CHCDIV002 Promote Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cultural Safety

This assignment, a student's response to a CHCDIV002 assessment, explores cultural safety in the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The student addresses how personal cultural biases can affect community sector work, referencing the Change @ South Australia link to demonstrate cultural safety support. It identifies key cultural differences between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and examines the impact of the Maralinga nuclear testing program, including its effects on culture, history, land, and access to community services. Furthermore, the assignment reflects on the impact of European settlement, racism, discrimination, and power relations, providing examples. Finally, it analyzes why mainstream community services struggle to engage with these communities, considering service environment, staffing, and historical factors.

Student Written Assessment
Business Unit/Work
Community services, health & Lifestyle
Group
Qualification Code
Not relevant for common core units
Qualification Title
Certificate III, Certificate IV, Diploma & Advanced Diploma
Unit Code/s
CHCDIV002
Unit Title/s
Promote Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Cultural
Safety
Assessment Task
Assessment 2 of 3
Title
Student Declaration
I hereby declare that the material herein submitted for
assessment is my own work except where specifically
acknowledged and referenced.
Student Name
Mohamed Ameen Fathima Fazna
Student SIS ID
001081444
Student Signature
Date

Assessor Name

Student guide for Written assessment
Overview of
The purpose of this assessment is to assess your
knowledge and for you to discuss your ability to work with
Assessment Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People and to
create a Culturally Safe environment.
Task/s to be assessed
This is a written assessment task short answer question’s.
Time allowed
You will have 3 weeks to complete this assessment
Location
This is a take home assignment to be downloaded from
Learn and re-uploaded into Learn.
Decision making rules
To receive a satisfactory outcome for this assessment
students must answer all questions to a satisfactory level
using the marking guide below.
Assessment conditions
Students must complete this assessment individually and
submit their own work.
Resources required
Recommendation for use of the website
www.creativespirits.info
Recommendations to take notes of in class Learning and
activities
Learn
· Handouts from class
Results/Reassessment
When and how will the student be advised of the
assessment outcome?
Provide information about reassessment process.

Q1. How might personal cultural bias affect worker practice in the community sector?
Provide four (4) examples
1. It leads to cultural incompetence where one fails to understand the special needs of
specific populations like the indigenous groups. This can be seen in approaching their
issue the same way as other groups in the society (Stevenson 2010, p. 15).
2. This can also lead to racial bias where one sees one race as superior to the other. This
can lead to poor treatment of those affected since one may feel that they do not deserve to
benefit from the specific needs.
3. This can also lead to denial of resources and opportunities when one leans towards one
group as seen in the way the Aboriginal and Torres Islanders have suffered.
4. It can be seen in open discrimination where community workers favor specific groups
that can be culturally defined from the rest.
Q 2. Referring to the Change @ South Australia link
https://publicsector.sa.gov.au/culture/90-day-projects/safe-to-be-you-cultural-safety-a-
work-health-and-saf
ety-issue/. How does this support Cultural Safety for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
people? Provide three (3) examples
The project has developed a Work Health and Safety (WHS) Framework for Cultural Safety to
provide an environment that is safe for practice of all which will improve outcomes for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
The legislation requires everyone to play a role in protecting the health and safety of all people.
This means that people are in charge of the health of others which improves health outcomes by
creating the best conditions to work in.

The legislation also acknowledges the differences in cultural diversity thus creating an
environment that allows people to easily express their identity allowing them to identify
themselves using any cultural identifier.
Q 3. Considering the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures,
identify (4) four differences between the two cultures.
According to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (2019, pp. 2), there
are several cultural differences between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
1. One difference between the two groups is the dreamtime that they have. The Aboriginals
dreamtime story revolves around the rainbow serpent which is the creator and protector of
their land while the Torres Strait Islanders dreamtime stories feature the Tagai, who is seen
as a warrior and their stories revolve around the stars and the sky.
2. The Aboriginal people use the water to identify themselves, for example they will call
themselves the saltwater people, fresh water people, rainforest people and desert people. On
the other hand, the Torrest Islanders identify themselves using the name of the island that
they love on. For example, a Saibai is from Saibai while a Meriam is from Mer.
3. The language they use is another cultural difference between the two groups, Majority of the
Aborigines speak the Pama-Nyungan language which the Torrres Strait Islander speak the
Kala Lagaw Ya and Meriam Mir.
4. Lastly, their economic activities differ, the Aboriginals live on the mainland Australia and
are mostly nomadic whole the Torres Strait Islanders who are traders, seafarers and
agriculturists.

Q 4. Research the nuclear testing program at Maralinga South Australia. Consider the
effects on
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and address the following points in 100
words per point:
 ·Culture and history of Maralinga prior to European settlement
The culture and history of Maralinga changed when the site was used as a testing site since the
people were forcefully relocated. After the testing, the land remained useless since it has been
affected by radiation and could not be used for economic activities. This affected the culture and
history of the people because they had historical attachment to their land and when the
government allowed them back, it still controlled section 400 of the land which was used as a
testing site. This means that the history of the Aboriginal people was erased and replaced with
the nuclear history that had taken over the land. Today, most children know nothing about
Maralinga because it has since been forgotten and what children know is the section 400 that the
government still controls.
 ·Impact of European settlement on Maralinga
The impact of European settlement affected the traditional life of the people since they were
forced to adapt to the dominant culture often Europeans. Those who did not follow had difficulty
and were discriminated. This is also seen in the inability of the indigenous people to bond with
the Europeans. It also create trauma due to the fear of losing their traditional lands.
 Loss of land, culture, lore and Kinship at Maralinga
The people of Maralinga were forcefully removed from their land and relocation destroyed the
traditional lifestyle that the people lived before. Being nomads, they were leading a communal
life and thus the forceful relocation led to the loss of traditional independence. This is because
the people were forced out of their own land and many of them died on the way with no plans to

take them back. When the elders got tired of living in a foreign land, they went back and got
exposed to radiation.
 How might this situation impact the people of Maralinga accessing Community
Services Organizations?
The people of Maralinga have difficulty accessing community services since this was an
isolated area for a very long time. This means that the area has suffered from little or no
development because of its inhabitable nature that made it difficult for the people of the
area to access community services. The area had been under control for fifty years which
made it lag behind in development while other areas were improving and becoming better.
The services that people who live here receive are limited due to the effect that the control
had on the area.
Q 5. Reflect on the timeline reading on TAFE SA Learn and in class activity which
outlines the impact of European settlement. For each of the three (3) topic headings
provide one (1) example of the impact on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
people/communities.
1. Loss of land & Culture
European settlement in Impact of the European settlement on Maralinga changed the culture of
the people by bringing in a new culture that changed the way of life of the people. Being an
advanced civilization, Europeans exerted dominance on the Aboriginal people which made them
feel insecure and thus making them to retreat into inner areas. This is normal in the society since
under structural functionalism theory, when cultural differences exist, the dominant ideology
prevails and this is the reason why the European culture was the one that is documented while
the Aboriginal story exists partially.
2. Racism & Discrimination

Racism arises when there is a cultural dominance. This means that one group of people see
themselves as superior to others. This creates the race dominance power which they use over the
less dominant race. The Aboriginal were seen as inferior and a dying race which was racially
discriminated in accessing different life opportunities.
3. Past & Present Power Relation
Power relations that exist in the society are defined by the cultural differences that exist in the
society. This means that the dominant cultural ideology is the one that prevails and thus its
people will have an advantage over others. Racism and discrimination creates gaps between the
indigenous people and the European communities which denies them different life opportunities.
Cultural ideology is an important bargaining power and thus the loss of their heritage and
tradition made the Aboriginal people powerless and vulnerable to other dominant societies.
Further, power also exists in numbers which were limited to the indigenous people as they were
suffering from the nuclear effects. This is seen in marginalization and discrimination of the
people which leads to different power relations.
Q6. Read each of the following statements and explain why some mainstream
community services and health systems continue to struggle with engaging Aboriginal
and/or Torres Strait Islander people/communities into their organizations.
1. Service environment
The services environment in Australia is defined the historical injustices that the people suffered.
Previous governments and colonialism exploited and discriminated this people in different
service environments. This means that the regions which have been inhabited by the indigenous
people have lagged behind in the service environment due to the lack of interest by the
government to invest in the service environment. Service environments define the utilization and

use of services within the environment. Thus the difficulty of engaging the indigenous
communities is based from the lack of service scape that influence consumer behaviors.
2. Service staffing
The historical injustices that were perpetuated by previous governments created poor economic
conditions for this population. Since these communities were discriminated and mostly led an
indigenous lifestyle, the government failed to pump resources in education to develop
educational programs that accommodate the special needs of the population (Rix, Barclay,
Wilson, Stirling, & Tong, 2013, p. 6). This leads to the inability of the populations to be
absorbed in the service environment since they lack the inability to work in the service
environment. This is the reason why most indigenous people have not been staffed in the
services environment.
3. Historical factors
Historical factors have shaped the life and the challenges that the indigenous people have
suffered in the services environment. This is based from what the previous governments did to
the people like the forceful relocation and the use of their land for nuclear testing (Price-
Robertson & Myfanwy 2011, pp. 3). This led to the development of medical and physical
inability of the population to be engaged in the services environment. This means that they exist
as a special populations with limitations that make them different from the rest of the population.
Q 7. As a result of current or past government policies/legislations and/or practices,
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people have experienced significant trauma. How
has that trauma impacted on their lives in relation to the four (4) points below, you must
provide 2 examples for each point.
a) Individual’s ability in the decision-making process

1. One challenge that the intergenerational trauma has caused the indigenous people in
decision making arises from the poor parent-child relationships and emotional attachment.
Decision-making ability is a learned process that develops through socializations. Since
the people are traumatized, their ability to socialize their children well is difficult which
creates difficulty in decision making. This is because they lack the required emotional
attachment which is an important element in decision making. According to Lerner, Li,
Valdesolo, & Kassam (2016, p. 7) emotions are created when the brain interprets what is
around a person through memories, thoughts and beliefs which trigger the way we feel
and thus decide on something. The memories and the environment that the Aboriginal
people have has a dark past which creates the difficulty to make decisions.
2. Post-traumatic disorder also creates difficulties in decision making since it creates a
different environment of analysis. Michael D. De Bellis (2015, p. 190) argues that adults
who have experienced trauma will have different judgment as compared to those who are
not. The fear of another distressing event affects personal judgment of the Aboriginal
people which affects the decisions that they make. This is because the people tend to be
protective rather than open to challenges.
b) Individual’s ability to communicate with practitioners
1. Trauma disrupts the relationships that people have with their family which creates the
difficulty in communicating. Since this is related to the emotional development and the
ability to relate to others. Traumatized people lack the self confidence that allows them to
communicate with practitioners. In a clinical environment, the patient is supposed to give
their experience of the problems that they have which means that the people will be
unable to give an account of what they are experiencing for diagnosis.

2. According to Atkinson (2013, p. 4) another way that trauma affects the ability to
communicate well with practitioners is the fact that traumatized people have difficulty
understanding their own feelings. By finding it hard to experience strong emotions then
the threat of the past makes them have a different understanding of issues and not
knowing what is embarrassing or private. This problems leads to the inability to
communicate since they lack the language to express their emotions.
c) Individual’s ability to understand
1. The experiences that most Aboriginal people went through can lead to the development of
post-traumatic stress disorder which creates anxiety that damages the brain. The
experiences of the past that the people have gone through or what they saw their family
members go through can create anxiety which damages the brain. The damage on the
brain is seen in learning difficulties and maintaining attention (Adubasim & Ugwu 2019,
p. 3). When they fail to learn and pay attention, then they have difficulties understanding
since their brain is distracted.
2. Secondly, the experience of trauma and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder
makes it difficult for a person to lead a normal life which is reflected in different life
challenges. Often of these challenges is the inability to understand or comprehend
information that is relayed to the person.
d) Individual’s ability to retain information
1. In a normal functioning system, the stress hormone cortisol is released when the person is
stressed and after the stress, the body returns to normal. However, during prolonged
stressful events excess stress or trauma lead to the excess release of the hormone in the
body which affects the brain thus impairing the patient’s ability to form new memories

which is seen in the ability to learn or retain new information (Adubasim & Ugwu 2019,
p.2).
2. The effects of trauma are also seen in the difficulty in brain development where people
may have difficulties in their brain development which leads to challenges retaining
information. Since the brain has strained, then the individual has learning difficulties
which are seen in the inability to retain information Adubasim & Ugwu 2019, p. 3).
Q8.1 Identify three (3) of your own cultural practices that you need to be aware of in the workplace.
And why is this important?
Cultural Practices Why is this important
Religious and spiritual practices They define the way people view
their life and approach situations
Dietary preferences and culinary
practices
Dietary practices define the way of
life and the type of food that they eat
which can be used to determine the
health issues that exist.
Cultural institutions Social institutions define the issues
and barriers that shape the way
people lead their lives and access life
opportunities

Q8.2 Identify three (3) other cultural practices that you need to be aware of in the workplace. And why is this
important?
Cultural Practices Why is this important
Religious and spiritual practices They define the ability of people to
work well with others and to follow
certain work standards.
Dressing style They define the ability of the people
to fit within the work environment
dressing code
Customs and values They form what the people can do
and what they cannot do.
References
Adubasim, I. J. & Ugwu, C., 2019. Impact of Trauma on Neurodevelopment and Learning.
Archives in Neurology & Neuroscience, 3(2).
Atkinson, J., 2013. Trauma-informed services and trauma-specific care for Indigenous
Australian children, s.l.: Australina Institute of Family Studies.
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, 2019. Indigenous Australians:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. [Online]
Available at: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/indigenous-australians-aboriginal-and-torres-
strait-islander-people
Lerner, J. S., Li, Y., Valdesolo, P. & Kassam, K., 2016. Emotion and Decision Making. Annual
Review of Psychology, 66(1), pp. 1-15.
Michael D. De Bellis, M. M. a. A. Z. A., 2015. The Biological Effects of Childhood Trauma.
Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America, 23(2), p. 185–222 .
Price-Robertson, R. & Myfanwy, M., 2011. Working with Indigenous children, families, and
communities: Lessons from practice. [Online]
Available at: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/working-indigenous-children-families-and-
communities

Rix, E. F. et al., 2013. Service providers’ perspectives, attitudes and beliefs on health services
delivery for Aboriginal people receiving haemodialysis in rural Australia: a qualitative study.
BMJ Open, 3(10).
Stevenson, A., 2010. Cultural Issues in Psychology: a student's handbook.. London: Routledge.

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