Expectations for Indigenous-led research practice (Martin & Mirraboopa, 2003; Smith, 2021; Woods, 2023) and appropriate cultural competency from non-Indigenous investigators (Fillmore et al., 2025) are necessarily at the forefront of any ethical research practice with Indigenous peoples. Indigenous communities, in Australia and other colonised lands, rightly require that they benefit (AIATSIS, 2020) from strong, respectful collaboration and research which is designed to meet their needs. It is, of course, of fundamental importance that research be guided, led and/or controlled by Indigenous collaborators, to ensure that its processes and discoveries work actively to support Indigenous communities as they see fit.
Guidance on the practicalities of implementing a sound research collaboration with Indigenous communities and organisations is not yet a standard element in post-graduate researcher training. Similarly, good practice which has been developed by different researchers and disciplines may not be as widely known as it should be. Experienced and emerging practitioners have already devised responses to questions like: What are the realities of establishing a shared project and implementing considered co-design between equal partners? How can a project be structured around reciprocity, mutual benefit, and meaningful valorisation of the different knowledges in the project space? What are appropriate, ongoing consent processes prior to research and once research is underway? How can Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborators build and maintain a constructive ongoing relationship – through care, conflict and creativity – in the real world?
This research seminar has been planned to share responses to these questions, and it is aimed at researchers from all fields who wish to increase their know-how around ethical collaborations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Both First Nations and non-Indigenous scholar-practitioners will present their experiences of effective, meaningful collaborative research. Presenters from fields including social sciences, linguistics, humanities and creative arts have been invited to contribute their approaches, processes and the nitty-gritty details of how they practise ethical research.
The research seminar will be held:
- Date: Thursday 19 February 2026
- Time: 1pm to 5.30pm
- Venue: Collaborative Room, Global Change Institute (Room 20-273), UQ St Lucia campus
- RSVP: Available from January 2026
Convened by Jodie Lea Martire (HDR student, Centre for Communication and Social Change), Dr Samantha Disbray (Co-Director of Indigenous Engagement, School of Languages and Cultures) and Associate Professor Elske van de Fliert (Director, Centre for Communication and Social Change).
References
AIATSIS (Australian Insitute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies). (2020). AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research. AIATSIS. https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-10/aiatsis-code-ethics.pdf
Fillmore, N., Shay, M., Sarra, G., & Danby, S. (2025). Researcher cultural capability for Indigenous research: A meta-narrative review. Higher Education Research & Development, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2025.2541645
Martin, K., & Mirraboopa, B. (2003). Ways of knowing, being and doing: A theoretical framework and methods for indigenous and indigenist re‐search. Journal of Australian Studies, 27(76), 203-214.
Smith, L. T. (2021). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (3rd ed.). Zed Books.
Woods, L. (2023). Something's gotta change: Redefining collaborative linguistic research. ANU Press.