Training

Training that decolonises practice and centres cultural safety

At Tribe Connections, our training is designed for counsellors, social workers, youth workers, and allied health practitioners who want to move beyond cultural awareness into decolonising, culturally safe practice.
We focus on real‑world practice with children, young people, families, and carers so that what you learn can be applied immediately in your day‑to‑day work.

Our three‑framework approach

All of our programs are grounded in our three‑framework approach, which weaves together Indigenous ways of knowing, spiritual‑relational understandings of wellbeing, and the Fiji Vanua worldview.
These frameworks help practitioners see how history, culture, power, and place shape a family’s experience of services, and offer concrete tools for working in ways that are relational, strengths‑based, and community‑led.

We support participants to:

• Reflect critically on their own positioning, power, and assumptions.

• Recognise how colonisation and systemic racism show up in everyday practice.

• Re‑design assessments, care plans, and safety planning so they centre family voice, cultural identity, and self‑determination.

What our training covers

Our training explores three interconnected domains: decolonising practice, cultural safety, and trauma‑informed, culturally grounded responses.

Participants will:

• Deepen their understanding of colonisation, whiteness, and how systems create harm, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other racialised communities.

• Build skills for cultural safety—shifting from “doing to” and “doing for” towards “walking with” families and communities in shared decision‑making.

• Learn practical tools, language, and frameworks to support safety planning, family preservation, and social and emotional wellbeing in ways that families experience as safe and respectful.

We use a mix of teaching, yarning and reflective exercises, case discussions, and practical tools so that learning is embodied, not just theoretical.

Formats to fit your team

We offer a range of flexible delivery options for individuals, teams, and organisations.

• Half‑day refreshers
  Short, focused sessions that provide a shared language, a reset around decolonising practice and cultural safety, and 1–2 tools participants can take back into sessions or supervision straight away.

• Full‑day workshops
  A deeper dive into history, frameworks, and practice, with space for case workshopping, reflective practice, and collaborative problem‑solving tailored to your context.

• Three‑day intensives
  Immersive programs for teams or leadership groups who are ready to embed change at a deeper level, including implementation planning and support to apply learning back into policy, supervision, and service design.

• Bespoke in‑house programs
  Co‑designed training for organisations and teams, tailored to your client group, local cultural protocols, and strategic priorities (e.g. embedding cultural safety across an organisation, aligning with accreditation or CPD requirements).

Training can be delivered face‑to‑face in the Illawarra and surrounding regions, or online for organisations across Australia.

Who our training is for

Our programs are suitable for practitioners and leaders working in child, youth, and family services, education, justice, health, and community settings.
This includes counsellors, social workers, psychologists, youth workers, caseworkers, allied health practitioners, team leaders, and clinical supervisors seeking to strengthen decolonising practice and cultural safety across their services.