Behaviour analysts, when working in a bicultural environment, need to show cultural competence in developing individualized treatments compatible with culture (Behaviour Analyst Certification Board, Code 1.05). This requires systematic evaluations of our treatment practices as to how much they fit with a client’s needs, values and communication by giving priority to socially significant interventions in a bicultural context.

In Aotearoa, part of a behaviour analyst’s obligations as a health professional is to provide services in a way that is equitable for all. Within the Aoteraoa health context, cultural competence requires practitioners to acknowledge Te Tiriti and apply its principles —partnership, participation, and protection— in their practice (Medical Council of New Zealand, 2016; New Zealand Psychologists Board, 2018). Notably, the 2019 Hauora report has rephrased these principles as Tino rangatiratanga, Partnership, Options, Equity and Active protection (Waitangi Tribunal, 2019). Health practitioners in the non-public sector are likely to be required to incorporate the proposed principles in their practices in the foreseeable future.

Each of these principles can be aligned with the BACB Code and practitioners should act in ways that are culturally competent (Plessas et al., 2019). This would translate in developing a humble awareness of our own intrinsic cultural biases and working to overcome them; acknowledging the limits of our own understanding of tikanga and placing behaviour in the broader context of our society. Therefore, continuous efforts by the profession are required for an effective implementation of interventions for Māori communities (Harding & Oetzel, 2021).