Decolonising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research - Key Policies, Targets, and Institutional Commitments

Oct 15, 2026

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Decolonising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research examines how Australia’s research policy infrastructure engages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and communities. It links key performance indicators and policies across funders, institutions, and researchers, outlining relevant policies and targets to show how sector regulation interconnects in practice. The analysis identifies pathways to strengthen institutional commitments to meaningful engagement and implementation, support researcher compliance with obligations, and empower Indigenous Peoples to make informed decisions about research collaboration benefits.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Decolonising research policy infrastructure

Policies, targets, and sector interconnections in practice

Opportunities for first-inations-led collaboration and meaningful engagement

Pathways to strengthen institutional commitments and researcher compliance

Supporting informed Indigenous decision-making and research benefits

A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Decolonising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research Kathy Bowrey University of New South Wales Irene Watson University of South Australia Marie Hadley University of Newcastle There is an important but unwieldy research policy infrastructure designed to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research and researchers. This framework links the key performance indicators and policies offunders and institutions to researchers and communities. In this article, we explain the relevant policies and targets, with a view to showing how sector regulation interconnectsin practice and identifying ways to strengthen institutional commitments to meaningful engagement with, and implementation of, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research policy. We suggest next steps that are needed to help researchers comply with funder and institution-mandated obligations and to empower Indigenous Peoples to make informed decisions about the benefits of research collaboration with universities. Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, research policy, research integrity, authorship, ethics, social engagement and impact, research collaboration, neo-colonialism 54 Decolonising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research Kathy Bowrey et al. vol. 64, no. 1, 2022 A U S T R A L I A N U N I V E R S I T I E S ’ R E V I E W There has been a great deal of policy activity in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research space. This has come about in response to criticism of existing frameworks that perpetuate injustice and marginalisation of First Peoples’ selfdetermination, in recognition of potential benefits that could flow from respectful collaboration and more ethical research, and in response to, as a minimum requirement, initiatives such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (United Nations, 2007). Policy reform has created new opportunities to better support researcher and community collaboration. The ideal is projects that are First Nationsled, rather than the pursuit of agendas that emanate from contexts that are disconnected from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants and the intended beneficiaries of research. There are many moving parts in this policy space: dedicated National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC) funds, NHMRC and Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Research Integrity Policies and Guidelines that apply to publicly funded research, institutional policies and ethics processes that also regulate the conduct of research and IP ownership, ARC Excellence for Research in Australia (ERA) and Engagement and Impact (EI) Assessment exercises that will, in future, link in with the introduction of new Field of Research Codes to better capture research conducted, and data sovereignty initiatives. We provide an overview of these initiatives and show how they interconnect in practice and, in the context where Australiawide mandatory research policies are a useful tool, identify pathways to strengthen institutional commitments. There is already a large body of scholarly research about the aspiration to decolonise the Australian university landscape and improve meaningful First Nations Peoples’ participation within the learned academies. This paper has a more practical orientation. Concerning the authors, Professor Watson is well-known from her professional work with the South Australian Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in the 1970s and for her pro-bono working for Aboriginal Nations across Australia. While she is currently a member of the Senior Management Group at the University of South Australia as Pro-ViceChancellor Aboriginal Leadership and Strategy, she came to this position having worked through the ranks. Her career spans the last twenty years of Australian universit

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the paper?

The paper explains relevant research policies and targets to show how sector regulation interconnects and to identify ways to strengthen institutional commitments to meaningful engagement and implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research policy.

Which kinds of policy initiatives and bodies does the paper overview?

It outlines policy activity and initiatives across Australia’s research funding and integrity frameworks, including NHMRC and ARC funding, research integrity policies and guidelines, ERA and Engagement and Impact (EI) assessment exercises, field of research codes, and data sovereignty initiatives.

How does the paper describe the ideal approach to research collaboration?

The ideal is projects led by First Nations, rather than agendas shaped by contexts disconnected from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants and intended research beneficiaries.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr