in Australia, those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage. The limits (challenges) of applying postcolonial philosophy to hospital social work are, in this author's opinion, twofold. First, there is the challenge of engaging staff to move away from the dominant discourses associated with the medical model of hospital work and therefore adopt a new framework foreign to the medical paradigm. Secondly, there is a challenge in promoting postcolonial principles in an environment where social workers have in the past contributed to the destabilization and disempowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families (AASW 2004). Analysis of hypotheses