Indigenous data sovereignty in Australian higher education: paving the way for First Nations’ self-determination

The Australian Universities Accord Final Report offers a historic yet insufficient opportunity to advance Indigenous self-determination in higher education. Its goals will remain hollow without dismantling the entrenched colonial foundations embedded in universities’ governance and data practices. This paper demands that Indigenous Data Sovereignty—the inherent right of Indigenous peoples to control data about their communities, knowledge systems, and territories—become the unyielding cornerstone of university transformation. Building on the critical work of Indigenous scholars and decolonial theorists, it presents a radical agenda: (1) advance Indigenous data governance despite systemic constraints, (2) overhaul exploitative research protocols, (3) embed Indigenous knowledge systems, (4) invest in Indigenous data infrastructures, and (5) forge alliances that centre Indigenous nationhood. This agenda challenges universities to abandon symbolic reforms and confront their colonial legacies. By embracing Indigenous data sovereignty, universities can honour their obligations and lead the charge toward a just, humane, and decolonised future.