FND Academy · Practice companion · 2026-10-28
A01 workplace practice
Practise decisions across universities, government, aviation, construction, automotive and procurement. These fictional cases support the foundation course; they do not describe a particular Nation’s protocols.
Read the case, attempt the exercises in your own notes, then compare your reasoning with the worked example. Use fictional people and situations. Do not enter confidential workplace or cultural information. This page collects no practice responses and does not issue a certificate or change assessment requirements.
Case 1
Country, diversity and identity
A university is opening a new campus. A project manager asks an Aboriginal employee to name the Traditional Owners, approve the event wording and speak for local families. The employee has not offered to do any of these things.
Work through the decisions
- A01.1.1
Create a three-column note: what you know about the location, what source supports it, and what still needs checking. Do not turn a map reference into permission.
- A01.1.2
Rewrite the project manager's request so that it does not ask one employee to represent every local Nation or community.
- A01.1.3
Write a respectful response if the colleague declines. Include what the project team will do next without asking them to explain their identity.
Compare your reasoning and a worked example
There are several different decisions here: identifying an appropriate local source, checking event wording and authorising representation. One person's identity does not settle all three. Separate the requests, use the appropriate local engagement route and give the colleague an unpressured choice about any personal contribution. Record what remains unknown rather than filling gaps with assumptions.
One workable response
The manager removes the request for the employee to approve or represent others. The event lead identifies an appropriate local contact route, explains the event and proposed wording, and records the scope of any agreement. The employee can decline participation. The communications owner checks the final wording against the actual permission before publishing.
Check your response
- Separates identity, information and authority
- Records uncertainty and a checking route
- Allows a colleague to decline without disadvantage
Other responses may be appropriate. Explain your reasoning, identify uncertainty and check the relevant permission or workplace process. This practice feedback is separate from the published assessment’s marking criteria.
Case 2
History and living cultures
A government team is preparing an induction presentation. It has one slide about historical harm, a stock image and a request that a staff member share a personal family story. The final slide says historical issues are now resolved.
Work through the decisions
- A01.2.1
Choose one statement from the fictional presentation that requires evidence. Write how you would check it and what you would say while it remains unverified.
- A01.2.2
Replace the request for personal testimony with a learning activity that does not require anyone to disclose family experiences.
- A01.2.3
Describe one change that represents contemporary agency and living cultures without claiming to speak for a Nation. Name an owner for checking the proposed material.
Compare your reasoning and a worked example
Learning about history does not require a colleague's personal testimony. Review the presentation's evidence, avoid statements that treat experiences as uniform, and distinguish a source's account from the organisation's interpretation. Include living cultures and contemporary agency rather than presenting First Nations peoples only through harm. A workplace lesson should lead to an observable decision about present conduct.
One workable response
The learning lead removes the request for a family story and the unsupported claim of resolution. They review appropriate published sources, check image permissions and explain the limits of the presentation. The team then examines its own induction process: who carries the teaching burden, how feedback is received and who owns corrections.
Check your response
- Does not demand personal disclosure
- Checks sources and image permissions
- Connects learning to a present workplace action
Other responses may be appropriate. Explain your reasoning, identify uncertainty and check the relevant permission or workplace process. This practice feedback is separate from the published assessment’s marking criteria.
Case 3
Responsibilities, authority and privacy
An airline employee requests time away for family and community responsibilities. A supervisor wants a detailed family explanation circulated to the roster team. Another employee suggests asking a local Elder to confirm the person's circumstances.
Work through the decisions
- A01.3.1
Draft a roster message that organises coverage without describing the employee's family or community circumstances.
- A01.3.2
Explain why the suggested external verification is inappropriate. Identify the operational question that actually needs an answer.
- A01.3.3
Write a private opening conversation that offers support, explains the process and avoids demanding cultural details.
Compare your reasoning and a worked example
Separate the operational question of covering a shift from the employee's private circumstances. Use the organisation's appropriate leave and support process, explain who needs information and why, and collect the minimum information needed through that process. A person's standing in one context does not make them an appropriate verifier of another person's private life. Avoid asking the employee to provide cultural education as part of a routine request.
One workable response
The supervisor discusses the request privately, explains the relevant workplace process and agrees a practical communication plan. The roster team receives only the information it needs to arrange coverage. The supervisor does not contact an Elder or circulate family details. Any uncertainty about the process goes to the appropriate internal support role.
Check your response
- Keeps operational and personal information separate
- Uses an appropriate process
- Avoids treating cultural authority as unrestricted access to private information
Other responses may be appropriate. Explain your reasoning, identify uncertainty and check the relevant permission or workplace process. This practice feedback is separate from the published assessment’s marking criteria.
Case 4
Acknowledgement and permission
A construction company has permission to use a contributor's recording in one staff workshop. Marketing wants to put it in a public advertisement and add the phrase 'Nation endorsed'. A colleague argues that payment and an Acknowledgement of Country make this acceptable.
Work through the decisions
- A01.4.1
Separate the event host's responsibilities from a contributor's cultural authority. List which decisions the company can make and which require an authorised agreement.
- A01.4.2
Explain in plain language why an acknowledgement does not authorise this advertisement or support the proposed endorsement claim.
- A01.4.3
Prepare a permission request specifying the new audience, channel, editing, duration and proposed wording. Include what happens if the answer is no.
Compare your reasoning and a worked example
Treat the proposed advertisement as a new use requiring a scope check. Payment, attribution, an acknowledgement and permission serve different purposes. Check the audience, channel, duration, editing and any endorsement wording against the actual permission. If the proposed use is outside scope or unclear, pause it and use the agreed contact route. Do not put pressure on a contributor by presenting publication as already decided.
One workable response
The marketing owner pauses publication and removes the unsupported endorsement phrase. They locate the original agreement and prepare a specific new-use request. If permission is refused or cannot be confirmed, the advertisement uses different approved material. The team records the decision and checks that downstream copies follow it.
Check your response
- Checks the actual permission scope
- Does not equate payment with endorsement
- Includes a workable refusal and withdrawal response
Other responses may be appropriate. Explain your reasoning, identify uncertainty and check the relevant permission or workplace process. This practice feedback is separate from the published assessment’s marking criteria.
Case 5
Listening, cultural load and repair
An automotive employer launches a staff initiative without asking what problem it should solve. It appoints the only First Nations employee to educate everyone outside paid hours. After the employee objects, the manager asks them to rewrite the entire programme.
Work through the decisions
- A01.5.1
Write three questions the programme owner should ask before choosing a solution. Include how they will explain what can change.
- A01.5.2
Allocate preparation, consultation, teaching and follow-up responsibilities without assigning them automatically on the basis of identity.
- A01.5.3
Draft a repair response that names the mistake, takes ownership and states a dated next action without seeking reassurance.
Compare your reasoning and a worked example
A request for feedback can create more work for the person who identified the problem. The manager should own the correction, resource appropriate contributions and explain what can still change. Listening includes allowing people to decline and demonstrating what happened to the feedback. Repair means changing the decision or practice, not asking the affected employee to approve the manager's intentions.
One workable response
The manager acknowledges the additional burden and removes the unpaid teaching expectation. The programme owner defines the problem, identifies budget and time for appropriate contributions, and asks whether anyone wishes to participate without making participation a test of commitment. The owner reports back on changes and unresolved issues.
Check your response
- Resources rather than assumes participation
- Keeps responsibility with the decision owner
- Shows how feedback changes action
Other responses may be appropriate. Explain your reasoning, identify uncertainty and check the relevant permission or workplace process. This practice feedback is separate from the published assessment’s marking criteria.
Case 6
Accountable action and ongoing learning
A procurement team completes A01 and buys from a First Nations supplier. The organisation wants to advertise itself as culturally safe and endorsed. Nobody has checked the proposed claims or assigned responsibility for its next workplace improvement.
Work through the decisions
- A01.6.1
Choose one improvement within your role. Specify the action, owner, evidence, review date and what would show it has not worked.
- A01.6.2
Rewrite the proposed publicity so it describes the actual purchase and learning without implying endorsement or guaranteed cultural safety.
- A01.6.3
Create a continuing-learning plan: one question to investigate, an appropriate source or engagement route, time allocated and a date to revisit your assumptions.
Compare your reasoning and a worked example
A learning certificate records the specified individual's completion; a purchase records a commercial transaction. Neither alone establishes an organisation-wide outcome or Nation endorsement. Translate learning into a bounded action with an owner, evidence and a review date. Be precise about what has actually happened and leave room to correct claims when evidence changes.
One workable response
Communications describes the actual staff learning and procurement activity without adding an endorsement claim. The procurement lead checks the applicable supplier information and purchasing process. A manager chooses one practical improvement, records a baseline and reviews progress with the appropriate people rather than treating the certificate as the end of the work.
Check your response
- Claims match the available evidence
- Improvement has an owner and review date
- Learning continues without treating others as an automatic resource
Other responses may be appropriate. Explain your reasoning, identify uncertainty and check the relevant permission or workplace process. This practice feedback is separate from the published assessment’s marking criteria.