Table 1.

Definition of key terms for the Culturally Adaptive Governance Framework.

Key Terms	Definition
Governance	Governance is the operational and control mechanisms of a defined system that holds to account people and decisions made relating to ethics, risk, consent and administration that in turn define the overall governance system.
Governance System	A set of individual and organisational actors that play a central role in decision-making and policy processes.
Governance Modes	The various forms through which governance can be realised.
Polycentric Governance	A self-organising governance system that has multiple centres of decision making and is coordinated by an overarching system of rules, rather than being imposed by one powerful actor as might be the case in a strictly hierarchical system where coordination is imposed from the top.
System Logic	The beliefs and values, socially and historically constructed, composed of symbols and material practices, by which individuals and organisations give meaning to their activities.
Indigenous Governance	A reflection of Indigenous culture, values and traditions expressed as a desire for contemporary self-determination and a need to interface this with broader governance structures of the (Australian) state.
Adaptive Governance	An analytical and practical framework for the holistic management of complex problems and governance environments.
Indigenousself-determination	Indigenous people’s right to freely pursue social, economic and cultural development as outlined in Article 3 of the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Critical Allyship	A practice of learning and unlearning that guides people in positions of privilege to evaluate and re-evaluate their work with marginalised people through understanding health inequalities are produced within in system of structural constraints.
Equity *	Social justice or fairness; equity is an ethical concept that is grounded in principles of distributive justice.
Ethics	The values and moral principles that form the basis for decision making and conduct in relation to the impact or consequences those moral actions have on all stakeholders.

* A full discussion on distinctions between ethical theories is beyond the scope of this paper; however, we believe that current ethical guidelines were formulated on a very narrow understanding of ethics and view alternative models relating to teleological, consequentialist ethics to be more appropriate in this context.