A Framework to Enact Competency 8 Through an Indigenous Rights-based Approach in School Psychology

This paper presents a framework implementing the Psychology Board of Australia’s Competency 8 through an Indigenous Rights-Based Approach (IRBA), recognising that effective cultural competency requires Indigenous expert leadership rather than models developed without Indigenous guidance. Centring Indigenous Sovereignty, self-determination, and reciprocal partnerships with Indigenous experts, the framework emphasises sustained relationships rather than episodic training. The three-tiered structure—Active Engagement, Adapting Practice, and Synthesis and Integration—guides practitioners from foundational understanding to systemic leadership, addressing colonial legacies within educational systems. It provides practical applications across all seven Competency 8 subsections, including culturally responsive care, trauma-aware practices and consultation frameworks, underpinned by pedagogically informed approaches. Critically, this paper addresses how implementation of Competency 8 risks placing another “colonial load” on Indigenous people expected to fix colonial systems without addressing the fundamental systemic flaws. The framework advocates for structured, Indigenous-expert-led supervision and reflective practice incorporating Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing, supporting professional growth of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous psychologists. By centring Indigenous rights, it provides actionable guidance for creating culturally safe environments that honour Indigenous students’ identities, aspirations, and inherent capabilities, contributing to decolonising psychological practice and fostering equity within Australian educational contexts.