First Nation’s Online Safety

A primary objective for the Commission is to steward access to culturally capable resources. Co-designing an effective campaign that was adaptive across multiple channels for a diverse range of cultural and linguistic groups was essential. Barriers to digital inclusion continue to widen with the rising cost of living. Families with kinship care arrangements and communities with neglected internet infrastructure are further disadvantaged. Another layer of complexity was communicating potential and serious harms to people whose very cultural identity increases their risks, while also recognising that digital participation empowers young people through expression, connection, and skills development.

The eSafety Commission sought a culturally grounded, holistic, and collaborative approach to supporting online safety with First Nations families. Saltwater People brought together a team of Indigenous creative professionals with expertise in art, digital storytelling, and creative facilitation. Together, they created a vibrant and engaging campaign designed to promote safe, informed, and empowered digital participation. This was achieved through a series of CoLABs—a structured co-design and design-thinking framework—and backed by the Commission’s expansive archive of evidence-based research and community resources. Saltwater People’s expertise working cross-culturally, underpinned by commercial best practice, resulted in a dynamic campaign for social change.

The shared purpose of the First Nation’s Online Safety project was to promote digital access and safety by promoting culturally respectful, intergenerational learning and guidance. Commercially, it serves as a leading example of how government agencies can successfully collaborate with Indigenous communities through authentic co-design. Environmentally, the project incorporated sustainable practices by prioritising digital delivery, minimising printed materials, reconsidering unnecessary travel, and ensuring all project partners share similar values. Saltwater People is verified with People+Planet through their demonstrated commitment to working sustainably to protect Country.

Saltwater People collaborated with Gunggari artist Desirai to bring this campaign to life. The character illustrations bring a vibrant and youthful energy, reflecting the ideas, experiences and voice-overs of families participating in the CoLABs. Saltwater People’s creative team assembled Desirai's sensitively drawn characters and community voices into a cohesive video series of 20 short animations that can be seen, felt, and heard throughout the campaign. These illustrations and animations serve as an accessible and dynamic resource for young First Nations audiences and their extended families. They are designed to reinforce online safety messages in an authentic, relatable, and empowering way. All work undertaken by Saltwater People is guided by Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) principles and includes fair payment for creatives and community members. They have been advocating and supporting these approaches since the beginning. Saltwater People is a certified social enterprise that elevates professional opportunities for diverse storytellers through targeted and measured investment. Most profits are reinvested back into independent creatives and their communities.