Aboriginal Cultural Support and Awareness Advisor

THE ROLE
The Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Advisor provides advice to and builds awareness of Child Protection practitioners working with Aboriginal children and engages with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and community services organisations to improve outcomes through progression of self-determination reforms for Aboriginal children, families, and communities. While the role does not develop cultural plans, it provides important cultural expertise and guidance which supports child protection practitioners with the cultural planning process, and cultural plan compliance.
This crucial role enables Aboriginal children to remain connected to community, build resilience and support them remaining with family. The role will also focus on area improvement and implementation processes, aligning outcomes to relevant divisional policies and processes.
ACCOUNTABILITIES INCLUDE
1. Engaging Others
- Child centred and family focused relationship-based practice - focuses on the Aboriginal child and incorporates the family kinship groups and community in maintaining a child's cultural connection and self
- identity.
- Collaboration - engages, consults, and co-designs solutions with children and their families, other practitioners and teams, agencies, services, and the community, in order to deliver the best outcomes for children and their families. Works hand in hand with Child Protection, attending care team or other meetings to provide advice on the development of cultural plans.
- Knowledge sharing - exchanging critical information with Aboriginal families and both internal and external stakeholders, to ensure shared understanding, and timely and appropriate action for Aboriginal clients.

2. Delivering Results
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Evaluating and delivering cultural plan improvements - works with colleagues and key stakeholders to identify opportunities, develop solutions, and identify and overcome barriers to continuously improve cultural plans.
- Problem solving - integrates cultural knowledge and internal insight while leading practice and research to address problems, including kinship assessments.
- Culturally informed practice and safety - understands and applies culturally informed practice that is focused on Aboriginal children in the context of their family, in a way that considers situations, activities, decisions, and outcomes.
- Business operations - effectively uses business technology, systems, and procedures to achieve the best outcome(s) for Aboriginal clients.

3. Leading and Inspiring
- Practice leadership - leads family, community and stakeholders through cultural plan process and decision making in an open, informed, proactive, positive, and assertive manner.
- Developing others - Coaches, guides, mentors, and shares knowledge with colleagues to encourage learning and reflection on Aboriginal culture awareness and safety.
- System leadership - drives relationships and effective working within DFFH and across other systems, to create a shared purpose, improve standards, and challenge the status quo.

COVID-19 VACCINATION
The department strongly recommends (but does not mandate) that employees maintain their COVID-19 vaccination status in accordance with current ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) advice, given their individual circumstances. As of June 2023, DFFH does not require evidence of COVID-19 vaccination status.
A SPECIAL MEASURE PROVISION APPLIES TO THIS ROLEThe Equal Opportunity Act 2010, provides for lawful 'Special Measure' provisions, therefore the following has been applied to this role. This is a Designated role - Only Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people are eligible to apply.
HOW TO APPLY