Universities Australia launched the first, whole-of-sector strategy to support the advancement of Indigenous peoples in and through Australia’s universities in 2017. The strategy recognised the need to do more to engage and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and their communities, to extend opportunity. Universities committed to working toward better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: as students and graduates, academic and professional staff.

This new strategy takes a systematic approach to measuring universities’ efforts, in order to identify both successes and areas where more work is needed. Sharing good practice will help universities to develop more effective and better targeted ways to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, staff and communities.

Key focus areas of the strategy include:

• working harder to support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to complete degrees and move into positive post-study outcomes;
• strengthening pathways for staff career advancement and representation at all levels of their institutions;
• systematically measuring universities’ efforts to identify both successes and areas where more work is needed;
• improving cultural safety and taking action on racism against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by implementing Indigenous-specific anti-racism strategies; and
• recognising the value Indigenous people and knowledges bring to the university and embedding Indigenous value systems and knowledges in teaching and research.