Speech Pathology Australia is proud to introduce the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culturally responsive capability framework.
It aims to create culturally responsive workplaces that, in turn, lead to positive experiences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Communities and Families. This framework reflects the Association's unwavering commitment to supporting organisations and individuals to develop capabilities to ensure a culturally responsive workforce; centring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of seeing, knowing, being, doing and belonging.
By incorporating these elements into the fabric of our professional environments, the Association aims to foster culturally responsive services to achieve cultural safety as defined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Core principles The framework has been designed to align seamlessly with the Association's Strategic Plan, Code of Ethics and Professional Standards, ensuring that cultural responsiveness becomes an integral part of organisational practices. The framework rests on the following core principles:
- cultural responsiveness is centred within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sovereignty, Culture, Identity and Languages
- cultural responsiveness is a collective responsibility
- cultural responsiveness supports the development of genuine relationships and connections to create safe environments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- an ongoing commitment to combatting racism.
The framework aims to be a practical tool that guides organisations and individuals on how to implement cultural responsiveness in their workplaces. It provides actionable steps and desired outcomes to assist organisations in creating a roadmap for embedding cultural safety into their ethos. By adopting this framework, we collectively commit to building workplaces that respect and embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sovereignty, Culture, Identity and Languages. The Association is proud to create environments where everyone works in culturally safe and responsive ways, enabling systemic change that will be of real and genuine benefit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.