Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data sovereignty in Australia: principles and practice

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) specifies that Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own Indigenous decision-making institutions. The UNDRIP articles require data to appropriately inform legislative and administrative decisions.

Indigenous peoples, researchers and governments are increasingly interested in accessing and using Indigenous population registries. The data from these registries have the potential to be linked with other government-held administrative and routinely collected data to conduct research and monitor population health. While the use of administrative data is important for Indigenous peoples, there are some key considerations in the use of Indigenous-identified health data.

Our facilitated workshop brings together the founding members of the Maiam nayri wingara: Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network with participants to develop Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data sovereignty principles, and to identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strategic data assets.

The session will be collated, analysed and published to inform and guide network development and to inform policy into the future.