Towards growing Indigenous culturally competent legal professionals in Australia

The Review of Australian Higher Education (Bradley Review, 2008) andthe Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander People (Behrendt Review, 2012) identifiedthe need for tertiary institutions to incorporate Indigenous knowledgesinto curriculum to improve educational outcomes for IndigenousAustralians and to increase the cultural competency of all students. Thesereviews recommended that higher education providers ensure that theinstitutional culture, the cultural competence of staff and the nature of thecurriculum supports the participation of Indigenous students, and thatIndigenous knowledge be embedded into curriculum so that all studentshave an understanding of Indigenous culture. While cultural competencyhas been recognised as an essential element of professional practice inhealth services internationally, and legal practice in the United States,very little work has been done to promote the cultural competency oflegal professionals in the Australian context. This paper will discuss apilot cultural competency professional development program for legalacademics at Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane) developedwith the assistance of a Faculty of Law Teaching and Learning Grant in2010-2012, and tell one Murri’s journey to foster Indigenous culturalcompetency in an Australian law school