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Online course · Australia

Cultural Safety in Practice: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health

Turning the Code of Conduct's Cultural Safety Duties into Everyday Clinical Practice

  • About 3 hours
  • 20 scenario questions
  • Reflective account
  • Certificate of completion
  • Online, self-paced

About this course

Cultural safety is a requirement of every National Board's code of conduct, and it is defined by the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receiving care, not by the intentions of the practitioner. This three-hour course helps you turn that duty into specific changes in how you communicate, decide and document.

The course starts with what cultural safety means, how it differs from awareness and competence, who decides whether care was safe and a strengths-based view of health. It then examines colonisation and its continuing effects, how racism shows up in health care, implicit bias and Closing the Gap.

The regulatory framework section covers the National Law and cultural safety, your Board's code, the National Scheme strategy, organisational standards and discrimination law. Critical self-reflection is treated as the core skill, with lessons on power, assumptions and structured reflection tools. Communication lessons cover first contact, asking about identity, yarning, interpreters and family decision-making.

Later sections apply cultural safety to consent, gender and cultural protocols, serious illness and Sorry Business, social and emotional wellbeing, discharge and referral, working with community-controlled health organisations and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce, responding to racism, telehealth, complaints, open disclosure, documentation without bias and a personal cultural safety action plan.

What you will learn

  • Explain the National Scheme definition of cultural safety and who decides whether care was safe
  • Recognise how colonisation, racism and implicit bias shape health, trust and clinical decisions
  • Find the cultural safety duties in the National Law, your code and the NSQHS Standards
  • Reflect critically on your assumptions and on the power you hold in a consultation
  • Ask about identity well, use yarning, work with interpreters and involve family as the person wishes
  • Carry cultural safety through consent, cultural protocols, dying and Sorry Business, mental health and discharge
  • Work in partnership with community-controlled services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues
  • Respond openly to racism and complaints and write records free of bias

Who this course is for

  • Every registered health practitioner, whatever the profession or workplace
  • Practitioners in general practice, hospitals, mental health and allied health
  • Practitioners working in rural, remote or community-controlled services
  • Supervisors, educators and team leaders
  • Practitioners planning cultural safety learning for their CPD

How the course works

  1. Once you enrol, open the course from My Courses whenever it suits you. It runs in your browser on desktop or mobile, with nothing to install.

  2. Read 35 lessons grouped into 8 sections. Each lesson unlocks when you finish the one before, and your progress is kept in your browser between visits.

  3. Pause on the worked scenarios and reflection prompts. Anything you type is kept in your course pack, which you can download in Word format or print to PDF.

  4. Complete the final assessment of 20 scenario-based questions with a pass mark of 80% (16 of 20). Retakes are allowed.

  5. After the reflective account and feedback, the course is marked complete in your account and your certificate of completion becomes available. It states the estimated learning time (about 3 hours); log the time you actually spend.

Course content

9 sections · About 3 hours · 20-question final assessment

1Understanding Cultural Safety4 lessons
  • What Cultural Safety Means
  • Awareness, Competence and Safety
  • Who Decides Whether Care Was Safe
  • A Strengths-Based View of Health
2History, Racism and Health4 lessons
  • Colonisation and Its Continuing Effects
  • How Racism Shows Up in Health Care
  • Implicit Bias and Clinical Decisions
  • Health Equity and Closing the Gap
3The Regulatory Framework4 lessons
  • The National Law and Cultural Safety
  • Your Board's Code of Conduct
  • The National Scheme Strategy
  • Organisational Standards and Discrimination Law
4Critical Self-Reflection and Power4 lessons
  • Why Reflection Is the Core Skill
  • Power in the Clinical Relationship
  • Recognising Your Own Assumptions
  • Tools for Structured Reflection
5Communication and Relationships5 lessons
  • First Contact and Building Trust
  • Asking About Identity
  • Yarning and Clinical Conversations
  • Language, Interpreters and Health Information
  • Family, Kinship and Decision-Making
6Culturally Safe Clinical Care5 lessons
  • Consent and Shared Decision-Making
  • Gender, Privacy and Cultural Protocols
  • Serious Illness, Death and Sorry Business
  • Social and Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health
  • Discharge, Referral and Continuity
7Working with Communities and Colleagues4 lessons
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations
  • The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce
  • Responding to Racism in the Workplace
  • Rural, Remote and Telehealth Practice
8When Care Is Not Culturally Safe5 lessons
  • Recognising Culturally Unsafe Care
  • Responding to Complaints and Feedback
  • Open Disclosure and Restoring Trust
  • Documentation Without Bias
  • Your Cultural Safety Action Plan
9Conclusion, Final Assessment and Reflection4 lessons
  • Conclusion and key points
  • References and quick-reference guide
  • Final assessment (20 questions, 80% pass mark)
  • Your reflective account

Assessment and certificate

  • Certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 3 hours); record the time you actually spend.
  • A written reflective account you can keep with your CPD records.

Questions about this course

Who decides whether care was culturally safe?

The person receiving care, together with their family and community. The National Scheme definition puts that judgement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, not the practitioner, and the course shows how to seek and act on their view.

Is this course only for practitioners who work in Aboriginal health services?

No. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use every part of the health system, and the code of conduct duty applies to all registered practitioners.

Will I finish with something I can use for my CPD plan?

Yes. The final lesson helps you build a personal cultural safety action plan, and the reflective account can be kept with your CPD records.

Does the course cover how to ask whether a patient is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?

Yes. A lesson covers asking the identification question respectfully and why it matters for care.

How should I record this course in my CPD log?

Log the date, the course name and the time you actually spend; the certificate shows only the estimated learning time. Add two or three lines on what you will do differently, and file the certificate next to your reflective account.

Who runs this course?

Probity Courses, an education provider with no affiliation to Ahpra, the National Boards or any regulator. Your Board's own codes and guidelines always take precedence over course material.

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