Cultural Guidelines

Guide to working with Indigenous Australian Staff

For many non-Indigenous staff providing services to Indigenous students or working with an Indigenous colleague, it may be the first time they have interacted on any significant level with an Indigenous person.

This guide aims to provide an overview of some of the more common cultural differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that can impact on the workplace, and advice on how to navigate them.

Acknowledgement of Country guidelines for use

The following is the general acknowledgement that is most commonly used:

We would like to acknowledge the Wiradjuri, Ngunawal, Gundungarra and Biripai (or Biripi) peoples of Australia, who are the traditional owners and custodians of the lands on which Charles Sturt's campuses are located, and pay respect to their Elders both past and present.

Charles Sturt University's Academic Senate have agreed that alternatives may also be used and that it is appropriate and encouraged to speak our own words, from the heart. Some alternative wordings are also provided below, which are suitable for use in a variety of contexts.

As members of the Charles Sturt community we acknowledge the words of the Wiradjuri people, on whose land our university was founded, and share their aspiration of Yindyamarra Winhanga-nha, the aim for us all to learn the wisdom of respectfully living well, in a land worth living in. We pay our respect to the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.
We acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians whose ancestral lands we are meeting on today. We acknowledge the deep feelings of attachment and relationship of Aboriginal people to country. We also pay respects to other Aboriginal people and Elders present here attending from other areas of Australia. We acknowledge that many cultures live on this land today and we should collectively respect the land, its past and present story for our future generations to enjoy.
We pay our respect to all First Nations elders both past and present from the lands where Charles Sturt students reside. In particular, we acknowledge the Wiradjuri, Ngunawal, Gundungarra and Biripai peoples of Australia, who are the traditional custodians of the land where Charles Sturt campuses are located.