Despite good intentions, the public sector needs to build its capability to work with First Nations, and give staff the knowledge they need to be effective advocates for improved partnerships with First Nations communities.
Since 2023, ANZSOG’s Working with First Nations: Delivering on the Priority Reforms program – presented by Geoff Richardson PSM and Professor Catherine Althaus – has been giving public servants the deeper historical and cultural understanding they need to work in partnership with First Nations communities.
The program follows the four Priority Reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (2019-2029), which was signed by all Australian jurisdictions and outlines a new approach to government.
Nerida Rixon is a Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies, and was part of the first cohort of Working with First Nations in 2023, while working for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
“I was doing some work on monitoring Priority Reform Three (transforming government institutions) for the Commonwealth at the time, and my manager suggested the program would be helpful,” she said.
“It turned out to be one of the best training courses I’ve ever attended. The program was beautifully, openly and sensitively chaired by Geoff and Catherine. There were super- impressive speakers and it was a nice way to connect across jurisdictions,” she said.
“The fact that each session focused on just one of the four Priority Reforms meant you got an intense focus, which opened up stuff I hadn’t thought of before, but you also got to understand how they interconnect.”
“Catherine, Geoff, and the guest speakers, created this environment where you felt safe to ask questions that you might not otherwise have asked, which helped me to grow. They are very open about the difficulty of change, and the size of the challenge, and the fact that it is alright to make mistakes.”
In 2025, Working with First Nations will again be giving participants practical strategies to change the way they and their agencies work, and a better understanding of the impact of history on the relationship between government and First Nations communities.
Geoff and Catherine will be joined by a range of guest presenters who bring their knowledge and lived experience to the program.
Guest presenters include:
- Jody Broun, CEO, National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA)
- Dr Gordon de Brouwer, Commissioner, Australian Public Service Commission
- Sam Jeffries, First Assistant Commissioner, First Nations Systems Lead, Australian Public Service Commission
- Donnella Mills, Chair, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NAACHO)
- Catherine Liddle, CEO, SNAICC- National Voice for our Children
- Dr Jacob Prehn, Director of Research, Evaluation and Data Governance, Treaty Authority, Victoria
Associate Professor Jacob Prehn, from the University of Tasmania, is a Worimi man and an executive member of the Australian Indigenous Data Sovereignty collective Maiam nayri Wingara, and a member of the Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA). He will be one of the guest presenters in the Working with First Nations program, covering the importance of Indigenous data sovereignty and governance.
“I am an outsider who has not worked in government, although I have worked on various projects with government. My experience is that there are a lot of great people in government who are doing what they can, but who are held back by bureaucracy and the machinery of state. We need to encourage and support different ways of working with First Nations, and I hope that this program plays a part in getting public services to do that,” he said.
A/Prof Prehn said that there was growing recognition of the importance of indigenous data sovereignty and governance and that more institutions were improving their efforts to incorporate it into the early stages of data collection.
“It’s not enough to have Aboriginal people involved in collection or use of data, they need to be given control and power over data, right from the concept and creation phase. This is the only way that we will get meaningful data. It’s not that we don’t value the expertise of non-Indigenous people, but Aboriginal people have expertise in their own lives and the type of data they need.”
“I want people to recognise that data is never neutral, it is a social and cultural artifact. It doesn’t just appear out of nowhere it starts with someone deciding that we are going to collect this data, and collect it in this way. If we have First Nations input into this decision phase, as well as the collection and use of the data down the track, then we have a better chance of getting meaningful and powerful data, rather than just going through the motions and collecting data the way we have always done it.”
“For example, my research interest is in Aboriginal men’s health, and there is no government dataset in existence that has questions that are meaningful to Aboriginal men’s health, even though they are at the intersection of two of the groups with the worst health outcomes.”
The expert guest presenters allow the program to cover a range of issues in depth, and Ms Rixon said she believed that the program had deepened her understanding of First Nations issues, and helped her to become a better ally to First Nations colleagues and communities.
“I learned things like the concept of ‘listen to understand’ which I’d heard from First Nations colleagues, but unlike in the rush of a work day you had time to unpack a concept like that.”
“The bit that I didn’t probably understand well enough before the program was how, historically, the work we do in government has impacted and continues to impact First Nations peoples. I feel like that part of the program contextualised a lot of things for me.”
“I’ve now got a stronger understanding of how to make policy decisions, because I have a more complete framing of the situation and the historical background.”
“I’d recommend the program as a really beautiful way to get a grounding in those skills you should have to be able to engage with First Nations people and communities. We need more people in the public sector to have those skills, which will ultimately lead to better outcomes for all.”
Registrations are now open for both of the 2025 deliveries of Working with First Nations: Delivering on the Priority Reforms. The program consists of six online sessions with Geoff and Catherine, plus an orientation session, and is designed to create dynamic and engaged online learning. The first delivery for 2025 runs from 6 May – 29 June, and Group Discounts are still available. The second delivery runs from 14 October – 20 November. For more information, including how to register, visit the ANZSOG website or contact us at engage@anzsog.edu.au.