NATSIEC Delegates Action Statement

The 5th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference (NATSIEC) was held in Adelaide on 19—21 November 2018 in Adelaide on the lands of the Kaurna Nation.

400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators from all sectors called for stronger commitment to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in policy design, program delivery and review, and higher levels of accountability of Government education and training programs.

Delegates identified 10 priorities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and training reform.

Summary of call to action by delegates:

1. Ministers re-commit to goals of the 1989 National Aboriginal Education Policy
2. Increased rigour in implementation and evaluation of existing policies
3. Stamp out racism in education and training, in all its forms
4. Establish an independent Indigenous education institute
5. Re-instate all state and territory IECBs for an authentic community voice in education
6. Increase numbers and capability of the Indigenous workforce in education
7. Teach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and Cultures in Australian Curriculum—no excuses for opting out
8. Recognise that the oldest continuing living cultures have practised STEM for millennia
9. Indigenous Advancement Strategy education funding is returned from PM&C to the education portfolio
10. Increase transparency, accountability and evidence to monitor expenditure