UTS: Indigenous-Inclusive Flexible Work

With permission from our friends at UTS Centre for Indigenous People and Work, we share their invaluable resources.

What Works at Work 

From their website: The Centre for Indigenous People and Work (CIPW) is a self-determined, joint initiative of the UTS Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research and the UTS Business School that aims to address systemic inequities experienced by Indigenous Australians in the labour and employment markets, including racism, underemployment, and exclusion from leadership positions.

The Centre seeks to reclaim the Indigenous employment narrative through rigorous, industry-based Indigenous-led research, consulting, and partnerships with other stakeholders in the employment community, focusing on policy formulation, law reform and workplace-based solutions.

CIPW’s Truth to Practice Latest Guide: Indigenous-Inclusive Flexible Work

For diversity and inclusion (D&I), human resource and/or organisational development leads, a longer guide which includes research references.

For managers, a shorter guide.

These cover critical principles you can implement immediately, such as how to:

• Understand Indigenous ways of caring for kin, community, and Country.
• Provide Indigenous-inclusive flexibility work options that work for Indigenous employees, not just non-Indigenous employees.
• Create an Indigenous-inclusive flexibility culture that supports, rather than constrains, flexible work for Indigenous employees.

Why is it imporant for EmployAbility to share these resources?

While we specialise in supporting people with physical disabilities, sharing Indigenous inclusive resources strengthens our ability to support candidates across both disability and cultural contexts.

It helps us deliver culturally safe employment support, build employer capability, and contribute to more inclusive labour markets overall.

Disability employment includes Indigenous people with disability.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience disability at higher rates than non Indigenous Australians, and often face overlapping systemic barriers, cultural, social, health and employment related.

Disability support is more effective when it respects cultural practices

Supporting someone with physical disability isn’t just about access or equipment, it’s also about:

• family and kinship responsibilities
• community obligations
• connection to Country
• cultural communication styles
• different understandings of health and wellbeing

These factors directly impact work, flexibility, job design and retention.

It aligns with our broader commitment to equitable employment systems

Sharing resources like the CIPW guides shows that we value intersectionality: how disability, culture and systemic barriers interact.

Again, we say Thank you CIPW for these fantastic resources and for letting us share on ur website. Should you have any questions, please contact them directly.