•  Recognise, value, and respect the diversity, heritage, knowledge, cultural property, and connection to country of First Nations Australians, and on Ngunnawal Country that of Ngunnawal people, as well as the diversity of all First Nations people residing here.

•   Students are encouraged to engage with First Nations Australians who are experts in their field and community leaders to inform themselves about and understand topics.

•   Any research that involves engagement with First Nations Australians as participants requires consultation with First Nations Australian community leaders and members, informed consent by participants, and final outcomes shared with participants, with the opportunity for participants to review and reflect.

•  Recognise and interrogate own cultural assumptions, and the biases of source material and data, to frame questions and to ensure a consideration of issues using First Nations Australians epistemologies and perspectives.

·         Students predominantly are studying on Ngunnawal country, so they need to understand this local context, culture, and connection to country first when engaging with First Nations Australian content, but also consider the diversity of First Nations Australians living in our local community.

·      Students have a duty to seek out First Nations Australians’ perspectives on topics that engage with First Nations people and represent those views in their research and creative work with respect and referencing. For example, in researching Emily Kngwarreye, students should make every effort to quote the artist, other First Nations Australian artists and First Nations Australian critics among the perspectives on her art that they consider. In another example, if conducting a literature review on the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission in Legal Studies, students should quote the views of First Nations Australian criminologists and legal scholars, as well as other perspectives, and also consider First Nations Australian protocols around naming the deceased in the research product.

·     First Nations Australian knowledge belongs to them and should be treated respectfully, and with due attention to protocols around its use and dissemination. Some knowledge for First Nations Australians is permitted only for certain people to use and circulate. Knowledge in the public domain may be available for use. If students access such knowledge during research, they have an ethical duty to actively seek an understanding of protocols around its use and follow them.

·      Teachers and students should recognise that developing and using intercultural skills may well require learning about and how to use those skills. Students should not be expected to have such skills already. Students should be guided to recognise and interrogate their own cultural assumptions when framing questions, establishing a research methodology and forming arguments.

·      The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (p.84) lists certain types of research that always require full Human Research Ethics Committee approval, including all research on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, and so these types of research should not be undertaken by students, with a single exception. These guidelines do not prevent First Nations students from conducting research into their own family, community, and culture. Research with Australian First Nations family members or community members already known to the student is not precluded, but students should carefully consider the feelings and vulnerabilities of their family members and whether research might harm them. Students should make it clear that participation is voluntary and that they are free to say no. First Nations students developing their own investigation focused on First Nations Australian communities or individuals, should work with their teacher and parent/guardians on how to approach First Nations Australian community leaders for interview or consultation respectfully.

·      For students who are not First Nations, they should not undertake independent research on or related to First Nations Australian topics involving their own engagement or interaction with human participants, but rather study such topics using published texts and data.

·      A distinction should be drawn between teacher-guided engagement with First Nations Australian community members, Elders, and experts in particular fields who present to the class, and students engaged in self-directed projects engaging with First Nations Australians. In the first case, teachers should engage thoughtfully and respectfully using appropriate cultural protocols appropriate to the individual, context and specific needs of the people involved including their students. Teachers must find out what is required. As with any outside provider, teachers should recognise that community leaders, elders and disciplinary experts should be offered payment for their time.