Ethics, Major Reports and Key Readings

These documents support informal and formal research into Indigenous issues:

• Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices): Securing Our Rights, Securing Our Future Report,  Australian Human Rights Commission, Canberra, 2020
  • United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, United Nations, United Nations, New York, 2007
  • Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Indigenous Peoples Strategy 2015–2019, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2015
  • Social Justice Report 2007, Tom Calma, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney, 2007
  • Bringing Them Home: National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 1997
  • Ampe Akelyernemane Meke Mekarle: Little Children Are Sacred Report, Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, Northern Territory Government, Darwin, 2007
• Ethics
  • Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities:  Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders, National Health and Medical Research Council, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2018
  • Keeping research on track II, National Health and Medical Research Council, Canberra, 2018
  • National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) - Updated 2018, National Health and Medical Research Council, Canberra, 2018
  • AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, 2020
• Indigenous Voice to Parliament
  • 
    Uluru Statement of the Heart
    The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a consensus by Australian First Nations delegates resulting from 13 regional dialogues held around the country.  The Statement called for constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians and a stronger voice in their affairs.
  • Final Report of the Referendum Council,  Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2017
    The Referendum Council was jointly appointed by the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten on 7 December 2015 to advise the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on progress and next steps towards a successful referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution.
• Key journals and texts

  Awareness of key journals and seminal texts within various disciplines is essential to increasing the recognition of the rigour of scholarly work, extensity of community engagement in Indigenous research, and depth of Indigenous studies in various fields.

  • Aboriginal Studies Press
    ASP is AIATSIS’s publishing arm and Australia's leading publisher of Australian Indigenous studies
  • Australian Aboriginal Studies Journal
    An interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal promoting high-quality research in Australian Indigenous studies, with a focus on the humanities and social sciences.
  • Informit: Indigenous Studies Bibliography
    The AIATSIS Indigenous Studies Bibliography is the premier database that indexes published and unpublished material on Australian Indigenous studies. Source documents include journal articles, newspapers, pamphlets, published government reports, published conference papers, book chapters, books, discussion and working papers, and published statistical documents. AIATSIS also contains 6000+ web links to content.
• Major reports and strategies on Indigenous education
  • National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy, Department of Education and Training, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2015
    Under the Strategy, education ministers have agreed to a set of principles and priorities that will inform jurisdictional approaches to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education.
  • Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, Department of Education and Training, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2012
    Published in September 2012, and chaired by Professor Larissa Behrendt, this Review highlighted the role that higher education plays in improving health, education and economic outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
  • Universities Australia Indigenous Strategy 2022–2025, Universities Australia, Canberra, 2022
    The Strategy sets ambitious targets to lift the university enrolment and completion rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
  • National Indigenous Higher Education Workforce Strategy, Department of Education and Training, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2016
    This is a strategic policy document assisting Australian universities in developing their Indigenous employment strategies and targets.
• Significant reports on health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

  Health

  • National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021–2031, Department of Health, Australian Government, Canberra, 2021
  • National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing 2017-2023, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Canberra, 2017
  • A National Aboriginal Health Strategy, National Aboriginal Health Strategy Working Party, Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Canberra, 1989

  Closing the Gap

• The University of Melbourne Library - Australian Indigenous Studies subject guides
  • Indigenous Architecture, Place-making & Design
  • Indigenous Arts
  • Indigenous Education
  • Indigenous Health
  • Indigenous Studies
  • Indigenous Law

  Each subject guide is regularly updated and includes link to key journals and texts. All Australian Indigenous Studies Library Subject Guides are available here.

• Literature
  • Welcome to Country, Marcia Langton, Hardie Grant Publishing, 2018
    A completely new and inclusive guidebook to Indigenous Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. A detailed introduction covers topics such as language, customs and history followed by a directory of Indigenous tourism experiences across every state of Australia.  (ISBN:  9781741175431)
  • Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, Anita Heiss, Black Inc. Books, 2018
    What is it like to grow up Aboriginal in Australia?  This anthology showcases many diverse voices, experiences and stories in order to answer that question.  (ISBN:  9781863959810)
  • Dark Emu, Bruce Pasco, Magabala Books, 2014
    Pascoe puts forward an argument for the reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australia.  This impeccably researched book uses evidence from the records and diaries of Australian explorers to challenge the convenient lies of colonialism.  (ISBN:  9781921248016)
  • Talking To My Country, Stan Grant, Harper Collins Publishers, 2016
    Direct, honest and forthright, this is a rare, special book that talks to every Australian about their country.  Grant offers a personal and powerful response to racism in Australia and explores the sorrow, shame, anger and hardship of being an Indigenous man.  (ISBN:  9781460751985)
  • Our Mob Served, Allison Cadzow & Mary Anne Jebb, Aboriginal Studies Press, 2019
    Our Mob Served presents a moving and little-known history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander war time and defence service, told through the vivid oral histories and treasured family images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  (ISBN:  9780855750718)
  • The Little Red Yellow Black Book, Bruce Pascoe, Aboriginal Studies Press, 2008
    The Little Red Yellow Black Book is a perfect starting point for those who want to learn about the rich cultures and histories of Australia’s First Peoples. Written from an Indigenous perspective, this highly illustrated and accessible introduction covers a range of topics from history, culture and the Arts, through to activism and reconciliation.  (ISBN:  9780855750527)
• Reconciliation
  • 2022  Australian Reconciliation Barometer, Reconciliation Australia, 2022
  • 2021 State of Reconciliation in Australia Report, Reconciliation Australia, 2021
    The five dimensions of reconciliation — Historical Acceptance, Race Relations, Equality and Equity, Institutional Integrity, and Unity — form the basis upon which reconciliation occurs.  This report reflects on where we have come from, where we are today, where we need to get to, and how we can get there. It identifies significant areas of progress, including the now almost universal belief that the relationship between First Peoples and other Australians is important.  It was first released in 2016.
  • 2020 Australian Reconciliation Barometer, Reconciliation Australia, 2020
    The objective of the research was to develop a tool to measure the progress of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Australians. The first study was completed in 2008, with subsequent biennial reporting since.