This case study describes the implementation of a stand-alone unit on Indigenous Australian culture and health within a nursing and midwifery program, and presents quantitative and qualitative data from the university's anonymous online student teaching and learning questionnaire. In doing so, this study aims to determine whether a single, compulsory unit has the capacity to develop graduate Indigenous Australian cultural competence.Qualitative data from the nine teaching periods over the five years the unit was taught is analysed to determine student satisfaction and motivation. A total of 1742 students enrolled in the unit over five years and 748 completed the online questionnaire (a response rate of 43%). Qualitative data from the same teaching and learning questionnaire is drawn on to highlight the impact of the unit on student attitudes towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as the pedagogical approaches adopted to teach compulsory Aboriginal studies to predominately non-Aboriginal students.Data suggests that overall students were satisfied and engaged with the unit. For many the experience was transformative, not having had prior experience with Indigenous Australians or Aboriginal studies' content. A discrete unit on Indigenous culture and health has the capacity to assist students to begin their journey to cultural competence. However, to be successful and sustainable, such a unit must be aligned with the three key areas identified in a Reconciliation Action Plan: relationships, respect and opportunities. Furthermore, key pedagogical approaches are required to ensure students are motivated to engage with the content.

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Progress has been slow in improving health disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians and other Australians. While reasons for this are complex, delivering healthcare respectful of cultural differences is one approach to improving Indigenous health outcomes. This paper presents and evaluates an intercultural academic leadership programme developed to support tertiary educators teaching Indigenous health and culture prepare interdisciplinary students to work respectfully and appropriately as health professionals with Indigenous peoples. The programme acknowledges the impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians and draws on theories of the intercultural space to inform reflection and discussion on Indigenous/non-Indigenous relations and their impact on healthcare. Furthermore, the programme encourages establishing a community of practice as a resource for educators. Evaluation indicated participants’ confidence to teach Indigenous content increased following the programme. Participants felt more able to create intercultural, interdisciplinary and interactive learning spaces that were inclusive and safe for students from all cultures. Participants learned skills to effectively facilitate and encourage students to grapple with the complexity of the intercultural space, often tense, uncertain and risky, to enable new understandings and positions to emerge that could better prepare graduates to work in Indigenous health contexts.

This article details reflections of an interdisciplinary team of educators working with groups of health sciences students in preparing them for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The first-year common core unit discussed here is one attempt to equip future health practitioners with skills and knowledges to work adequately in this complex area. Processes of engagement, central to critical reflection and learning that is iterative and cyclical, are emphasised here using the authors’/educators’ experiences of teaching in the unit. Within this first-year unit, the content delivered — its underlying processes and principles, and assessment design using reflective journalling — coalesces into what is a valued unit of study in preparing students for practising in this field. While the content of the unit is political, provocative and powerful, which presents challenges for students and teaching staff alike, we maintain here that processes of critical reflection and action learning are central to its success and significantly contribute to enhancing students’ learning and to changing students’ perspectives.