Protocols for working with Indigenous people

The following list is a limited summary of available protocol guidelines to assist local reconciliation groups, local government and the general public to help build effective partnerships with Indigenous groups and to ensure Indigenous involvement in their activities. This list includes guides from NSW, other States and for those working in the arts.

• Working with Aboriginal people and communities: A practical resource, NSW Department of community Services
• Respect, Acknowledge, Listen, Community Cultural Development NSW Ltd, 2003
• Communicating Positively: A Guide to Appropriate Aboriginal Terminology, NSW Department of Health
• Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country Guidelines and Protocols,  NSW Public Schools and TAFE NSW Institutes, Department of Education and the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, 2004
• Fees for Aboriginal Cultural Performances, Department of Aboriginal Affairs, NSW

Protocols and the Arts

These protocols have been written specifically for those working in the arts and journalism, but they also give good insights more broadly.

• Australian Council for Arts  - Draft code of conduct and Discussion paper.
• Cultural Protocols for Indigenous Reporting in the Media, Message Stick Online, ABC, NSW
• Valuing Art, Respecting Culture, National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), Sydney,
• Respecting Cultures, Working With the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community and Aboriginal Artists, Arts Tasmania’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee.
• Guidelines for Ethical Research in Indigenous Studies, The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
• Responsibilities and Responses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols for libraries, archives and information services, Ivan Niccolai, National Library, Canberra 
• Pathways and Protocols: a filmmaker’s guide to working with Indigenous people, Screen Australia
• Prospects, protocols, progress, Erana Takuira Jumbunna: Indigenous House of Learning 20 November 2009

Resources