Internal investigations in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations

By NATSIC-AS – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation – Advocacy Service Across Australia, few cultural items are as recognisable as the didgeridoo. It has become an international symbol of Aboriginal Australia, appearing in tourism campaigns, music festivals, classrooms and cultural events around the world. However, one of the most common questions we hear is: “Are women allowed to play the didgeridoo?” Like many questions involving Aboriginal culture, th

Few legal cases have reshaped Australian history as profoundly as Mabo v Queensland (No 2) [1992] HCA 23. The decision overturned more than 200 years of legal doctrine, rejected the fiction that Australia was terra nullius ("land belonging to no one"), and formally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples possessed rights and interests in land under Australian common law. The Mabo litigation was not simply a dispute over land ownership. It represented a s

Are you an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander family, Traditional Owner group, Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC), Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC), Elders' group or community seeking to pursue, strengthen or advance a Native Title claim? The recognition of Native Title is one of the most significant legal processes available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is also one of the most complex, requiring years of historical, genealogical, anthropo

By NATSIC-AS – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation – Advocacy Service "The greatest success of assimilation was not making Aboriginal people disappear. It was convincing generations that survival depended upon hiding who they were." Introduction Australia's history is filled with contradictions. For more than a century governments implemented policies designed to absorb Aboriginal people into the broader population. Aboriginal children were removed from

By NATSIC-AS – National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation – Advocacy Service For generations, Aboriginal Australians were pressured to disappear. Some were removed from Country. Some were separated from family. Some were forbidden from speaking language or practising culture. Others learned that openly identifying as Aboriginal could cost them employment, housing, education, safety and even custody of their children. Many families responded in the only way the

By National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation – Advocacy Service (NATSIC-AS) New South Wales – Home to One of Australia's Most Diverse Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes New South Wales is home to one of the oldest continuous living cultures on Earth. For more than 65,000 years, Aboriginal peoples have lived across the mountains, rivers, forests, coastlines and plains of what is now New South Wales, maintaining sophisticated systems of law, governance, kinship, tr

Part 1 of the NATSIC-AS First Nations Series By National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation – Advocacy Service (NATSIC-AS) Queensland is Home to One of the World’s Most Diverse Indigenous Cultures Queensland is home to one of the richest and most diverse collections of Aboriginal cultures anywhere in Australia. Long before European settlement, hundreds of thousands of Aboriginal people lived across what is now Queensland, speaking dozens of distinct languages a

By National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation – Advocacy Service (NATSIC-AS) One of the most misunderstood aspects of Australian law concerns the legal recognition of Aboriginal identity. Questions surrounding Aboriginality occasionally arise in relation to employment, education, native title, government programs, scholarships and complaints of discrimination. Unfortunately, public discussion is often clouded by misinformation and misconceptions. Australian la

Australia continues to face a profound justice crisis affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples representing approximately 3% of the Australian population, they account for more than one-third of the adult prison population nationally. A recent submission provided to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW paints a confronting picture

Across Australia, one of the most contested and misunderstood issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today is the process of proving something that, in truth, should never need to be proven—identity. The requirement to obtain an “Aboriginality Certificate” or formal confirmation of identity has become embedded across government, employment, and institutional frameworks. While intended to provide administrative certainty, the system itself has evolved into

If you’ve ever tried to “find the list of all Aboriginal tribes in NSW,” you’ve probably noticed a problem straight away: there isn’t one definitive, universally-agreed list . That’s not because Aboriginal identity is unclear—quite the opposite. It’s because New South Wales contains many layers of Aboriginal belonging (Nations, language groups, dialects, clans/family groups), and Country boundaries don’t function like modern cadastral lines . They can overlap, shift seaso

From Aboriginal resistance to invasion and dispossession, through the land rights movement, to campaigns for racial equality, workers’ rights, and social justice, protest has been central to how Australians have challenged injustice and demanded change. At its best, protest in this country has been lawful, principled, and grounded in respect for human dignity. What's in a Word: Australia, Protest, Language, and the Case for Renewed Hate Speech Laws Australia is a nation shape

WARNING Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains references to people who have passed away, as well as material relating to traumatic historical events, violence, and deaths in custody. Article One: The Crisis We Cannot Ignore – Understanding Aboriginal Deaths in Custody As a proud descendant of the Anaiwan, Ngarigo, and Wiradjuri peoples, my identity and work are shaped by the strength, resilience, and survival of the ancestors who

The latest figures on Aboriginal deaths in custody present a confronting reminder of ongoing challenges within Australia's corrections system, underscoring the urgent need for systemic reform and advocacy. As someone who served as a prison officer from the early 1990s through to the 2000s, and later as State Secretary and President of the Queensland Prison Officers Association and Australian Prison Officers Association, I've witnessed firsthand many systemic inadequacies in t

National NAIDOC Week has become a cherished annual celebration in Australia, honouring the history, culture, and achievements of...

In a deeply disturbing revelation aired by Living Black , a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy—known as Cyrus—recounted being told by youth...

A historic settlement has been reached in the Stolen Wages class action, led by Mervyn Street on behalf of thousands of Aboriginal...

Original article by The Ethics Centre - 8 July 2024** When mass outrage is weaponised and encouraged, it can become more of a threat to...

Introduction: NAIDOC Day holds profound significance in Australia as it celebrates the rich culture, history, and achievements of...