Aboriginal outcomes

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work and the places in which we live. We pay respect to Ancestors and Elders past and present. We recognise the unique cultural and spiritual relationship and celebrate the contributions of First Nations peoples to Australia.

Our commitment to Aboriginal peoples, communities and entities

The Department’s Aboriginal Outcomes Strategy 2025-28 (PDF 5.61MB) sets a unifying vision to deliver better outcomes in partnership with Aboriginal people, communities and entities across NSW.

Aboriginal outcomes is everyone’s responsibility. This outcomes strategy is led by the Aboriginal Strategy, Policy and Engagement team who are committed to regularly connecting with Aboriginal communities to support transparency, truth-telling and drive accountability.

Our commitment to Closing the Gap

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap brings together federal, state and local Governments to collaborate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to transform service delivery and improve socio-economic outcomes.

The NSW Government and the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations partner to deliver outcomes, where the department leads:

Target 9b: This target relates to community infrastructure which has been endorsed nationally and responds to the proportion of Aboriginal households receiving essential services that meet or exceed relevant jurisdictional standards. Additional details of this target in NSW are being finalised.
Target 15a: By 2030, a 15 % increase in landmass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests.

View more information about the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and access available data on the targets and indicators at the Productivity Commission Information Repository Dashboard.

Our commitment to Aboriginal Procurement

The Department's Aboriginal Participation Strategy (APS) (PDF 4.37MB) is designed to maximise the number of contracts awarded to Aboriginal businesses.

The NSW Government’s Aboriginal Procurement Policy (APP) encourages agencies to direct 1% of their addressable spend and 3% of goods and services contracts to Aboriginal business. Aboriginal Strategy, Policy and Engagement (ASPE) developed the APS in partnership with the procurement team and the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce to exceed these targets and make Aboriginal procurement more meaningful, considered and fit for purpose.

The strategy aims to increase internal cultural capability and support the prosperity of Aboriginal-owned businesses through meaningful procurement, while ensuring value for money.

How we engage

We have a strong focus on elevating the lived experience of, and securing sustainable partnerships with Aboriginal peoples, communities and entities. Our goal is to ensure our work is effective and achieves tangible results while building thriving relationships.

The Aboriginal Customer Strategy (PDF 5.47MB) is designed to ensure Aboriginal people have equal access to all Department services by guiding our staff to place the needs, values and lived experience of these customers at the heart of design and delivery.

And to ensure our engagements are appropriate, the Department has a dedicated framework to foster genuine partnerships, respect cultural knowledge, and ensure decisions are shaped by those who have cared for Country and community for generations.

We recognise the importance of connecting on Country and supporting community-led events and gatherings.

Look out for our Aboriginal visual identity and join us in Sydney on 26 January 2026 at the Yabun Festival.

Bridging Now to Next: National Reconciliation Week 2025

5 focus areas:

Systemic change

Advance approaches to generate more access to land and information for our customers.

Workforce enrichment

Build a workforce that reflects the diversity and rich cultural knowledge of Aboriginal peoples.

Investing in entities

Promote and contribute to a trusted economy of Aboriginal-led programs and organisations.

Land use and benefit

Increase investment in Aboriginal land interests, ownership, and activation for shared benefits.

Place experience

Better defined place-based design, engagement and ongoing management of NSW’s built and natural environments.

Our Aboriginal visual identity

In July 2025, the Department proudly launched our new Aboriginal visual identity, a striking design created by proud Dunghutti woman Kyara Fernando. Kyara’s design serves as a testament to, and representation of, the enduring relationship of our communities with the lands and waters that have sustained us for years.

Illustrating a central gathering place surrounded by other communities effectively showcases the diversity of shared cultural traditions. This emphasises the strength of bloodline connections and the bonds that have lasted for generations, symbolising the living history and collective identity essential to the richness of Aboriginal culture.

The incorporation of environmental elements, water ways and hill landscapes evoke powerful imagery of Aboriginal ancestral lands, reminding us of the importance of maintaining a connection with nature.

It is through recognising and preserving these landscapes we can continue to honour and ensure the survival of Aboriginal cultural practices for thousands of years.

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) includes objects or materials, artwork and iconography. It also has intangible elements, the knowledge and cultural practice incorporated within the objects.

This cultural heritage is living and evolving. It is handed down from generation to generation and is inextricably connected to Country.

ICIP, and the roles and responsibilities to look after culture and pass it on, come from Country. They come from the particular Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander group, or their lands or waters. Many generations may contribute to the development of ICIP. In this way, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage is communally owned.

Through the Department’s work on Country and our engagement with Aboriginal peoples, we inevitably engage with ICIP and the Department is commitment to protecting ICIP. You can learn more by reading the DPHI Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Protocol.

Working at the Department

Wherever you are in NSW, you’re always on Country. The Department acknowledges and respect Aboriginal people’s rights, obligations and roles as Traditional Custodians of the land, sea and waterways.

As part of this acknowledgement, we seek to reflect our communities and their values.

Aboriginal Cultural Capability Framework

In 2021, we launched our Aboriginal Cultural Capability Framework called Winanga-li. Winanga-li means to hear or listen in the Gamilaraay language, reflective of the work to listen, to reflect and act to improve cultural capability, strengthen cultural safety and enable Aboriginal Outcomes across the NSW public sector.

As part of the suite, the Walking Together, Learning Together - Cultural Leadership Program represents the partnership between Aboriginal staff (as mentors) and senior leader (as mentees) build as they journey throughout the program and ‘learn together’.

Join our Aboriginal workforce

Wherever you are in NSW, you’re always on Country. We acknowledge and respect Aboriginal people’s rights, obligations and roles as Traditional Custodians of the land, sea and waterways.

Working at the Department, we provide support from mentors and networks including great training and development opportunities developed by and for Aboriginal staff to help you achieve goals and your career pathways.

Have a yarn with our Aboriginal Careers and Capability team who can help you with the application process or go to Our Mob on Country for more information.

Aboriginal artwork on the side of Redfern Community Centre.