Data scientists, clinicians, public servants and interested students came together to network, learn and gain hands-on experience with Indigenous data governance principles in an initiative facilitated and guided by leading figures in Indigenous health research and data sectors.
Held on October 11 and 12 in Meanjin/Brisbane on Yagera and Turrbal Country, Indigenous Datathon: Applying Indigenous Data Governance to Healthcare was run by the Indigenous Data Network (lead partner, University of Melbourne).
Partners included the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, QUT Centre for Data Science, the Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane. The datathon was supported by the ARDC as part of the Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities, a focus area of the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons.
Expressions of interest were wide and varied, with 43 participants selected to take part alongside a cohort of experienced mentors to provide guidance and support.
All work was guided by the CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics) of Indigenous data governance.
There were a number of presentations through the day including a welcome and event outline by Melbourne Laureate Professor Marcia Langton AO and Associate Professor Kristen Smith, both of the Indigenous Studies Unit (part of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health’s Onemda unit at University of Melbourne), Director of the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health Dr Shea Spiering who spoke about the importance of data sovereignty and governance and the ethics that underpin them and Associate Professor Paul Secombe introduced the dataset acquired from ANZICS.
The participants worked in skills-weighted teams on projects focused on:
The winning team examined renal replacement therapy outcomes (based on patient journeys through ICU), using datasets from the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Centre for Outcome and Resource Evaluation (CORE), using the CARE Principles (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics) of Indigenous data governance.
It consisted of:
Congratulations!
The Indigenous Datathon 2025 was held as part of the Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities, a co-investment partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons (DOI: 10.3565/pr3g-s109). The ARDC is enabled by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
Learn more about Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities, and get more hands-on learning at the 2026 HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons Summer School in February 2026.
This article was originally published by the Indigenous Data Network at the University of Melbourne.
Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities is a co-investment partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons (DOI: 10.3565/pr3g-s109). The ARDC is enabled by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
