This report considers how place-based and culturally responsive teaching can be integrated into vocational education and training (VET) more effectively, leading to more meaningful outcomes for First Nations learners. The report identifies key elements of good practice in culturally responsive training delivered through place-based approaches, finding that effective approaches are Aboriginal led.

This interjurisdictional report critically examines the provision of distance education for First Nations students in ‘remote’ Australia, highlighting systemic barriers, cultural mismatches and opportunities for reform. It reveals how distance education models, founded in settler-colonial pedagogies and reliant on digital infrastructure, often fail to meet First Nations learners’ needs.

The report details the impact of the nationally delivered, culturally responsive trauma informed training initiative Project Waterways, highlighting how the co-design approach strengthened the Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations sector, increased workforce capability to respond to intergenerational trauma and drove progress towards the National Agreement on Closing the Gap Target 12.

The research paper is a focused extension of the VET workforce study. It brings together insights into accredited training from First Nations voices, national datasets and stakeholders to strengthen understanding of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce within vocational education and training (VET) and what’s needed to support its growth.

This report presents findings from a school-based research project examining the development, implementation and outcomes of a whole-school anti-racism and cultural inclusion initiative in a South Australian secondary school. Findings indicate that this sustained, whole-school approach led to a range of positive outcomes.