Bio: Dr Antonia Hendrick

Antonia is a Wadjella (white woman) born on Wadjuk Nyoongar boodja (Swan valley, Western Australia). She has English and Spanish ancestry. Her parents secured employment and shelter on arrival to Western Australia at a time when many First Nations people were denied these basic human rights. Her family began as a traditional white nuclear family, changing over time to include Aboriginal sisters and their families since the age of four. Her life work ambition includes breaking down systematic barriers that continue to oppress and vilify people in society. Given her work takes place across the many nations of Australia and with its violent history and stolen lands, she actively aims to foreground the gifts, wisdom, and generosity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in all her work.

Antonia gained her Bachelor of Social Work with 1st Class Honours in 1997 and held various appointments with government and non-government organisations before successfully applying for an industry funded Ph.D. in 2005 at Curtin University. Antonia completed her Ph.D. in 2010 during which time she commenced work as a Lecturer at in the Social Work program in 2008. Antonia worked in this role until 2022 when she was appointed as a Senior Lecturer at UWA in the Social Work and Social Policy program within the School of Allied Health. Her research interests developed further in during this time to focus on working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, namely decolonising the social work curriculum, and developing culturally responsive policies, processes, towards systemic change.

In 2022, on invitation, Antonia contributed to the successful submission of an ARC grant and is Chief Investigator alongside Associate Professor Bindi Bennet, Associate Professor Susan Young, and other National and International leaders to develop semi-immersive simulation tools to develop culturally responsive social work professionals.

Antonia’s passion includes working with people in community, at a grassroots level, to action developmental participatory practice, which she also teaches in the social work course. Her most recent project work is working with the School of Allied Health in partnership with Aboriginal Elders to develop staff, student, and system-wide cultural responsiveness.

Antonia has several publications on decolonial theory and practice and aims to develop this work in the Academy. This work intersects with her interest in seeking to collaborate with Lived Experience Educators (LEE) in the tertiary system to inform, develop, deliver and evaluate units in the Master of Social Work course at UWA. She currently works with LEEs toward changing policy and programmatic outcomes to balance the power differentials which exist in society.