Our Reconciliation Action Plan
Our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) provides information on our initiatives to support reconciliation under 3 core pillars – relationships, respect and opportunities.
Our activities under 'Governance, tracking and reporting' enable us to relay our successes and lessons learned to our staff, community, government and to Reconciliation AustraliaExternal Link.
Relationships – results and achievements
We recognise and value the importance of building respectful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations. We continue to explore ways to
- grow existing services
- build new relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders.
We aim to:
- support improved economic results
- increase confidence in the Australian tax and superannuation systems.
Collaboration
We work with other government agencies to advance reconciliation and share initiatives. In July to December 2023, we have:
- joined the Office for the Arts Cross Agency Working Group on Indigenous Languages
- presented alongside Services Australia and Reconciliation Australia on RAPs to the Australian Public Service Human Resource Professional Stream
- reported to Treasury for the Secretaries Board on progress towards Closing the Gap and Reconciliation initiatives
- participated in the process for the Australian government submission on the Productivity Commission’s report on the Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
Engaging with businesses and individuals
We engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients through multiple channels. These include:
- online services
- the Indigenous helpline
- face-to-face events.
We have joined in events including the:
- First Nations Foundation’s Financial Wellness Weeks
- South-East Queensland Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Business Expo
- NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure and Construction Forum.
We received very positive feedback about the personal help we provided at community events. We shared information on:
- applying for a tax file number
- lodging tax returns
- managing super
- managing business obligations.
Respect – results and achievements
Respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the broader community are important to us. We continue to support reconciliation and ensure our services are culturally appropriate.
Cultural learning
To improve staff cultural awareness, we have:
- mandated online Indigenous Australian Cultural Awareness training for all staff from July 2023
- started face-to-face training.
To measure the effectiveness of our cultural awareness training, we surveyed employees who completed the training. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
We have supported 8 staff to join in Jawun secondments from July to December 2023. We continue to work with the Australian Public Service Commission to increase the meaningful impact of secondments for organisations, the secondees and the ATO.
NAIDOC
We celebrated NAIDOC Week with a national webinar featuring special guests, Kutcha Edwards and Vonda Malone. The conversation focused on the 2023 NAIDOC theme, ‘For Our Elders’. The event was hosted by one of our senior leaders and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Champion. In addition to this national event, each of our sites hosted its own activities during NAIDOC Week, including weaving classes, art workshops and smoking ceremonies.
Opportunities – results and achievements
By enhancing opportunities for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, we ensure valued knowledge and perspectives are included throughout our decision-making processes.
We recognise our crucial role in providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suppliers to improve economic results.
We support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses by providing tailored education opportunities to ensure a positive experience of the tax and super systems.
Recruitment and career development
APS2 and APS3 levels
We have partnered with Services Australia in a pilot of the Indigenous Apprenticeship Program (IAP). We have onboarded 6 apprentices at the APS2 and APS3 levels.
APS3 to EL1 levels
Over the first six months of 2023-24, a total of 10 staff joined the internal Indigenous Mobility Development Program (IMDP). This is a 12-week program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees that:
- supports career development
- provides exposure to the wider organisation.
The IMDP provides opportunities at the APS3–EL1 levels to:
- broaden existing capabilities and skills for current and future roles
- gain experience to increase employment opportunities
- showcase the talents of participants and hosting areas in different business lines.
Tuition assistance
As at 31 December 2023, there were 24 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff undertaking courses fully funded by our Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). One participant graduated in June to December 2023.
External learning events
Staff have attended external learning events, including:
- First Nations Women’s Leadership Symposium 2023
- First Nations Employment and Leadership Forum
- Build Your First Nations Cultural Capability
- Indigenous Leadership Summit 2023
- Australian New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) Working with First Nations people delivering on the priority reforms.
Procurement
We have maintained our membership of Supply Nation and participated in Supplier Diversity September. Our internal communication and education strategy included:
- articles
- Supply Nation training, which attracted over 50 staff
- an online expo of our Supplier Diversity resources.
Free tax help
We offer Tax Help services, including free tax return preparation through community centres. Over 20 centres specifically supported Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2023.
Our Tax Help promotional posters have been translated into 13 Aboriginal languages and are available online.
Latest governance, tracking and reporting
We continue to monitor RAP initiatives by
- tracking progress against the planned deliverables
- publicly communicating our commitment to reconciliation.
Governance
We review our RAP working group membership and terms of reference on a regular basis to ensure we are including a range of perspectives. We have recently appointed new Staff Experience Representatives to the RAP Working Group. These representatives are responsible for providing feedback, insights and suggestions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees' perspectives.
Reporting
We report internally and externally on a regular basis. This includies submitting the annual RAP Impact Survey and our traffic light report to Reconciliation Australia.
Ongoing focus areas
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee representation
Our latest employee numbers are:
- 2.9% of APS 4–6 level staff (our target is 3.5%)
- 1.1% of EL1–2 level staff (our target is 2%)
- 0% of SES level staff (our target is 1.5%).
From July to December 2023, 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants commenced our Evergreen Entry Level Program. This program involves:
- rotations through different business areas
- formal training
- attaining a certificate IV.
We have about 3% overall Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation across our workforce. However, we aren’t currently meeting our 2023-24 employee representation targets at higher levels. Therefore, we are pursuing options to increase representation. This includes:
- identifying appropriate roles to fill from the APS SES 100 recruitment process
- conducting affirmative measures processes.
Formal partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations
We are yet to establish formal partnerships that meet the ‘stronger partnership’ elements, as defined in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. However, multiple business areas have cooperative and mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
We will continue to work with the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) to ensure we meet expectations, as we seek opportunities to pursue new partnerships.