Engaging with community stakeholders
This guidance has been developed to support schools to respectfully engage with Koorie stakeholders and build relationships and partnerships that benefit the whole education system.
Behaviours and principles for engagement
Each local Koorie community has different needs and priorities, so the way relationships and partnerships are developed needs to reflect and respond to these specific contexts. But, while there is no 'one size or one approach fits all', there are common principles and behaviours that are important in building relationships that strengthen Aboriginal self-determination in education. These not only consider, but ultimately centre Aboriginal perspectives and aspirations.
Respect
Respect looks like understanding difference and engaging with diverse points of view.
The beginning point for supporting self-determination is a recognition and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, histories, traditions and cultures. These have not always been respected by the education system, so it is important to demonstrate how you value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities' ways of knowing, being and doing. Community approaches and principles may be different to how schools normally conduct business but should be held in the same regard as what is commonly considered good practice.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity looks like schools and community deciding on, and working towards, a common goal that benefits both parties.
Government interactions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have historically been expedient or transactional, often driven by a government’s priorities or values. It is important to ensure that any work done with Aboriginal stakeholders is collaborative and reciprocal and meets the aspirations and needs of the Aboriginal community. When respectful relationships are established, reciprocity becomes a natural feature of these relationships, and experiences and outcomes are mutually beneficial.
Capacity
Recognition of capacity looks like schools initiating preliminary conversations to gauge the interest and availability of Aboriginal organisations before any planning begins, and being as flexible as possible to create space for community to be as actively involved as they wish.
Capacity is important to consider when engaging with Aboriginal stakeholders. Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and community members have functions, priorities and obligations that extend beyond engagement with schools. By considering the competing demands and resource constraints impacting community organisations, you can work with stakeholders to determine an engagement plan that enables them to participate and for the project to benefit from their expertise.
Timing
Timing is important to consider when engaging with Aboriginal stakeholders. School timelines may not always align with the ability of ACCOs to participate. There may be reasons why ACCOs might be unable to engage according to school timelines, despite wanting to be involved. Where possible, schools should engage early to co-develop timelines with ACCOs to support their involvement. It is also important to remember that organisations or community representatives who are unable to engage at one time may be in a better position to engage in future.
Resourcing
The time commitment and contribution of knowledge and expertise of Aboriginal people who provide cultural or professional services to schools should be recognised and compensated in the same way as other suppliers and contractors.
For example, it may be appropriate to compensate an Aboriginal person for services such as delivering a Welcome or Acknowledgement of Country or sharing their cultural knowledge or expertise in a class. Refer to the Procurement – Schools policy for further detail.
Local Aboriginal community stakeholders
The Aboriginal community is diverse, with many community members playing multiple roles and having numerous and varied obligations in their personal and professional lives. Each community member offers unique cultural knowledge and expertise based on their lived experience, cultural protocols and the impact of colonisation on their respective communities. It is important for schools to recognise that it is impossible for an individual community member to be an expert on the hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
Students and alumni
Students and ex-students can provide insights as to how they feel the education system recognises and supports their identities as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people. Students may wish to be actively involved in the planning or facilitating of cultural events or activities. In some instances, students may be reluctant to openly identify for fear of exclusion from other students or school staff, or may still be learning about their own cultural identity. If there is an atmosphere of cultural safety and inclusion, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students may identify as they feel more accepted, included and supported.
Parents/carers/extended family
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families generally extend beyond the immediate family, often including extended family or kin as important people in a child's life. Families may include parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are connected by strong family ties. It is also important to consider that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander learners may have parents from outside Victoria or from different cultural backgrounds. Students may not live at home with their parents and could be living with extended family members or may be in the care of non-Indigenous parents or other adults. Engagement from family members may be impacted by their own education experiences and concern for the young people in their care.
Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations
Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) are controlled and operated by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and designed to deliver services that build the strength and empowerment of Aboriginal communities and people. There are ACCOs working in most sectors across the state, noting that not all ACCOs are designed or have capacity for education service delivery. ACCOs provide culturally responsive and holistic advice, support and services to Aboriginal people and are sometimes a cultural hub for local communities and families.
The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated is the department’s principal partner in Koorie education. VAEAI represents the voices of Aboriginal communities across Victoria through its statewide network of Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups.
Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups
Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups (LAECGs) are community members with an interest in and commitment to Koorie education, and voluntarily share knowledge and experience on Koorie education issues across all sectors. LAECGs are constituent units of the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI) and hold positions on the VAEAI Representative Council (VRC). As volunteers, LAECGs have varied capacity to be able to engage and work with schools, but, wherever possible, LAECGs should be contacted regarding all Aboriginal-related education matters.
To learn more about LAECGs, refer to Local Aboriginal Education Consultative .
Koorie Engagement Support Officers
Koorie Engagement Support Officers (KESOs) are part of the Department of Education's Koorie Education Workforce (KEW). KESOs are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander staff who support school engagement with Koorie families, providing cultural knowledge, expertise and advocacy to assist schools in improving experiences and outcomes for Koorie students. KESOs work across multiple schools in varying capacities. Schools should be proactive in engaging with KESOs to create culturally safe learning environments and embed strength-based measures to support students.
Aboriginal professionals
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people work in and across various sectors, so inter-sectoral collaborative approaches are an opportunity for those in education to work holistically and in innovative ways with Aboriginal professionals in other areas, such as health and housing, to improve education experiences and outcomes for Koorie students. As each school and local Aboriginal community is different, it is important to ensure collaborative approaches are responsive to local needs and will be sustainable.
Traditional Owners and Registered Aboriginal Parties
Traditional Owners are the Aboriginal custodians of specific areas of Country, whose connection with that Country goes back tens of thousands of years. Each Traditional Owner group has its own traditions, language, ceremonies and practices. It is respectful to know the name of the Traditional Owners of the land where you work, attend meetings or events, and where programs or projects will be implemented. The department acknowledges that Traditional Owners are the first educators and leaders of Victoria and its many Countries.
To learn more about Traditional Owners, refer to Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner .
Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) are Traditional Owner groups who are legally recognised under the Aboriginal Heritage Act, with responsibilities for managing and protecting Aboriginal Cultural Heritage on Country. Due to the impacts of colonisation, many Traditional Owner groups are not legally recognised as RAPs, but still maintain cultural connections to their respective Country.
To learn more, refer to Victoria's Registered Aboriginal .
Continuum towards Aboriginal self-determination
The department’s Self-Determination in Education Reforms are designed to amplify the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in decision-making in education, as well as develop partnerships between schools and local Koorie communities. The Continuum towards Aboriginal Self-Determination outlines the 6 stages of interaction involved in this process:
- Inform
- Consult
- Collaborate
- Partnership
- Co-ownership
- Decision-making and resource control
Strengthening relationships that centre Aboriginal voices is at the heart of improving action and moving along the continuum. Existing relationships between different parts of the department and the Aboriginal community will be at different stages of the Continuum towards Aboriginal self-determination in education. Importantly, good and impactful practice can occur at each stage of the continuum, noting that practice and strategies at one stage of the continuum may be interdependent on practice and strategies enacted at previous or subsequent stages.
As the continuum progresses, Aboriginal people progress from being stakeholders to partners, co-owners, and ultimately self-determining decision makers.
Reviewed 04 February 2026