International - culturally safe environments

About the Standard

Children should feel that where they come from, and their backgrounds and identities are respected and supported.

This Standard focuses on acknowledging Aboriginal culture and the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal children.

It is important to note that this Standard applies even if you consider there are no Aboriginal children at your organisation.

Are you a registered school?

CRICOS schools and SEOs that are also registered schools should follow the child safe advice for schools. They must ensure their CRICOS and SEOs operations are incorporated into the school’s compliance with the Standards. They should tailor advice to their international student cohort and community.

Schools - culturally safe environments regulations

Establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.

A CRICOS or SEO school complying with this Standard may:

help international and exchange students to learn about Aboriginal culture and history
update its existing school policies to include international students
provide Aboriginal cultural awareness training to the international team
create culturally safe and inclusive environments for international students
ensure its Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy or statement is:
- publicly available
- written in plain English
- translated

Are you a non-school student exchange organisation?

Non-school student exchange organisations (SEOs) should follow the advice provided on this page and ensure that student care and oversight of inbound and outbound exchange programs match.

How to comply

A non-school SEO must provide evidence of:

a policy or statement that:
- commits to a culturally safe environment for Aboriginal children
- identifies and confronts racism
- is publicly available
plans to create a culturally safe environment
actions to support children to express their culture and enjoy their cultural rights
documented strategies to support the participation and inclusion of Aboriginal children and their families
opportunities for exchange students to learn about Aboriginal cultural history
suitable training to staff and volunteers working with exchange students
published communication resources that promote cultural safety and inclusion

Examples of compliance

A non-school SEO complying with this Standard may:

have a publicly available Child Safety Code of Conduct in simple English or translated
update all its policies and procedures to ensure that they are:
- culturally safe
- inclusive
- embrace diversity
provide Aboriginal cultural training to staff and volunteers that work with exchange students
use a Welcome to Country or an Acknowledgement of Country
fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags
display plaques to acknowledge traditional owners
celebrate local Aboriginal community events with exchange students and families
address racism from students, staff and volunteers or visitors
place SEO leaders at the front of anti-racist action
engage with local Aboriginal communities:
- seek advice on how to create a culturally safe environment
- seek ways to respect and value Aboriginal culture
- provide incursions for students
- offer SEO support for local Aboriginal businesses
ask for feedback from Aboriginal students and their families
develop a Reconciliation Action Plan.

In complying with Child Safe Standard 1, an organisation must, at a minimum, ensure:
- a child’s ability to express their culture and enjoy their cultural rights is encouraged and actively supported
- strategies are embedded within the organisation which equip all members to acknowledge and appreciate the strengths of Aboriginal culture and understand its importance to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children and young people
- measures are adopted by the organisation to ensure racism within the organisation is identified, confronted and not tolerated. Any instances of racism are addressed with appropriate consequences.
- the organisation actively supports and facilitates participation and inclusion within it by Aboriginal children, young people and their families
- The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP)(opens in a new window) – provides tools to guide and support the implementation of this Standard including:
- National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC)(opens in a new window) – contains resources to support organisations working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people and communities to create child safe environments
- Narragunnawali Reconciliation in Education(opens in a new window) – for schools
- Reconciliation Action Plans – Reconciliation Australia(opens in a new window) – for non-schools.

Education

Updated 9 November 2023