JCPSLP Vol 19 No 1 March 2017

Lowell, Amanda O’Keefe personal communication). IAHA highlights the importance of having both health workers and health services available in rural and remote communities

Indigenous Australians, fosters an understanding of the social determinants of health, and incorporates cultural awareness training, cultural safety training including time to reflect, and training in the use of linguistic and cultural interpreters and in intercultural collaborative practice. As clinicians and researchers we need to collaborate in the development of culturally responsive assessment and intervention tools, resources and service delivery models that recognise and build on the strengths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. By challenging our own assumptions about the world, we can celebrate how much we can learn and benefit from our colleagues and clients and be enriched through the insights they may share about Indigenous ways of learning and being. Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge: permission to access to resources through Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA); discussions and references provided by Anne Lowell (Charles Darwin University), Amanda O’Keefe (Royal Darwin Hospital) and Michelle Lincoln (University of Sydney). The participation of all these professionals has richly added to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2011). Census of population and housing: Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians . Cat.no. 2076.0. Canberra: ABS. Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council NSW. (2016). What we do . Retrieved from http://www.ahmrc.org. au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Ite mid=2 Australian Human Rights Commission. (2013). Agency multicultural plan 2013–15 Multicultural access and equity policy: Respecting diversity, improving responsiveness . Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/ default/files/document/publication/commission_amp2013- 15.pdf Australian Pschological Society. (2016). Australian Psychological Association apologises to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people . Retrieved from http://www.psychology.org.au/news/media_ releases/15September2016/ Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA). (2014). Online mentoring program . Canberra: Author. Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA). (2015). Cultural responsiveness in action: An IAHA framework . Canberra: Author. Cooke, M. (Ed.). (1996). Contemporary uses of aboriginal languages research project. Aboriginal languages in contemporary contexts: Yolngu Matha at Galiwin’ku . Batchelor, NT: Batchelor College. Dew, A., Bulkeley, K., Veitch, C., Bundy, A., Gallego, G., Lincoln, M., … Griffiths, S. (2012). The need for new models for delivery of therapy intervention to people with a disability in rural and remote areas of Australia. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability , 37 (March), 50–53. Dew, A., Bulkeley, K., Veitch, C., Bundy, A., Lincoln, M., Glenn, H., … Brentnall, J. (2014). Local therapy facilitators working with children with developmental delay in rural and remote areas of western New SouthWales, Australia: The “Outback” service delivery model. Australian Journal of Social Issues , 49 (3), 310–328. this conversation. References

(IAHA, 2015). Culturally responsive services and interventions take time to design and implement. Models of care

Increasingly, research has shown that Indigenous Australians working within their own communities and groups have the skills to bridge gaps and increase successful outcomes. A number of strategies have been suggested to improve the accessibility of services for Australian Indigenous people (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013). Strategies include: embedding services within local communities; employing Indigenous staff; developing the cultural competency of non-Indigenous staff; developing links and partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and Indigenous organizations; improving the availability, provision and distribution of meaningful and relevant information; providing culturally relevant practice especially in planning, assessment and case management and support phases. Many programs with Indigenous Australian liaison officers/ allied health professionals and training of Indigenous Australian community members have produced sustainable and ongoing successful outcomes for individuals and groups (Dew et al., 2012; Dew et al., 2014). SLPs engaging in “fly-in fly-out” or “drive-in drive-out” models of service need to reflect carefully if considering engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities briefly, inconsistently and/or on a short-term basis on the balance between “doing good” and the potential of “doing harm” if these strategies are unable to be followed through. Our challenge What do SLPs, aspiring to build culturally responsive ethical speech-language pathology services, need to consider? Firstly, we need to acknowledge that we need to do more. We should respect of Australia’s First Peoples history, cultures, languages and beliefs and make the commitment to collaboratively build culturally responsive speech- language pathology services. This goal needs to come from the levels of individuals, services and organisations. As a professional association we should aspire to proactive and collaborative planning with Indigenous Australians, government planners and policy-makers in a conscious effort to move towards more accessible, culturally responsive speech-language pathology service provision for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples wherever they are living in Australia. Increasing our own self- awareness, respect and proactive work in this area can pave the way for ongoing positive actions into the future. We need to advocate for time and adequate funding to build consistent collaborative, respectful, trusting relationships and negotiate culturally competent service delivery. Indigenous Allied Health Australia, Speech Pathology Australia, and many other organisations have made this commitment and continue to agitate for action. A recent example of “saying it out loud” at an organisational level is the University of Sydney’s commitment to incorporating cultural competence at a whole-of-university level, and within their strategic plan (University of Sydney, 2016). In-depth and specific training is needed for SLPs across Australia that acknowledges the historical context for

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JCPSLP Volume 19, Number 1 2017

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology