What Building Aboriginal Relationships Really Looks Like
- Gregory Andrews
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Everything every now and again something we do at Lyrebird Dreaming really stands out. Not just for what we learned or contributed, but for the lives and Country that are genuinely improved. Last year, one of those highlights was collaborating with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to develop and publish the Caring for Country Aboriginal Relationships Framework and Toolkit.
Over almost a year, we facilitated more than 40 yarning sessions with Traditional Custodians from Darug, Dharawal and Gundungurra Country and other Aboriginal peoples with connections across the Cumberland Plain. At every stage - from early thinking to testing, reflecting and revising - the work was shaped by deep listening, cultural insight and shared understanding.
We built something that enables more effective, respectful and meaningful relationships with Aboriginal peoples. Relationships that aren’t transactional. A central insight of the Framework is that respectful, reciprocal relationships have to come before outcomes - not as a luxury but as the foundation of how non-Aboriginal organisations engage, plan and deliver work that affects Country and communities. That’s why the Framework and its Toolkit deliberately use the language of relationships rather than “engagement”. We wanted to capture this cultural truth.
What we developed with the NSW Government isn’t just a policy document. It’s a practical, action-oriented set of tools to help people walk together. The summary, the full Framework, and the Toolkit are now available for anyone who wants to build meaningful, respectful, culturally safe relationships with Aboriginal peoples. They include:
Core principles grounded in mutual respect, reciprocity and cultural safety
A five-step relationship process - Think, Plan, Prepare, Connect, Evaluate - with “Listen” embedded across all stages
Detailed checklists, templates, planning tools and meeting protocols
A capability matrix to help organisations reflect and grow
Practical insights on issues like engagement fatigue, youth inclusion and respectful resourcing of cultural knowledge.
For Lyrebird Dreaming, this is one of our most significant achievements to date. And the fact that the resources are not just on a shelf but now being used within the Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan and are available globally for anyone to access, is something we want to celebrate and share widely.
If you’re part of an organisation seeking to meaningfully engage with First Nations peoples, these resources are for you. They represent months of listening, the generous sharing of cultural knowledge, and the deep commitment of Traditional Custodians and community members who expect - and deserve - relationships that are genuine, respectful and ongoing.
Access the full suite of materials here:
