): Centreing the Work Experiences of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians
  10. Jumbunna et al.
  11. Victorian Public Sector Commission, “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Self-Determination.”
  12. Reconciliation Australia and ANZ, “ANZ Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan: 2021-2024 Final Report,” 2024
  13. Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI), “Self-Determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.”
  14. Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI)