ARIIA acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of this land and recognises their continuous connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past and present.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.
This case study focuses on Booroongen Djugun Limited, pronounced Boor-en-jen / Jug-en. Booroongen Djugun means ‘sleeping on home ground’.
Booroongen Djugun Limited is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation based in Greenhill, on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, on Dunghutti Country.
Booroongen Djugun Limited provides three main services:
Booroongen Djugun Limited supports both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people through its residential aged care and community care services.
On the same site, Booroongen Djugun Limited also operates a registered training college. The college supports Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students to learn in a practical, hands-on environment. This helps students build the skills, experience and confidence they need to work in care.
Across its services, Booroongen Djugun Limited aims to create a warm, welcoming community where residents, clients, students and community members feel valued and supported. Its work focuses on improving quality of life in a nurturing environment that supports belonging, connection and care.
This case study highlights peer support as a deliberate workforce strategy to build, support and retain an Aboriginal workforce within a culturally complex aged care environment.
Booroongen Djugun Limited recognised that recruiting Aboriginal staff was only one part of the challenge. Staff also needed culturally safe support to stay, grow and feel confident in their roles. Aged care work can involve sensitive personal care, complex family and community relationships, men’s and women’s business, Sorry Business, cultural obligations and emotional labour. These issues can be difficult to discuss in a standard workplace setting.
The organisation had always provided informal wraparound support through its cultural foundations. However, an organisational review showed that staff wanted more honest, realistic conversations about the challenges of Aboriginal workforce participation. Without this support, staff could feel isolated, overwhelmed or unsure how to manage cultural and workplace expectations. This created a risk of disengagement, stress and staff leaving the organisation.
Peer support helped respond to this problem. It gave staff a structured way to talk through challenges together, share practical advice and support each other in culturally safe ways. Rather than leaving staff to manage difficult issues alone, peer support created space for collective problem-solving, trust and workforce connection.
Following the restructure, staff feedback helped shape two complementary peer support roles:
Booroongen Djugun Limited recognised Aboriginal staff members’ lived experience as a form of expertise. Peer mentors helped staff talk through workplace and cultural challenges. They also encouraged education pathways, external learning opportunities and leadership development, including participation in leadership summits.
A cultural officer role further strengthened this approach. The cultural officer worked alongside buddies, peer mentors and managers to support staff in culturally safe ways. This helped make peer support part of everyday workforce practice, rather than something staff had to seek out only when problems occurred.
The organisation supported implementation of the peer support program by formalising previously informal practices into structured systems shaped by staff input. Key supports included buddy shifts for day-to-day onboarding and skill development and peer mentor roles focused on career progression and workplace integration.
These were developed through deeper staff engagement to ensure they addressed real workforce challenges, including culturally specific barriers to care work, such as personal care, men’s and women’s business, family and community obligations, and the emotional demands of working within community. A dedicated cultural officer further strengthened implementation by guiding culturally safe practice across both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff.
Additional supports, including targeted professional development and leadership opportunities, helped reinforce workforce retention and growth. Together, these elements created a culturally responsive peer support framework designed to support staff and strengthen the Aboriginal aged care workforce.
Peer support helps connect organisational policy with everyday practice. It makes workforce support more practical and responsive to staff needs helping to build workforce capacity and capability.
By drawing on lived experience, peer support helps strengthen leadership pathways. It also supports a more capable and representative workforce.
Career-focused mentoring builds on this by giving staff clearer development opportunities. This can help staff see a future in the organisation and support retention.
Peer support is also valuable for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff working in diverse teams. It helps build shared understanding, stronger collaboration and more culturally responsive practice.