Background and Objective: Accurate prevalence rates of mental and substance use disorders amongst Indigenous Australians are largely unknown. The use of accurate and sensitive epidemiological processes and standardised diagnostic assessments with this population requires further exploration. The Queensland Urban Indigenous Mental Health Survey (QUIMHS) pilot study established an approach to data-collection that aimed to improve the cultural suitability of an epidemiological mental health survey in a sample of urban-residing Indigenous Australians.  Methods: The pilot was conducted over 10 weeks with Indigenous adult clients of two Aboriginal Medical Services in South-East Queensland. The survey instrument included a standardised diagnostic assessment: the Composite International Diagnostic Instrument v.3.0 (CIDI 3.0). To assess the cultural suitability of both the proposed survey processes and the survey instrument, feedback from project stakeholders, staff, and participants was sought. Additonally, the diagnoses produced by the CIDI 3.0 were compared to diagnostic summaries provided by Indigenous clinical psychologists in order to establish clinical concordance data. Results: The processes used for data-collection were deemed culturally appropriate by all survey participants. Several key adaptations and frameworks facilitated the successful delivery of the survey instrument. The diagnostic accuracy of the CIDI 3.0 differed by module. Importantly, the PTSD and Major Depression modules were accurate in their diagnostic utility, while the Mania module was deemed unsuitable for use with this population. Conclusions: The application of these processes and recommendations for delivering diagnostic epidemiological surveys using the CIDI 3.0 to Indigenous Australians are discussed.