Case Study: Making Australian universities culturally safe places for first nations peoples

Education is powerful—transforming people, communities and societies. A university education enables intergenerational social mobility for First Nations peoples and their communities by disrupting the social structures that are the result of colonisation in countries like Australia. The First Nations people of Australia are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who make up approximately 3.3% of the total Australian population which equates to an estimated 798,400 people (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018). Most First Nations Australians identify as Aboriginal (91%) and prior to colonisation there were approximately 750 distinct Aboriginal societies with different languages and dialects, histories and territories (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018; Walsh, 1991). Colonisation has and continues to oppress First Nations Australians with present day inequalities across all facets of life, including education.