At home in Quandamooka 


Scoping report for the feasibility and cultural safety of Smarter Safer Homes with 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Quandamooka Country. 

The challenge 

Historical and contemporary experiences of colonisation 
and racism have contributed to disadvantage experienced 
by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Difficulties 
accessing culturally safe health and aged care compound 
these challenges. CSIRO has looked at innovative ways of 
employing technology to support older people to live at 
home with the provision of appropriate care and safety in 
place to achieve a positive quality of life. Emerging digital 
technologies have been developed to assist older 
Australians to live safely and independently in their homes 
or in aged care facilities. CSIRO believe this is the first 
research project to trial smart home technology to 
support living on Country for Aboriginal and Torres Strait 
Islander people. 

Our response 

Researchers at the Australian E-Health Research Centre 
(AEHRC), CSIRO’s digital health research program, have 
developed the Smarter, Safer Homes (SSH) platform which 
has been trialled in homes across Australia. The SSH 
platform takes advantage of the latest wireless 
communication technologies in home and health 
monitoring sensors, to provide a smart home with 
consumer design interfaces and engagement of informal 
(e.g. family) support. This platform aggregates 
information from wireless sensors placed in a person’s 
living environment to infer an individual profile of 
functional and health status to enable support from family 
members or carers and clinicians (Figure 1). 


Codesign Partners 

Winnam Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation 
(WATSIC) is an enterprising community organisation that 
is a holistic service provider for the Aboriginal and Torres 
Strait Islander community in the Wynnum and Bayside 
Suburbs of Brisbane. WATSIC is a 100 per cent 
community-based and controlled, not-for-profit 
corporation that has approximately 40 properties that are 
used to provide affordable housing to local Aboriginal and 
Torres Strait Islander people. WATSIC also owns and 
operates the only residential aged-care facility in Brisbane 
that caters specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait 
Islander people, the Georgina Margaret Davidson 
Thompson Hostel in Morningside. 

Winnam takes its name from the Aboriginal word for 
pandanus palm and is situated on the traditional lands of 
the Quandamooka people, whose Country takes in the 
Moreton Bay Islands off the coast of Brisbane, Australia, 
plus the Brisbane Bayside areas from the mouth of the 
Brisbane River to the Logan River 

Figure 1: Sensors in a smart home and the Smarter Safer Homes platform 

This scoping study was conducted to consider the use of 
SSH and its cultural appropriateness for urban Aboriginal 
and Torres Strait Islander older people. Meetings were 
held in November 2019 that sought the perspectives of 
WATSIC Members and Georgina Hostel aged care staff on 
the feasibility to trial the SSH platform in WATSICs 
affordable houses and the Georgina Hostel.
The Results 

Georgina Hostel staff were curious and receptive to the 
concept of the SSH platform and could see value in the 
collection of data that would support the health and 
safety of the residents. Residents’ possible discomfort and 
privacy concerns would need to be carefully addressed. 
WATSIC Members emphasised the significance of their 
family connections, shared culture, historical impacts, 
their privacy and health which strongly influence their 
daily decisions. Participants were receptive to the SSH 
platform and noted the potential for data to support 
preventative health steps. A trial must have a ‘whole of 
community’ approach and acknowledge the complexity of 
family situations and the historical experiences of many 
older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 
Recommendations from the scoping study were that 
planning should proceed for a trial of the SSH platform for 
WATSIC members and Georgina Hostel. 

The CSIRO SSH platform is a passive activity 
monitoring system, without the need of intervention 
or interaction by residents, to capture their 
requirements for support and services. It is 
unobtrusive, flexible and low-maintenance and was 
designed to be interoperable with commercially 
available sensors and devices. 

Dr Ray Mahoney, Senior Research Scientist | +61 7 3253 3683 | ray.mahoney@csiro.au www.aehrc.com 

 

Lorraine Tutton, General Manager |+61 7 3396 3431| lorraine.tutton@winnam.org 

Winnam Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation | www.winnamatsic.org.au 

This document features designs by Casey Coolwell. Casey is a Quandamooka, Nunukul woman from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) with links to the Eulo and Biri people of Bowen.