Careers in Aboriginal cultural safety

​​Why pursue an Aboriginal-identified career with us? ​

As a professional in an Aboriginal-identified roles at NSW Health, you could be:​

• ​Leading with cultural safety, supporting Aboriginal ways of safe and respectful workplaces
• Growing your career through meaningful career pathways, leadership, flexibility, and lived experience
• Caring and connected community-led partnerships, co-design, and cultural care
• Supporting Mob with purpose, honouring ancestors, and supporting healing across life stages
• Advocating for culturally appropriate and equitable care, leadership, and accountability

With your skills, story, and spirit, you’ll help shape a thriving future where Aboriginal cultures are valued. Your role is more than a job, it’s a way to give back, honour ancestors, and support mob to thrive through every life stage.​​​​​​

​The ‘Respecting the Difference’ program​

We want to help Close the Gap for Aboriginal people across NSW. This means we are committed to strengthening cultural safety across every part and level of public healthcare. 

These roles sit at the heart of that commitment. From the Respecting the Difference program, you will provide cu​ltural experience and expertise to transform how care is delivered, how staff are supported, and how cultural safety becomes a consistent standard across all our services.​ There is a Centre of Expertise​ and Delivery Hub.

​​Aboriginal Cultural Capability Team Leader​

The Team Leader supports Aboriginal cultural safety work across NSW Health. They guide and support facilitators and help make sure cultural safety learning reflects Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing, and aligns with the Respecting the Difference framework.

The Team Leader builds strong, respectful relationships with Aboriginal communities, health services and partners, so cultural safety is part of everyday practice. They help plan and review programs, support good decision‑making, and look for ways to keep improving.

Through this work, the Team Leader helps create long‑term change in health services and supports Aboriginal staff to feel culturally safe and valued at work.

​​Key responsibilities and duties

• Provide leadership and direction for Aboriginal cultural safety and capability work across the agency
  
• Support, mentor, and supervise facilitators, ensuring culturally safe and consistent delivery
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Aboriginal communities, services, and stakeholders
• Oversee planning, governance, reporting, and continuous improvement of cultural capability programs
  

​​Eligibility and qualifications

• Demonstrated Aboriginal cultural knowledge, leadership capability, and strong relationships with Aboriginal communities and stakeholders
• Proven experience leading teams and delivering or overseeing cultural safety, education, or workforce initiatives
• Strong strategic, communication, and influencing skills to drive system‑wide cultural change
• Commitment to culturally safe leadership, reflective practice, supervision, and supporting staff wellbeing

Recommended pathway

• Build strong foundations in Aboriginal cultural knowledge, community connection and cultural safety principles, ideally through lived experience, community‑led learning, or culturally grounded roles
• Gain experience in education, facilitation, training or group work, particularly in health, community, or public sector settings
• Develop confidence working in reflective, sometimes emotionally challenging learning environments, supported by supervision and mentoring
• Seek opportunities to co‑facilitate, observe, or support cultural safety training (e.g. Respecting the Difference) to build facilitation capability​

Aboriginal Cultural Capability Facilitator

Facilitators deliver Aboriginal cultural safety education, including Respecting the Difference, to staff across NSW Health. In everyday language, they help staff better understand Aboriginal histories, cultures and lived experiences, and how to provide culturally safe care and workplaces.

Facilitators work closely with local Aboriginal communities to make sure training reflects local knowledge and experiences. They create learning spaces where people feel safe to listen, reflect and sometimes be challenged. They also reflect on feedback, participate in supervision, and collaborate with other facilitators to continuously improve training quality.

Their role is hands‑on and relationship based, helping turn statewide commitments into meaningful learning that supports real change in practice.

​​Key responsibilities and duties

• Deliver Aboriginal cultural safety education, including Respecting the Difference, across the agency
• Create culturally safe learning environments that support reflection, understanding, and behaviour change
• Adapt training to local community contexts and engage with Aboriginal stakeholders
• Contribute to evaluation, continuous improvement, and reflective practice, including cultural supervision

Essential Criteria for both roles: This is a position identified for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people on the basis of a genuine occupational qualification under Section 14(d) of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act (1977).

​​Eligibility and qualifications

• ​Demonstrated Aboriginal cultural knowledge, lived experience, or strong community connections relevant to cultural safety education
• Experience facilitating education, training, or learning in culturally diverse or complex environments
• Strong communication skills and the ability to create safe, respectful, and reflective learning spaces
• Commitment to ongoing reflective practice, cultural supervision, self‑care, and continuous improvement 
  

Recommended pathway

• Progress from facilitation, education or cultural advisory roles into positions with team leadership, coordination or program oversight responsibilities
• Build strong relationships with Aboriginal communities, health services and senior stakeholders, demonstrating influence and cultural leadership
• Develop capability in planning, governance, reporting and quality improvement within complex organisations
• Demonstrate culturally safe leadership practices, including supporting staff wellbeing, reflective practice and managing cultural load