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Innovation Case Study: Our Country, Our Way

Yarra Ranges Shire Council

Embedding Indigenous Perspectives in Land and Emergency Management

"Our Country, Our Way", launched by Yarra Ranges Council in 2023, embeds Indigenous perspectives in land and emergency management. Through co-designed frameworks, integration of Indigenous knowledge, and a national symposium, the initiative empowers First Nations leadership, fosters cultural resilience, and promotes sustainable, culturally safe practices — strengthening inter-council collaboration and continuing strong stewardship of Country and heritage.

2025 MAVlab Innovation Awards Finalist:
The Connector Award for Community Inclusion and Cohesion, supported by NBN Local.

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Project statistics:

  • Team: 6 core members who worked on the initiative day to day. These included project leads and coordinators from Indigenous Development, emergency management officers, cultural advisors, and planning and recovery specialists. This number reflects those directly involved in designing, implementing, and managing the project activities, excluding broader stakeholders and collaborators.
  • Milestones:
    • Yarra Ranges was the first government entity in Australia to formally apologise to the Stolen Generations in 1997.
    • The Our Country, Our Way Symposium was hosted in April 2024 and is part of Yarra Ranges continuing work in reconciliation, with the focus of this project on embedding Indigenous land management practices including through the Firestick program of cultural burning, deep listening practices into emergency recovery, and Council operations.

Project goals:

  • Provide space for national Indigenous conversations and the sharing of wisdom through a National Symposium connecting State Government agencies, emergency services, and councils across Australia
  • Embed Indigenous knowledge into land management and emergency management practices
  • Empower Indigenous leadership in environmental and emergency planning
  • Enhance community safety and ecological stewardship through shared wisdom
  • Strengthen partnerships with First Nations communities through co-design
  • Foster cultural inclusion and resilience across council operations
  • Create sustainable, respectful frameworks for long-term collaboration.

Challenge and context:

This initiative was underpinned by the Aboriginal principle of self-determination. Since Council’s 1997 Statement of Apology to the Stolen Generations and its accompanying Statement of Commitment to Indigenous Australians, Yarra Ranges Council has been committed to ensuring a self-determined approach to its reconciliation and Aboriginal health and wellbeing initiatives. Council’s role was to provide resources to support the provision of appropriate and culturally safe spaces for Aboriginal community voices to be heard and understood. Council did not present or influence the content of the workshops or the presentations at the Symposium.

Yarra Ranges Council’s Our Country, Our Way initiative was developed in response to the need for culturally safe and inclusive land and emergency management practices that are proactive, positive, and create an intergenerational environmental legacy.

The challenge was multifaceted. Traditional knowledge systems have historically been excluded from emergency and land management frameworks, and Aboriginal communities continue to face barriers to accessing culturally appropriate recovery services. Building trust with First Nations communities required more than consultation — it demanded a shift in power, process, and practice.

Prior to the Symposium, Council supported a series of trauma-informed cultural literacy workshops covering Aboriginal knowledge systems, cultural burning, historical contexts, and values, laying a foundation for deep and meaningful engagement.

This self-determined approach ensured that Aboriginal voices were prioritised and respected. It addressed challenges faced by diverse and vulnerable cohorts, including those affected by intergenerational trauma and recent natural disasters. The initiative created a platform for healing, resilience, and systemic change, setting a new standard for how local government can support Indigenous leadership and embed cultural safety across its operations.

Solution and innovation:

Our Country, Our Way was developed to transform how land and emergency management agencies engage with Indigenous knowledge systems. Recognising the need to build cultural capability, Yarra Ranges Council partnered with Aboriginal trauma-informed practitioners to deliver deep cultural learning workshops. These sessions introduced traditional practices and built foundational cultural literacy across Council staff and emergency management personnel.

The implementation phase was inclusive and accessible, and included a guided review of emergency planning frameworks and recovery protocols to ensure Indigenous voices and practices were embedded. The sharing of ideas, stories, and Indigenous land management practices — including cultural burning — was central to this process. These approaches are now embedded within Council operations and shared across agencies to improve relief and recovery outcomes for Aboriginal communities. Unlike previous models, this initiative centred Indigenous leadership and knowledge as core to emergency and environmental governance.

The initiative’s penultimate milestone was the Our Country, Our Way National Symposium, held in April 2024 — one of the first Indigenous-led events of its kind. Co-hosted with Moogji Aboriginal Council, We-Al-li, Oonah Aboriginal Health Services, Firesticks Alliance, and community members, the symposium showcased trauma-informed cultural practices, Indigenous land management, and cultural safety approaches. It created a national platform for councils to learn directly from First Nations leaders and practitioners, and was attended by representatives — both Indigenous and non-Indigenous — from across Australia.

The program advanced local government practice by integrating cultural recovery priorities into the Yarra Ranges Municipal Recovery Plan and expanding cultural burning as a tool for healing landscapes and communities.

By fostering deep partnerships and embedding cultural safety, Our Country, Our Way offers a replicable model for councils seeking to build resilience, reconciliation, and shared stewardship of Country in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Platypus Art
Platypus Art
By embedding Indigenous perspectives into land and emergency management, the project has shifted practice, strengthened relationships, and built long-term resilience.

Impact and outcomes:

The Our Country, Our Way initiative has delivered significant and measurable outcomes for Yarra Ranges Council, its community, and broader sector partners. By embedding Indigenous perspectives into land and emergency management, the project has shifted practice, strengthened relationships, and built long-term resilience.

A key impact has been the expansion of cultural literacy across the organisation. More than 550 Yarra Ranges Council staff have participated in trauma-informed cultural literacy workshops, deepening understanding of intergenerational trauma and traditional land management methodologies. This has embedded cultural awareness into Council operations and improved service delivery.

The initiative has also improved accessibility and inclusion for Aboriginal communities during emergency recovery. Through partnerships with Aboriginal organisations, key cultural recovery priorities are now formally included in the Yarra Ranges Municipal Recovery Plan, ensuring Aboriginal communities have better access to essential services and that their needs are central to recovery planning.

Cultural burning practices, led by Firesticks practitioners, have been elevated as a core strategy for healing landscapes and communities. This approach enhances environmental resilience and reduces the impact of natural disasters, while fostering reconciliation through shared connection to Country.

The Our Country, Our Way National Symposium created a national platform for Indigenous-led dialogue, bringing together councils and community organisations to share trauma-informed practices and cultural safety approaches. The event amplified Aboriginal voices and strengthened cross-sector collaboration. This symposium was the first — but certainly will not be the last.

By privileging Aboriginal leadership and adopting a self-determined approach, the initiative has advanced local government practice by embedding cultural safety, improving recovery outcomes, and fostering sustainable governance. Its impacts will continue to grow as more councils recognise the value of similar models and deepen their commitment to reconciliation and resilience by listening to, and enabling, Indigenous voices to influence outcomes.

Scalability:

Our Country, Our Way was designed with scalability in mind, offering a replicable model for embedding Indigenous knowledge systems into land and emergency management across local government. The initiative’s foundation—privileging Aboriginal voices through a self-determinative approach—can be adopted by other councils seeking to build cultural capability and strengthen inclusive governance.

Yarra Ranges Council’s extensive cultural literacy program includes seven distinct workshops and a comprehensive induction program, which has already reached more than 550 staff. The innovation lies in extending this professional development beyond council boundaries, with Aboriginal organisations and community members leading the delivery. This model has proven effective in increasing cultural capability among sector partners and can be scaled across the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) network.

The Our Country, Our Way National Symposium demonstrated the power of cross-council collaboration. By creating a platform for Indigenous-led dialogue, the initiative fostered meaningful knowledge exchange and built momentum for broader adoption. Councils across Victoria and beyond can replicate this format to elevate First Nations leadership and embed trauma-informed practices in emergency and land management.

The initiative directly supports several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including:

  • Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – through inclusive planning and disaster resilience.
  • Goal 13: Climate Action – via cultural burning and Indigenous land management.
  • Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – by embedding cultural safety and reconciliation in governance.

By leveraging council networks and centring Indigenous leadership, Our Country, Our Way offers a scalable pathway to systemic change, ensuring that Country and community are cared for through shared stewardship and inclusive practice.

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