We’re pleased to have launched our Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which builds on Ruah’s Innovate RAP and provides a framework for our reconciliation journey for the next three years.
The principles of the Stretch RAP will be embedded across the business, with deliverables spread across four focus areas: Relationships, Respect, Opportunities, and Governance.
Ruah CEO Debra Zanella said, “healing and reconciliation are continual processes, and this RAP will ensure we stay on the right path, stay accountable and stay focused.”
“No organisation can serve a community without listening to that community and that’s why the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community — and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff — were at the centre of the process to development this Stretch RAP, providing their invaluable insight, expertise and experience to inform this document.”
Whadjuk Ballardong Noongar Elder and Ruah Board Member Freda Ogilvie said the Stretch RAP would help Ruah move from ‘safe to brave’ when it came to reconciliation.
“We need to work for change at a grassroots level, we need to be genuine when we seek to build relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and we must never stop learning,” she said.
“We must respect and appreciate all people, see clearly, listen attentively and speak with kindness.”
Just some of the actions Ruah will take include:
- Becoming a service provider and employer of choice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by building relationships, connecting, and forging genuine partnerships.
- Practicing truth-telling by using the correct Aboriginal names for the land on which our offices and buildings sit and hiring an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artist to design signage that reflects the names of each site.
- Having an annual procurement target from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses of three per cent — equivalent to $750,000 a year.
- Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to move into senior and management positions by providing mentorship opportunities and identifying and removing barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation at Ruah.
To read the full document, click here