• The IPROWD program prepares Indigenous students for study with Charles Sturt University at the NSW Police Academy, or for study with TAFE NSW
• IPROWD ensures access and equity to Indigenous students and provides a career pathway into the NSW Police Force
• IPROWD deepens Charles Sturt University’s integration with the Indigenous communities where its campuses are located

The United Nations World Day of Social Justice on Thursday 20 February resonates with the success of the Indigenous Police Recruitment Our Way Delivery (IPROWD) program.

The theme of the World Day of Social Justice 2020 is ‘Closing the Inequalities Gap to Achieve Social Justice’.

IPROWD is a practical social justice partnership between Charles Sturt University, NSW Police Force, the Australian Government, and TAFE NSW to ensure access and equity to Indigenous students and provides a career pathway into the NSW Police Force.

The IPROWD program provides support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to overcome barriers and challenges which restricted entry to study via traditional methods, and enables them to gain access into the NSW Police Force by providing a career pathway.

It prepares students for university study with Charles Sturt at the NSW Police Academy, or via other Vocational and Study Pathways offered by TAFE NSW.

Head of the Charles Sturt School of Policing Studies in Goulburn, Associate Professor Ken Probert, said he is proud that the IPROWD program is an inclusive and impactful example of the University’s commitment to social justice.

“The United Nations says social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations, and that we uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality, or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants,” Professor Probert said.

“IPROWD does this, and has been acknowledged by the Australian Government as one of the most successful programs it funds across Australia, and it won recognition by the NSW Government in 2015 with a Premier’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.

“Our IPROWD students have gained employment with NSW Police, Corrective Services, and the Australian Federal Police, while others have pursued further education, studying law, teaching, nursing, and justice studies.”

Professor Probert explained that IPROWD is a bridging program that supports disadvantaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to join the NSW Police Force, or other justice and emergency services agencies.

“IPROWD was first offered in Dubbo in 2008, and has since been implemented elsewhere in NSW,” Professor Probert said.

“At the request of the NSW Police in 2017, we introduced the University Certificate in Workforce Essentials as a compulsory entry requirement, which 257 IPROWD students have commenced.

“To ensure IPROWD students have the best opportunity of successfully completing the course, some IPROWD students complete the University Certificate in Workforce Essentials course online with Charles Sturt University while they are concurrently undertaking their face-to-face IPROWD course with TAFE NSW.

“This affords the students support from the University’s online tutors as well as TAFE NSW teaching staff who deliver the IPROWD course, and in addition they are all also offered Indigenous Academic Success Program tutor support.

“Charles Sturt University has developed a deep understanding of the learning needs of this group of students and amended the online program to make it more accessible and equitable for IPROWD students.

“The learning has been adopted across the Associate Degree in Policing Practice to ensure access and equity to Indigenous students.”

Since the IPROWD program started in 2008, more than 700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have enrolled.

Of the 354 IPROWD students who have commenced the Associate Degree in Policing Practice, the entry-level degree into the NSW Police Force, 99 IPROWD participants have graduated, with many others going on to work in other government agencies.

“The link with the IPROWD program also allows for collaboration between TAFE NSW and other Charles Sturt Indigenous initiatives, and there is a strong link between the two organisations,” Professor Probert said.

“IPROWD also deepens Charles Sturt’s integration with the Indigenous communities where our campuses are located.”