Cultural Humility Framework

Murray PHN’s Cultural Humility Framework and accompanying user guide for health services, outline initiatives for building and strengthening the capacity of the local primary health workforce to work in partnership with First Nations Peoples and deliver culturally informed, responsive and safe services, free of racism.

The Framework, which was released in October 2024, recognises that the development of cultural humility and culturally responsive and safe service delivery is an ongoing journey of listening and learning, and that people and services will be at different stages depending on their individual and organisational needs, strengths and resources.

Key concepts and core areas

Cultural Humility Framework

At the centre of the Framework are the core concepts of cultural humility, cultural responsiveness and Cultural Safety, which represent ways of working to create health services that First Nations Peoples judge as safe to approach and use. The three core concepts are interlinked with shared features for working with and for First Nations Peoples and should be firmly grounded in Country, Culture, Community and Connections. Supporting the operationalisation of the core concepts are four interrelated key elements, each featuring a number of defined focus areas.

How to implement and use

The user guide provides additional guidance for the practical implementation of the Framework together with questions, reflections, examples, recommended resources and a self-assessment tool for Western health services to evaluate and track their progress towards achieving best-practice in cultural humility and culturally safe care.

Implementing the Framework will support organisational cultural humility through:

  1. identification of governance mechanisms for embedding cultural responsiveness, Cultural Safety and anti-racism into core business to support whole-of-organisation approaches
  2. increased capacity to engage in respectful, mutually beneficial and self-determined collaborative relationships with local Communities, representative organisations and service users
  3. development of a culturally capable workforce and workplace that is better equipped to meet the needs of First Nations employees, service users and Communities
  4. more inclusive care that centres cultural considerations and prioritises service user preferences, needs and aspirations.
Cultural Humility Framework Elements

Access the Framework and user guide

Related resources

Murray PHN aspires to be an anti-racist organisation and works to ensure that primary healthcare services are responsive to the needs of First Nations Peoples. Cultural humility in Western services is one of the four cornerstones of our First Nations Health and Healing Strategy. Our strategic plan priorities also recognise the need for anti-racist, culturally responsive policy and practice within the local primary healthcare system.

Published: October 7th, 2024

Murray PHN acknowledges its catchment crosses over many unceded First Nations Countries, following the Dhelkunya Yaluk (Healing River).

We pay our respects and give thanks to the Ancestors, Elders and Young people for their nurturing, protection and caregiving of these sacred lands and waterways, acknowledging their continuing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.

We are grateful for the sharing of Country and the renewal that Country gives us. We acknowledge and express our sorrow that this sharing has come at a personal, spiritual and cultural cost to the wellbeing of First Nations peoples. We commit to addressing the injustices of colonisation across our catchment, and to listening to the wisdom of First Nations communities who hold the knowledge to enable healing. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.