Our commitment to First Nations engagement

We are guided by Traditional Owners about how to include their perspectives in schools and kinders. We believe that good engagement is based on:

• respect for First Nations perspectives, priorities and intellectual property
• timely, useful and culturally safe communication with the right people
• a shared understanding of when the consultation will happen and what it is about
• supporting relationships between Traditional Owners and the school, kinder and community
• meeting our commitments
• learning from previous consultations and building capability in our staff.

1. Projects are announced in the state budget.
2. We tell the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI) when we are ready to start engaging.
3. We invite Traditional Owners to engage with us on one or more projects.
   • We engage on school and kindergarten projects separately.
4. Traditional Owners confirm if they want to engage with us.
5. We schedule meetings with Traditional Owners and other stakeholders.
   • Meeting 1: we present the project and ask for recommendations for the design. After the meeting, VAEAI prepare a list of recommendations.
   • Meeting 2: we update Traditional Owners on how we have included their recommendations in the design. If Traditional Owners endorse the design, the consultation closes. Remaining matters are addressed by phone or email.
   • Meeting 3: sometimes we schedule a third meeting if more discussion is needed.
6. We invite Traditional Owners to the opening event of the project (if there is one).

We facilitate the meetings, unless Traditional Owners request otherwise. Our meetings usually follow this format:

• Acknowledgement of Country
• Introductions
• Presentation on the project and design
• Comments and questions
• Private yarning time for First Nations attendees
• Feedback from First Nations attendees
• Final discussion

We acknowledge the rights of First Nations people to their cultural heritage, for example their:

• traditional knowledge
• cultural expression
• performances
• cultural objects
• secret and sacred information
• documentation of any of the above.

Traditional Owners decide what Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP) to provide for each project and how it is used.

They must consent to their ICIP being used and have the right to authorise or refuse its use.

We recognise Traditional Owners as the owners of their ICIP.

We seek approval for the use of language and cultural knowledge for individual projects, unless agreed otherwise.