It is important to be aware of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, history and experiences to work in a culturally informed way.
Cultural awareness training is mandatory for public sector employees and board members under Commissioner’s Instruction 29. The Commission’s training resource is an engaging and interesting way to meet this requirement and learn about the world’s oldest continuous culture.
While the resource was created for the public sector, it is relevant and useful for other government entities.
Before commencing the training
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the content in the resource may contain voices and images of deceased people.
Participants should be aware that the resource includes photos and illustrations of traditional Aboriginal people that includes partial nudity.
How to use this resource
The resource has 4 sections: family; education; country; and work and takes about 30 minutes to complete.
Each section includes historical and contemporary information with audio and images to increase your knowledge and encourage reflection, with questions to check your understanding.
At the end, you are asked to provide your name and work email address so confirmation of completion can be sent to you. You may need to provide this email to your human resources team.
Start the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness training now.
Background
While the resource was developed on Whadjuk Noongar country, it aims to reflect common beliefs and shared experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia. It has been endorsed by the Aboriginal Advisory Council of Western Australia.
The resource supports the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people action plan, one of 6 plans under the Workforce Diversification and Inclusion Strategy for WA Public Sector Employment 2020-2025.
Cultural awareness training is mandatory
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness training is mandatory for everyone who works in the public sector for more than 3 months, and for public sector board members.
This requirement is set out in Commission’s Instruction 29.
Public sector agencies and boards can use this resource or their own training resource to meet this mandate.
It is important to keep appropriate records of this information and many agencies coordinate this through their learning management systems.
Uploading the resource to learning management systems
Public sector agencies and boards that wish to place this training resource on their internal learning management systems can download the relevant Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) file:
- SCORM 1.2 [Version April 2024]
- SCORM 2004 [Version April 2024]
By downloading these files, agencies agree not to change the original content. Agencies and boards are notified when updates are made to this resource. It is the responsibility of agencies and boards to ensure they use the latest version.
Promotion to staff
To help agencies promote the training to staff, designed tiles are available to use on your agency intranet or staff email. The tiles are Photoshop files which can be partially adapted by agencies, or email communications@psc.wa.gov.au if you have any questions.
Reporting and monitoring
Compliance with Commissioner’s Instruction 29 is reported through the Commission’s annual collections.
Agencies and boards that upload this training resource to their own learning management systems are able to generate their own reports about employee completion.
Employees and board members who cannot access this training on their agency’s learning management system can access it on WA.gov.au. In this circumstance, agencies and boards need to establish reporting processes to keep accurate records of compliance.
A record of completion is emailed to employees and board members who provide a name and email address at the end of the online training. Agencies may wish to request employees and board members to forward this email to their human resources team or other contact to record completion.
Acknowledgement
The Public Sector Commission acknowledges the traditional custodians throughout Western Australia and their continuing connection to the land, waters and community.
We pay our respects to all members of the Aboriginal communities and their cultures; and to Elders both past and present.
