Responsible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research at UQ

UQ is committed to responsible research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that is grounded in ethical integrity, reciprocity and respect. This includes upholding Indigenous governance, respecting cultural protocols, and ensuring research is guided by community-defined priorities and Indigenous peoples’ terms of engagement. It also extends to the stewardship and protection of Indigenous data and knowledge and native biological materials.

These commitments are articulated in UQ’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and Innovation Strategy and informed by relevant legal, ethical and institutional frameworks. Notably, the strategy aligns internationally with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, especially Article 31:

Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect, and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.

The links and resources on this page are available to support responsible and ethical practices when undertaking research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and country.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research at UQ

The office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) is committed to growing opportunities for Indigenous people to lead and conduct their own research.

Visit their website to find out more about programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Higher Degree students and Early Career Researchers, and for support and advice when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, including developing research questions that matter, and designing and decolonising research programs and projects to create change in the lives of Indigenous people.

UQ's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and Innovation Strategy

Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research

The AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research sets consistent national standards for the ethical and responsible conduct of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research. This is defined as research “that impacts or is of particular significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including the planning, collection, analysis and dissemination of information or knowledge, in any format or medium, which is about or may affect Indigenous peoples, either collectively or individually” (AIATSIS Code, page 6).

The AIATSIS code applies to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research, not just that involving human participants, but also archives, datasets, biospecimens, animals and Country.

Visit the AIATSIS Hub to consult:

The AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research
The Guide to Applying the AIATSIS Code
A guide to applying the code at UQ, including pre-project, project implementation, communicating research results, and post-project

Indigenous Data Management

Consult the UQ Library’s guidance and resources on the ethical management of Indigenous research data, covering:

The FAIR and CARE principles
Managing culturally sensitive data
Best practices for data management plans, including requirements of the AIATSIS code
Indigenous cultural and intellectual property (ICIP)
The ethical collection, storage, management, access, organisation, sharing and retention of data
Data citation and referencing

The ARC also provides guidance on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights as part of its ARC Open Access Policy (2026) (see section 4.5 Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights). This guidance emphasises the importance of discussing the ownership, management, use and access of data and the publication and distribution of results and outputs prior to starting their research.

Discipline-specific Resources and Case Studies

Discipline-specific resources and case studies

UQ has compiled a selection of resources and case studies from across faculties and institutes. The summary of best-practice exemplars of responsible approaches and methodologies is available as a downloadable document to support staff doing research with, or on, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and country.