Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
If you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and believe in giving children a voice, we want to hear from you!
The work we do in child safety isn’t easy, however keeping children with kin is our number one goal. Here, you’ll be working with families and communities to keep kids safe while staying connected to their family, community, culture and identity.
Our department, especially our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Safety Officers and Cultural Practice Advisors, is committed to reducing the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child protection system. To achieve this, we’re working with community so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families are better empowered to be heard and make decisions to heal, grow and prosper. We’re also continuing our journey as part of the Queensland Government to build new ways of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
At the most stressful time in people’s lives, you’ll be a face they can identify with and a voice they can trust. And you’ll be given a seat at the table to change policies and enact reforms that will shape a better future.
Audio description: The screen is navy blue and an Acknowledgement to Country appears on the screen: ‘We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this country and recognise their connection to land, wind, water and community. We pay our respects to them, their cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging.’ Instrumental music fades in, playing softly in the background.
The screen cuts to Chrissie, dressed in a blazer with earrings of the Aboriginal flag, facing the camera. Her name and description appear beside her: ‘Chrissie, Indigenous Regional Practice Leader.’
Chrissie (off screen): I come from a large family. I’m the baby of ten children. My parents would take us back –
Audio description: The screen cuts to Chrissie sitting down, her arm outstretched holding a photograph of herself as a child. The camera zooms in on the photograph.
Chrissie (off screen): - to Country. I would go out in the bush and absolutely loved it. We would just fish -
Audio description: The scene cuts to Chrissie sitting in front of the camera.
Chrissie: - and it wasn’t really teaching us about how to do things traditionally, it just was more so, this land was where our ancestors lived.
Audio description: A montage of Chrissie plays on the screen. These scenes, interspersed with Chrissie speaking directly to the camera, include walking to work in a park, taking a telephone call, as well as a closeup of a department strategic document.
Chrissie: I work as the Aboriginal Regional Practice Leader. I’m proud that I can influence really strong cultural practice. If you don’t really understand how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people kinship systems work, I’m there to be able to help support new staff to be able to navigate that.
Audio description: A montage of Chrissie plays on the screen. These scenes, interspersed with Chrissie speaking directly to the camera, include speaking to a colleague in the office kitchen, communicating with colleagues on a videocall using Microsoft Teams, a closeup of children’s storybooks being packed in a bag, and walking down the office hallway,
Chrissie: I’m proud of when I see them achieve great results for children and families. I think that’s what makes me come in every day. You need to be a holder of hope, you need to have an active mind, and an open heart. Children need protection and parents have also got things that are going on for them that just need addressing and just, they need support to be able to strengthen themselves, strengthen their family unit, in order to be able to get their children home. I think now more than ever there are so many opportunities that’s provided to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, and we would like to have more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people come and work for the department to be able to help support and guide.
Audio description: The screen cuts to Chrissie at work facing the camera.
Chrissie (off screen): I’m here to you know, try to make a difference. And I know that things are changing.
Audio description: The screen changes to full screen navy blue with a statement: ‘Every child needs someone. So does every family. What if it’s you?’
The screen fades to white and a Queensland Government logo graphic appears, with a URL underneath it. This reads: dcssds.qld.gov.au/careers. A hashtag appears underneath: #WhatIfItsYou. Instrumental music fades out.
Working as a Child Safety Officer is a real opportunity to influence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families to make positive changes and have better life outcomes.
So, it’s vital that our teams are as diverse as the communities we serve.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence