Aboriginal Cultural Capability Framework

The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) is the lead agency for administering Western Australia’s (WA) multi-agency regulatory framework, providing the State’s health, safety, and environmental standards, consistent with relevant state and commonwealth legislation, regulations, and policy. Its core business practice is to support a safe, fair, and responsible future for the WA community, industry, and resources sector. DEMIRS provides services across WA, therefore it is critical to ensure that strong relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the broader community and DEMIRS are maintained and enhanced. The cultural responsiveness of Government agencies is fundamental to achieving better outcomes for Aboriginal people and communities. As such, DEMIRS is seeking to develop an agency-wide Aboriginal Cultural Capability Framework (the Framework) tailored to its operations and strategic objectives. The Framework will be intended to serve as an overarching strategic document to guide the department’s efforts over the next ten years to build a culturally competent workforce, ensuring that cultural understanding and cultural perspectives are integrated into every facet of its operations. The Framework will be designed to improve the cultural competence of the department and individual staff working with our Aboriginal stakeholders, providing a structured approach to building cultural capability, with clearly defined outcomes and aligning efforts agency wide.