Confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent
Direction and guidance on the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent confirmation process. This confirmation is required to finalise an offer of employment for an identified role or scholarship.
Audience
All:
- applicants and employees seeking appointment to an identified or targeted role
- employees who started in identified roles on or after 31 July 2018
- applicants for identified teacher training scholarships (or similar) and for employment in ongoing, temporary or relieving Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identified or targeted roles
- employees seeking to have their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent recorded on the department’s relevant systems (where they are not already recorded as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander).
| Version | Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
V01.0.0 |
02/09/2024 |
Under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, new policy document consolidating existing instructions and improving clarity and readability. |
Chief People Officer |
| Ongoing union consultation is occurring and amendments may be made from time to time. |
About the policy
Under the Recruitment and onboarding policy, the department is committed to fair and equitable recruitment and comprehensive onboarding practices in its workplaces by confirming Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status for those entering Indigenous identified roles.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person |
A person who:
|
Applicant |
A person not currently employed by the department who is applying for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identified teacher education scholarships, or employment in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identified and targeted roles. |
Employee |
A person employed in permanent, temporary, casual or other employment, or on secondment within the department. |
Identified and targeted Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander roles |
Identified roles are developed where Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity, cultural knowledge or connections are a genuine aspect of the role. These roles must be filled with a person of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. Targeted roles are different from identified roles. A targeted role can be aimed at specific groups but does not require specific knowledge of those groups. For example, a role can be targeted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples but does not require the applicant to be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, nor does it require specific knowledge of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultures. |
Recognising organisation |
An organisation that can provide formal recognition of an applicant’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, their identification as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and their recognition as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander within their community. A recognising organisation must be either:
A register of organisations incorporated under the CATSI Act is available at Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations. |
Applicants:
- must provide true and accurate information regarding their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander confirmation. It is an offence for a person to make a false or misleading statement to a NSW Government entity in a document.
Hiring managers:
- must ensure applicants understand the department’s requirements for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander confirmation and know the consequences of making a false or misleading statement to a NSW Government entity.
Employees:
- who would like to have their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent formally recognised by the department, must follow these procedures. It is an offence for a person to make a false or misleading statement to a NSW Government entity in a document.
The department:
- must retain records of documents confirming an applicant’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent as sensitive and confidential information, and where required, dispose of documents in a secure manner, as outlined in the department’s Records management procedures (staff only).
Temporary employees and employees acting in a temporary or relieving capacity in an identified role for more than one school term:
- must follow the processes outlined in these procedures.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs Team (School Workforce/People Group):
- receive and verify confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander documents
- respond to enquiries, provide support to hiring managers, applicants and employees throughout the process and liaise with recognising organisations where there is no common seal.
What needs to be done
This procedure does not apply to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander department employees who were in an identified role before 31 July 2018. Those employees met the criteria at the time of their employment and are not required to undertake any additional confirmation process for current or future Aboriginal-identified or non-identified roles with the department.
These procedures assist applicants, employees, hiring managers and recognising organisations to provide the mandatory, endorsed Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander confirmation document(s) for applicants or employees seeking to:
- be awarded an identified scholarship
- be employed in an identified or targeted role
- have their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent formally recognised by the department.
The department is committed to supporting all applicants and employees in this process so that no person is disadvantaged.
The process below outlines the steps to be followed to obtain the confirmation documents.
1. Obtain supporting documentation
Applicants and employees have 4 options for obtaining supporting documentation that meets the department’s requirements. If unable to seek confirmation through one of the 4 options listed below, contact the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs team.
1.1 Option 1 – confirmation from a recognising organisation
Recognising organisations review relevant documents to confirm an applicant’s or employee’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent.
An applicant or employee can find a recognising organisation by:
- visiting the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations
- finding a suitable recognising organisation in the ‘Find a corporation’ search field
- finding the recognising organisation’s contact details by selecting the ‘Extract’ link
- contacting the recognising organisation.
In most cases, the recognising organisation’s governing body will:
- hold a formal meeting
- approve the confirmation of Aboriginality and/or Torres Strait Islander
- sign and affix the common seal to the department’s Recognising organisation resolution – Confirmation of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander descent (PDF 429 KB) record
- provide the confirmed resolution record to the applicant or employee.
1.2 Option 2 – obtain parental confirmation documents
The department recognises it can be difficult for certain applicants or employees to provide their own confirmation of Aboriginality and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. In such cases, the applicant or employee must provide both:
- confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent of one of their parents
- the parent’s birth certificate.
1.3 Option 3 – applicants or employees of The Stolen Generations
The department recognises that applicants or employees who are of The Stolen Generations may experience challenges or difficulty in accessing the documentation required for the confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander process.
Applicants or employees from The Stolen Generations can confirm their identity by providing one of the following:
- letter from The Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme confirming a successful reparation claim
- letter from a Stolen Generations Organisation acknowledging them and their family as Stolen Generations Survivors.
1.4 Option 4 – complete a statutory declaration
A statutory declaration is only used when the applicant or employee cannot obtain confirmation of Aboriginality and/or Torres Strait Islander documentation through any of the above options.
The applicant or employee must email aboriginalemployment@det.nsw.edu.au (the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs team) for assistance.
The applicant or employee must complete the Statutory declaration - Confirmation of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander descent (PDF 191 KB) form to confirm:
- they identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person
- they have been accepted by the community in which they live or formerly lived.
The applicant or employee must:
- sign the statutory declaration form
- have a recognising organisation sign the statutory declaration form
- return the completed statutory declaration to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs team for review.
2. Provide the department with the confirmation documents
2.1 Applicants
Successful applicants must provide original documents or certified copies of their confirmation documents before their appointment to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identified or targeted role or an identified teacher training scholarship.
For review and verification, successful applicants must email their confirmation documents to aboriginalemployment@det.nsw.edu.au, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs Team.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs Team will advise the applicant and the hiring manager (or scholarship team) once verified.
The department knows that there can be delays in obtaining identity documents to confirm an applicant’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. In such cases, applicants must actively work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs team to complete their confirmation. The department may offer an employee up to 6 months to submit their documentation, considering their individual circumstances.
Applicants granted special consideration may be temporarily appointed while seeking their confirmation documents. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs team will oversee the management of these applicants throughout this period.
For applicants, the department process, such as onboarding including the Working with Children Check, will proceed as usual during this time.
Applicants must only confirm their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent with the department once. If they have already confirmed their descent with the department, they must notify the hiring manager. The hiring manager can check the applicant’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs Team.
2.2 Employees
Employees are required to provide original documents or certified copies to confirm their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent.
For review and verification, employees must email their confirmation documents to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs Team at aboriginalemployment@det.nsw.edu.au.
The team will advise the employee once verified.
Record-keeping requirements
The Executive Director, School Workforce is responsible for maintaining the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent confirmation records and ensuring consistency with the policy and procedural requirements.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs team is responsible for ensuring all identity documentation is managed in accordance with the department’s Code of Conduct and Records management procedures (staff only).
Supporting tools, resources and related information
- Code of Conduct
- Aboriginal education policy and key documents
- Partnership Agreement between the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc. and the department – Working in partnership with NSW AECG Inc.
Policy contact
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Programs Team
aboriginalemployment@det.nsw.edu.au
1300 32 32 32 - options for:
- principal/director, educational leadership – 3, 2, 2, 1
- staff member – 3, 3, 1
The Executive Director, School Workforce monitors the implementation of this procedure, regularly reviews its contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates it as needed.