Most Significant Change Story: “It was special because it was led by us”
Storyteller: Community Advisory Group Member
I am a proud Aboriginal man originally from the Northern Territory. In my work supporting families in the child protection system, I saw a clear gap — there were few culturally relevant, community-designed resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. That’s what drew me to this project.
From the outset, cultural integrity guided everything we did. Because the project lead was not Aboriginal, it was essential — both ethically and practically — to have an all-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory committee to guide the work. That’s part of the ethics of doing this kind of work: Aboriginal people must help shape how it’s done.
I joined the Aboriginal Community Advisory Group to bring a male perspective and frontline experience. Our role was to make sure the project reflected lived experience, community priorities, and cultural ways of working. It was important that the people most affected were part of shaping it. The group itself was diverse in lived experience, yet all members shared a deep familiarity with trauma, pain, and the need for healing.
Together, we co-designed a set of guidelines and resources that any organisation can use to engage meaningfully with Aboriginal communities on Wadawurrung Country. That’s what made the project special — creating something from our own perspective. The co-design guidelines and principles give organisations a place to start before they even begin their work with community.
We also developed a set of Healing Resources, designed for people in our community who are grieving or seeking healing through connection to Country, culture, and community. These resources will also be used in monthly healing sessions to continue supporting people’s wellbeing.
For me, the most significant change is the availability of culturally grounded, community-designed tools that didn’t exist before. Before this project, very few resources were created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — this changed that.
The co-design guidelines and healing resources are already attracting strong interest from other organisations. I’ve used them myself in my current role working with Traditional Owner groups and shared them with others seeking advice. I tell them, “If you’re going to community, this is how you do it — these are the things to consider.”
Being part of the project also opened professional and personal opportunities. I co-authored academic papers and presented at the Family Services Conference, sharing our approach and what we learned along the way. It’s been a really good experience — one that’s benefited all of us. Although I’ve since moved away from Geelong, I still live on Wadawurrung Country and I continue to use and advocate for the resources in my work on Country.
I hope there will be future evaluation to track how the resources are used and the difference they make over time. It’s important to keep learning from community and to give things time to grow. When you’re working with Aboriginal communities, it’s on their time. Things come up — and that’s part of co-design. You have to be flexible and listen to what’s happening in community.
This project stands out because it shifted power and process — ensuring Aboriginal voices led the design, content, and ethics from start to finish. It created resources that are culturally safe, practical, specific to Wadawurrung Country but widely applicable, and it built capacity within community members like me, who continue to influence practice beyond the project itself.
“It was pretty special to be part of. Now organisations have something that’s been designed the right way — by community, for community.”