VACCHOs Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety training encompasses, and builds on, cultural awareness content by providing considerations and advice to implement cultural safety considerations into practice. Participant learning and understanding are enhanced by the personal stories and the lived experience of our facilitators while exploring Aboriginal identities, cultures, and history.
The session covers:
Understanding cultural safety and its importance in increasing service accessibility and effective engagement with Australia’s First Peoples.
The historical and ongoing impacts of colonisation and colonial policies on Australia’s First
Peoples culture and Communities
Trauma-informed practice
First Peoples diverse identities; respectful terminology and language
Cultural Load and its impacts on individuals, Communities, and organisations
How Equity and Self-determination are vital to cultural safety
Foundational skills to implement cultural safety into practice
Fostering respectful relationships with First Peoples and Communities
A timeline of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Strength and Resilience
The Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future culturally safe trauma-informed care training aims to improve service providers understanding of trauma and build confidence providing safe and supportive care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
In this webinar we will focus on one aspect of this training – the neurophysiology and neurological biology of trauma. We will:
describe different types of trauma (PTSD, Complex PTSD, intergenerational trauma), how the stress response can become dysregulated, trauma-related changes to brain structure and function, and how epigenetic changes may facilitate the inheritance of trauma-related responses across generations.
help providers understand how challenging behaviours and presentations may be explained by previous trauma and should be viewed as understandable, adaptive coping strategies, and provide strategies to prevent re-traumatisation in health care settings.
introduce Working Towards Safe and Sacred Care: A toolkit to support culturally responsive, trauma-aware, healing-informed continuity of care/r for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in the perinatal period.
Presenter: Dr Kim Jones is a Senior Research Fellow and deputy head of the Indigenous Health Equity Unit at Onemda, the University of Melbourne. She is a non-Indigenous researcher with a background in trauma research and training, neuroscience, and clinical guideline development. Kim’s research focuses on community-led and co-designed implementation and evaluation projects that aim to strengthen services to support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with complex and intergenerational trauma.
*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’
Date: Wednesday, 10 June 2026 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: Online
Description:
This training will be facilitated by VACCHO. The training encompasses and builds on cultural awareness content by providing considerations and advice to implement cultural safety considerations into practice. Participant learning and understanding are enhanced by the personal stories and the lived experience of our facilitators while exploring Aboriginal identities, cultures, and history.
Session topics:
The historical and intergenerational impacts of colonisation and policies and how they have shaped Aboriginal culture, peoples and Communities
Aspects of Aboriginal identities, culture and protocols
Fostering respectful relationships with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Foundational skills and strategies for implementing cultural safety into practice
The training aims to provide the necessary foundational knowledge to enable participants to:
Develop a greater understanding of Aboriginal cultural and social perspectives
Engage meaningfully with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Strengthen existing relationships and integrate cultural safety into practice
Identify ways to embed and apply learnings in professional and personal contexts.
Eligibility Criteria
This training is open to people working in AOD-specific roles in publicly funded services (i.e. AOD, mental health locals).
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers outside of Victoria, and workers not in an AOD-specific role.
Terms & Conditions
No shows will be charged a $50 late cancellation fee. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
VACCHOs Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety training encompasses, and builds on, cultural awareness content by providing considerations and advice to implement cultural safety considerations into practice. Participant learning and understanding are enhanced by the personal stories and the lived experience of our facilitators while exploring Aboriginal identities, cultures, and history.
The session covers:
Understanding cultural safety and its importance in increasing service accessibility and effective engagement with Australia’s First Peoples.
The historical and ongoing impacts of colonisation and colonial policies on Australia’s First
Peoples culture and Communities
Trauma-informed practice
First Peoples diverse identities; respectful terminology and language
Cultural Load and its impacts on individuals, Communities, and organisations
How Equity and Self-determination are vital to cultural safety
Foundational skills to implement cultural safety into practice
Fostering respectful relationships with First Peoples and Communities
A timeline of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Strength and Resilience
*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’
Date: Thursday, 14 August 2026 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: Online
Description:
This training will be facilitated by VACCHO. The training encompasses, and builds on, cultural awareness content by providing considerations and advice to implement cultural safety considerations into practice. Participant learning and understanding are enhanced by the personal stories and the lived experience of our facilitators while exploring Aboriginal identities, cultures, and history.
Session topics:
The historical and intergenerational impacts of colonisation and policies and how they have shaped Aboriginal culture, peoples and Communities
Aspects of Aboriginal identities, culture and protocols
Fostering respectful relationships with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Foundational skills and strategies for implementing cultural safety into practice
The training aims to provide the necessary foundational knowledge to enable participants to:
Develop a greater understanding of Aboriginal cultural and social perspectives
Engage meaningfully with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Strengthen existing relationships and integrate cultural safety into practice
Identify ways to embed and apply learnings in professional and personal contexts.
Eligibility Criteria
This training is funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded AOD service, including LLE workers.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Terms & Conditions
No shows will be charged a $50 late cancellation fee. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
VACCHOs Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety training encompasses, and builds on, cultural awareness content by providing considerations and advice to implement cultural safety considerations into practice. Participant learning and understanding are enhanced by the personal stories and the lived experience of our facilitators while exploring Aboriginal identities, cultures, and history.
The session covers:
Understanding cultural safety and its importance in increasing service accessibility and effective engagement with Australia’s First Peoples.
The historical and ongoing impacts of colonisation and colonial policies on Australia’s First
Peoples culture and Communities
Trauma-informed practice
First Peoples diverse identities; respectful terminology and language
Cultural Load and its impacts on individuals, Communities, and organisations
How Equity and Self-determination are vital to cultural safety
Foundational skills to implement cultural safety into practice
Fostering respectful relationships with First Peoples and Communities
A timeline of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Strength and Resilience
Workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Terms & Conditions
Refunds are available up to 1 day prior to the event. Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
VACCHO is the peak representative for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people in Victoria. We lead and support Aboriginal Community Control and the broader health and social services sector to deliver transformative health and wellbeing outcomes for Victorian Aboriginal communities. Our vision is for vibrant, healthy, self-determining Aboriginal communities. Our strategic plan; On Solid Ground (2021-26) outlines our bold steps to get there.
08/03/22 Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety Training
Duration: 1 Day
Delivery Mode: Online
VACCHO's Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety training encompasses, and builds on, cultural awareness content by providing considerations and advice to implement cultural safety considerations into practice. Participant learning and understanding are enhanced by the personal stories and lived experience of our facilitators while exploring Aboriginal identities, cultures, and history.
Timetable:
Details:
10:00am – 3:00pm
Training Type: Non-accredited
Topic: Cultural Sensitivity, Harm Reduction
Priority Population: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Age Group:
Location:
Online via Zoom
About this training:
IMPORTANT: registrations for training will become live approximately two months prior to start of training. To enrol in this or any training, you must click the link below and fill in the registration. If you do not complete the registration, you will not have a place in the training. If you experience a broken link, please get in touch with us at elevate@vaada.org.au
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VACCHO’s Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety training aims to provide the necessary foundational knowledge to enable participants to:
Develop a greater understanding of Aboriginal cultural and social perspectives
Engage meaningfully with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Strengthen existing relationships and integrate cultural safety into practice
Identify ways to embed and apply learnings in professional and personal contexts.
Session topics include:
The historical and intergenerational impacts of colonisation and policies and how they have shaped Aboriginal culture, peoples and Communities
Aspects of Aboriginal identities, culture and protocols
Fostering respectful relationships with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Foundational skills and strategies for implementing cultural safety into practice
Provider: VACCHO
Warning: you are about to enrol in this training. Click Yes to enrol, or No to cancel.
Eligibility Criteria
This training is suitable for anyone interested in gaining the necessary knowledge and understandings to effectively communicate, engage, and work with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in a culturally safe manner.
This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Please ensure you have clearance to attend from your line manager. If you are unable to attend, even if you find out the day before, please cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waiting list.
The Youth Support + Advocacy Service (YSAS) is Australia’s largest, youth-specific community service organisation.
Operating since 1998 as Victoria’s flagship Youth AOD service, YSAS now employs over 350 skilled staff across 19 sites in metropolitan and regional Victoria. While the prime focus of YSAS remains on effective Youth AOD Treatment and sector leadership, the organisation also has extensive experience in providing young people and families with services that support improved mental health and improve meaningful community participation.
Level 3/33 Lincoln Square South
Carlton VIC 3053
Ph: 03 9415 8881
Em: reception@ysas.org.au
web: ysas.org.au
1-day workshop: Cultural Bridging Workshop with Robyne Latham
Duration: 1 day workshop
Delivery Mode: Face to Face
Enrolments Now Open
Safe and effective practice for young people from diverse backgrounds and communities (Co-presented with First Nations Community member)
Timetable:
Details:
9:00am – 4:00pm
Training Type:
Topic: Cultural Sensitivity
Priority Population: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Youth
Age Group: Youth
Location:
Save the Children,
Ground Floor Training Room,
33 Lincoln Square South
Carlton Vic 3053
About this training:
IMPORTANT: registrations for training will become live approximately two months prior to start of training. To enrol in this or any training, you must click the link below and fill in the registration. If you do not complete the registration, you will not have a place in the training. If you experience a broken link, please get in touch with us at elevate@vaada.org.au
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Safe and effective practice for young people from diverse backgrounds and communities (Co-presented with First Nations Community member)
This Cultural Bridging Workshop is founded on the deeply held belief that people genuinely want and need to understand and connect with each other and they will do so when they are in environments that promote curiosity and creativity.
The intention underpinning this one-day workshop is to create opportunities to bridge the space between one’s own culture and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture(s). The participants will explore, in a non-blaming and non-shaming way, the continuum of the similarities and differences between mainstream and First Nation Cultures.
The training has very few slides, is experiential in nature and hopefully will be fun.
Areas addressed (learning outcomes) will include:
Listening deeply with all your senses.
Collective unconscious racism and how it manifests.
Working as a team, against the odds.
To experience ‘being the other.’
This workshop will also be supported by Robyne’s friend and colleague Dr Jacqui Sundbery, YSAS General Manager Research and Practice.
Provider: YSAS
Warning: you are about to enrol in this training. Click Yes to enrol, or No to cancel.
Eligibility Criteria
This training is open to Youth AOD workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Please ensure you have clearance to attend from your line manager. If you are unable to attend, even if you find out the day before, please cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waiting list.
VACCHO is the peak representative for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people in Victoria. We lead and support Aboriginal Community Control and the broader health and social services sector to deliver transformative health and wellbeing outcomes for Victorian Aboriginal communities. Our vision is for vibrant, healthy, self-determining Aboriginal communities. Our strategic plan; On Solid Ground (2021-26) outlines our bold steps to get there.
21/02/22 Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety Training
Duration: 1 Day
Delivery Mode: Online
**THIS TRAINING IS NOW FULL**
VACCHO's Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety training encompasses, and builds on, cultural awareness content by providing considerations and advice to implement cultural safety considerations into practice. Participant learning and understanding are enhanced by the personal stories and lived experience of our facilitators while exploring Aboriginal identities, cultures, and history.
Timetable:
Details:
10:00am – 3:00pm
Training Type: Non-accredited
Topic: Cultural Sensitivity, Harm Reduction
Priority Population: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Age Group:
Location:
Online via Zoom
About this training:
IMPORTANT: registrations for training will become live approximately two months prior to start of training. To enrol in this or any training, you must click the link below and fill in the registration. If you do not complete the registration, you will not have a place in the training. If you experience a broken link, please get in touch with us at elevate@vaada.org.au
****
VACCHO’s Introduction to Aboriginal Cultural Safety training aims to provide the necessary foundational knowledge to enable participants to:
Develop a greater understanding of Aboriginal cultural and social perspectives
Engage meaningfully with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Strengthen existing relationships and integrate cultural safety into practice
Identify ways to embed and apply learnings in professional and personal contexts.
Session topics include:
The historical and intergenerational impacts of colonisation and policies and how they have shaped Aboriginal culture, peoples and Communities
Aspects of Aboriginal identities, culture and protocols
Fostering respectful relationships with Aboriginal peoples and Communities
Foundational skills and strategies for implementing cultural safety into practice
Provider: VACCHO
Warning: you are about to enrol in this training. Click Yes to enrol, or No to cancel.
Eligibility Criteria
This training is suitable for anyone interested in gaining the necessary knowledge and understandings to effectively communicate, engage, and work with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in a culturally safe manner.
This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Please ensure you have clearance to attend from your line manager. If you are unable to attend, even if you find out the day before, please cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waiting list.
Thorne Harbour Health was formed in 1983 as a central part of the Victorian community response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Thorne Harbour Health continues to lead the response by providing a range of services which include prevention education, treatment and care of PLHIV and counselling services. Thorne Harbour Health Training and Capacity Building aims to develop your workforce and improve sector capacity through training and education, reflective practice, and secondary consultation. We seek to address those issues and barriers impacting access to LGBTI health by increasing understanding and building the capacity of your organisation.
16/02/22 Trans and Gender Diverse Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness Training
Duration: Half day
Delivery Mode: Online
Build an understanding of trans and gender diverse health and wellbeing, the impact of discrimination on trans and gender diverse people and explore and develop affirmative policy and practice recommendations.
Timetable:
Details:
10:00am – 1:00pm
Training Type: Non-accredited
Topic: Cultural Sensitivity, Diversity
Priority Population: LGBTIQ+
Age Group: Adult
Location:
Online interactive virtual classrooms delivered via zoom online
About this training:
IMPORTANT: registrations for training will become live approximately two months prior to start of training. To enrol in this or any training, you must click the link below and fill in the registration. If you do not complete the registration, you will not have a place in the training. If you experience a broken link, please get in touch with us at elevate@vaada.org.au
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This training is facilitated by transgender and gender diverse identified trainers and will support you and your organisation to:
Build understanding of trans and gender diverse health and wellbeing
Understand the importance and use of respectful and appropriate language
Understand the impact of discrimination on trans and gender diverse people
Understand and apply the legislative and legal requirements to respect and recognise gender identity
Explore and develop trans and gender diverse policy and practice recommendations
Develop strategies to create cultural safety
Provider: Thorne Harbour Health
Warning: you are about to enrol in this training. Click Yes to enrol, or No to cancel.
Eligibility Criteria
We at VAADA acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung People as the traditional owners of the land on which we reside and pay respect to elders past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge that this land was never ceded.
