First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement
Want to learn more about First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement?
Learn by coming with me…
Come along to our First Nations Better Practice Engagement ‘Community of Practice’, where First Nations-led thought leaders share knowledge and engagement ideas across the energy and water sectors.
How to get involved
Join the Community
If you would like to attend these sessions on an ongoing basis, then join the Community for the First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement! When you join, you will:
- Receive the meeting invitation directly in your calendar
- Not need to register for sessions individually
- Receive an email when the session recording is available in the Toolkit
Register for individual sessions
If you would prefer to register for individual Community of Practice sessions, keep an eye on this page for when registrations go live for upcoming sessions.
May session: Aboriginal Heritage with Mirriyu Cultural Consulting
Join us on 22 May at 12pm AEST for our next First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement: Community of Practice.
About Bonnie and the session
In this session, we will be hearing from Bonnie Chew, a proud Wadawurrung Woman and Director of Mirriyu Cultural Consulting, with extensive knowledge of Mental Health First Aid, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management, Cultural Safety and Awareness, Aboriginal Procurement, Reconciliation Action Planning, Incarceration, Genealogy, Health and Education.
Bonnie will share about:
- Understanding connections to place for new developments
- Rights of the community in regard to its heritage.
About Mirriyu Cultural Consulting
Mirriyu means the light of the sun today in Wadawurrung language, and that is what Mirriyu Cultural Consulting wish to achieve, historical and current cultural insight in the light of today’s world.
Mirriyu Cultural Consulting assists schools, large and small corporations and community groups to enhance their Indigenous profile through tailored professional development programs, Reconciliation Action Planning, Cultural Safety, Aboriginal Procurement targets, Recruitment, Mentoring, Mental Health First Aid and Curriculum development.
Meet the co-hosts
Graeme Gardner, Aboriginal Community Engagement Advisor at TasNetworks
Graeme is a palawa man, descending from the trawlwoolway people of North East Tasmania (lutruwita). Graeme has a long held passion for working to address critical issues affecting the Aboriginal community, particularly in relation to Aboriginal health and wellbeing, social justice and the recognition of our cultural identity.
As Manager of the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania for the last 19 years, Graeme has undertaken a wide range of land management and stakeholder engagement activities that have directly resulted in positive, long-term, outcomes for the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. Graeme champions opportunities for Aboriginal youth, both through social contacts and the sporting fraternity. Graeme has a long term involvement with the Rocherlea Football Club and AFL Tasmania.
Nina Braid, Aboriginal Partnerships Manager at Yarra Valley Water
Nina is an Aboriginal woman from far-north South Australia. She has over ten years’ experience working in and with communities for conservation and environmental purposes as a project manager at the Indigenous Land Corporation.
She also brings a wealth of experience from her roles with AFL SportsReady, Red Dust Role Models and National Indigenous Pastoral Enterprises, as well as the Australian Department of Health and Ageing and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
Nina is currently working as the Aboriginal Partnerships Manager with Yarra Valley Water and the 2022 Victorian Water Professional of the Year. Nina is also a board member of Trust for Nature.
First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement Toolkit
The First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement Toolkit brings together case studies and practical experiences that highlight what worked well, what was learned and what outcomes were achieved along the way across three stages of engagement.
The First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement Toolkit platform has recently been updated in October 2023! Please view the updated Toolkit in the link below and reach out to us at if you have any feedback.
Three stages of engagement to discover
- The Foundations stage prioritises cultural training and awareness as the first step of the better practice journey
- The Building Blocks stage develops practice recognising that engagement with First Nations communities is different to other engagement
- The Ongoing Steps stage helps organisations move away from opportunistic engagement towards long-term trusting relationships.
The development of the Better Practice Engagement Toolkit was led by First Nations people from across the energy and water sectors, drawn from the #BetterTogether First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement Workshop Series held monthly in 2022.
The Toolkit incorporates the First Nations Clean Energy Network Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Best Practice Principles for Clean Energy Projects.
An Energy Charter and Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) Collaboration
Reach out to our Director, Collaboration
If you would like to learn more about the First Nations Better Practice Community Engagement Toolkit, or upcoming Community of Practice on First Nations community engagement, please reach out to Bec Jolly, Director, Collaboration.
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the country where we live and work. We recognise and celebrate the diversity of Indigenous people and their enduring cultures and connections to the land and waters of Australia.
The Indigenous artwork we use is by Ngarrindjeri artist, Jordan Lovegrove. The art tells the story of energy, how it connects all of Australia and the Energy Charter’s commitment to create a better energy future for all Australians. Learn more about the artwork and Jordon here.
