The ultimate goal of a cultural temperature check is the creation of a culturally safe and racially equitable workplace environment through practical, meaningful, and active anti-racism strategies.

A cultural temperature check should identify any structural barriers, risks, or issues in relation to the current promotion and implementation of cultural diversity and anti-racism in your workplace. As well as this, it should seek to foster self-reflection by engaging with staff at all levels on the impacts of power and privilege. 

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC’s) Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool is a great first step to assessing the current level of cultural inclusivity within your organisation. This tool can be used in tandem with this guide (available for download below) to conduct a comprehensive check of your organisation. These resources are directly geared towards creating positive change and embedding anti-racism in the workplace.

You can access and read more about the Anti-Colonial Research Library on their website.

Conversations about the referendum and proposed Voice to Parliament have the potential to be harmful for First Nations peoples. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Voice referendum resources seek to minimise harm by encouraging cultural humility and focusing the conversation on human rights principles as they relate to the referendum and proposed Voice to Parliament.

There are nine documents in the resource kit – available to download in full on the Commission's website.

The stand-alone resources are available for individual download on the webpages linked below:

• The Uluru Statement from the Heart.
• Minimising harm in conversations about the referendum.
• Indigenous Rights & the Voice.
• The history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples advocating for the right to be heard.
• Symbolic change or substantive reform.
• Self-determination and Indigenous peoples.
• The Voice and human rights.
• Referendums and constitutional change.
• Support services.

Acknowledgements

The Commission thanks IndigenousX, a 100% Indigenous owned and operated media, consultancy and training organisation, for their generous guidance and expertise on this project until mid-June 2023. The Commission was grateful for the opportunity to partner with IndigenousX due to their impartial and non-partisan position on the upcoming referendum and demonstrated understanding of the Commission’s independent and statutory role. Further, IndigenousX's insights into the nature of race and racism in Australia along with their dedication to ensuring careful consideration of and respect for Indigenous rights, knowledges, and experiences, proved invaluable to the development of these resources. 

The Commission also thanks Saltwater People, an Indigenous-owned, full-service creative agency that delivers strategic design communications and cross-cultural engagement. Throughout the development of this resource kit, they generously provided expertise in best practice cross-cultural engagement, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and visual communication.

Please note, the artwork accompanying this kit is © Paul Bong.

In response to these issues, the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) convened a roundtable of representatives from across the Australian sporting sector, and anti-racism experts, to discuss opportunities to work together and potential ways forward.

Held on 27 April 2021, the roundtable included a discussion of the need for a set of guidelines to promote a coordinated approach to spectator racism in sports. Over subsequent months, the Commission led a working group in the drafting of these guidelines, which were released by the Commission and over 20 partner organisations in November 2021.

See key learnings from this project via our evaluation - accessible below

The Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool is a free self-assessment tool based on international best practice. The Tool is designed to support employers, managers and human resources personnel as they work to promote cultural diversity and engage in anti-racism in the workplace.

You can access an offline-version of the Tool's assessment questions below. We recommend completing the online version of the Tool, to receive analysed results, recommended resources and track your progress over time.

The Tool is reviewed and updated regularly to align with good practice, the questions within this resource are therefore subject to change. The questions in this resource are valid as of July 2023.

You can find the Tool here: https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/workplace-cultural-diversity-tool.

The CiQ Program is designed to build understanding, not overwhelm, so cultural lessons are drip fed every week to allow learners time to engage with the content. Every three weeks, learners can join a LIVE Cultural Coaching session providing regular opportunities to check their understanding and connect with other learners.

The CiQ program incorporates four core modules exploring:

• Cultural values
• Cultural competencies
• Cultural barriers
• Cultural considerations

You can access more information about the CiQ program and enrol into the course via their website.

Link to CiQ's website.

intertwine is a registered harm prevention charity and takes a primary prevention approach to help organisations understand the underlying drivers of social violence and dismantle the systemic power structures that create marginalisation and oppression. 

By creating the circumstances for gender equity, cultural and racial justice, freedom of sexuality and gender identity and a social model of disability, together we will build communities, organisations and services that are inclusive and just, in a participatory society where all people have health, wellbeing, representation & self-determination.

intertwine has a staff, Board of Directors and Advisory Panel consisting entirely of people with lived experience/living expertise of intersecting disadvantage. It explicitly mentors and creates work for young people with lived experience of intersecting disadvantage.

Book a consultation with intertwine.

Access intertwine's Privilege, Resistance & Proximity to Power poster. 

Link to Vividhata's website 

Vividhata (which means “diversity” in Sanskrit) is a global Social Trader organisation that works to positively influence culture, systems and processes within organisations. 

A women-led organisation based on Gadigal Land, Vividhata provides training in equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as practical guides and information on a range of topics. Training and support can be customised to suit the specific needs of your organisation. Vividhata can help create policy on diversity related topics for organisations as well as setup programmes such as mentoring, employee networks for inclusivity. In addition, Vividhata offers technical services that can help make your website inclusive and engaging to the widest range of people.

This report provides an analysis of Islamophobia in Australia, with research data based on reported incidents. This report includes data from the inception of the Islamophobia Register in September 2014, until December 2021. 

You can download the executive summary and the full report below or on the Islamophobia register website (opens in new window). 

The fact sheet is designed to support individual and organisational conversations about the importance of keeping the focus of IDERD on mobilising against all forms and manifestations of racial discrimination and injustice. The fact sheet describes how ‘Harmony Week’ is an example of the way language can be used to reframe anti-racism, and operates to reinforce inequality and maintain the status quo.

In contrast, having proactive, open discussions about racism demonstrates a commitment to tackling racism when it occurs and preventing it in the future. A nuanced approach to discussing racism in the context of IDERD enables the development of more advanced racial awareness, and provides the space to strategise for change.

We hope this fact sheet assists you in taking the opportunity IDERD presents to meaningfully acknowledge Australia’s deep-seated issues with race and racism, question the various ways racism shapes our society, and redouble our commitment to anti-racism.

A PDF version of the fact sheet is available to download below.

Download an accessible Word version of the fact sheet here (opens in new window). 

The Fact Sheet is also available in Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese via this page (opens in new window) of the Australian Human Rights Commission's website.