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Annual Report
Benarrawa Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Solidarity Group
Self-determination of First Nations people
QCOSS worked towards a Yes vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum and introduced a cultural capability framework that underpins key organisational documents.
Supporting a Yes vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum
QCOSS is an inaugural member of Allies for Uluru, a partnership of more than 200 civil society organisations who have banded together to share ideas about how to ensure a successful Yes vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum. QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh attended the Melbourne launch of the coalition in February 2023, as well as subsequent leadership forums.
QCOSS co-hosted the event Host a conversation. Help win a Yes vote in the referendum with Together Yes. Victorian Women’s Trust and Together Yes co-founder CEO Mary Crooks presented on the Kitchen Table Conversation method that she pioneered and discussed how to use it to win a Yes vote in the referendum. 148 people registered to attend the event.
QCOSS disseminated information about the Voice to Parliament referendum to the CEO Network and Peaks Network, at our Town Halls, as well as through our newsletters and social media accounts. We also shared information internally and hosted a Together Yes Kitchen Table Conversation for interested QCOSS staff.
Mareeba Community Centre
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair
Promoting cultural safety
and humility
QCOSS partnered with First Nations cultural consultancy organisation W.I.S.E Australia to present the workshops: Cultural Humility and Safety and Trauma and Healing Informed Practice. Each had more than 150 registrants.
The workshops addressed the lasting impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, and explored how cultural humility and safety could be used to facilitate better practice for First Nations clients. They also explored how the community services sector could support healing and reconciliation.
Developing a cultural capability framework
In November 2022, QCOSS engaged BlackCard - a 100% Aboriginal owned and managed specialist consultancy and training provider - to develop a Cultural Capability Framework.
The purpose of the Framework is to strengthen our working relationships with First Nations Peoples, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, and other key First Nations stakeholders. The Framework was used to guide the development of QCOSS’ forthcoming Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan.
