The Public Sector Commissioner, Sharyn O’Neill has introduced measures to increase awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture within the State’s Public Service.
In a statement, the Public Sector Commission said that, as described in Ms O’Neill’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness training (Instruction No.29), cultural awareness training was now mandatory for everyone who worked in the public sector for three or more months, as well as every board member.
“This instruction applies to all public sector employees including Directors General, Chief Executives, chief employees and Ministerial staff; and to public sector bodies including Departments, State Emergency Service (SES) and non-SES organisations, Ministerial offices and boards established under their own legislation,” the Commission said.
“Training can be through an Agency-provided program or by using the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness training the Commission has released,” it said.
“Our training is an engaging and interesting way to learn about the world’s oldest continuous culture and it has been endorsed by the Aboriginal Advisory Council of Western Australia.”
The Commission said training included historical and contemporary information over four main sections: Family, education, country and work, and took about 30 minutes to complete.
“At the end of each section are questions to assess your understanding,” it said.
“The more of us who have this knowledge and understanding, the better placed our sector will be to work respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues and deliver vital services to our diverse community.”
The Commission’s new cultural awareness training was released to coincide with NAIDOC week celebrations (July 4-11).
Further information about the training can be accessed at this PS News link and the Commissioner’s two-page Instruction No.29 at this link.
