Reconciliation Action Plans are about taking good intent and turning it into action.
The Black Lives Matter protests which have erupted throughout the globe have caused a variety of Australians to rethink the problems affecting Indigenous communities.
The health, wealth and employment gaps between Indigenous Australians and the remainder of the inhabitants are well known, but the protests created new urgency to do something about them.
In July, the Australian government unveiled new Shut the Hole targets including reducing Indigenous incarceration rates.
For organisations that really feel the urgency act there’s one apparent solution – a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
In 2006, Reconciliation Australia introduced RAPs as a way for organisations to incorporate strategic reconciliation initiatives as part of their enterprise plans. The intention of a RAP is to create significant opportunities to your organisation to actively assist and recognise Indigenous Australians. Like many initiatives, reconciliation is a process that will evolve as you and your organisation start to take action.
RAPs are broken down into 4 maturity levels that replicate the place organisations are in their reconciliation journey. They are: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. Every has a corresponding RAP type organisations can pursue. For instance, the Innovate degree is for organisations that already understand where they can improve on Indigenous points and have begun taking motion to actively address them.
The first step for all organisations is to determine its maturity level. “Contact the RAP group at Reconciliation Australia and find out which level you will start at,” says Anthony. “The RAP group will send you a template that can outline what you could do. There are some basic compulsory actions required by Reconciliation Australia akin to celebrating national Reconciliation Day and increasing knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. After that, it’s about the adjustments you’ll be able to make.”
Because a number of organisations will start at the Mirror stage, this guide will define the pillars it’s worthwhile to set up to start your reconciliation journey.
Research
This is where it all begins.
It can assist to look into why RAPs are so necessary as well as the present points dealing with Indigenous people. Reports similar to Shut the Gap can provide context to your RAP and may assist you to with the subsequent step.
Safe support
Part of a profitable RAP is establishing assist for reconciliation initiatives throughout all the organisation. In most cases this needs to start on the top.
“Most often I discover that if individuals are introduced with the details, they pretty quickly get on board with eager to be part of the reconciliation movement,”
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals are three per cent of the population. They’ll’t do the heavy lifting by way of change and infrastructure change, societal change, or changing attitudes.
“RAPs are a way of stepping in and making meaningful change.”
Over 1,000 organisations have formalised RAPs, and their implementation has had a real impact on improving worker understanding of Indigenous issues, the Reconciliation Australia 2018 RAP Impact report found. This can have a movement-on effect. It makes staff more engaged with their community they usually typically select to donate to, or volunteer with, Indigenous organisations as a result.
A RAP also solidifies your organisation’s commitment to making a culturally safe work atmosphere, which expands your recruiting pool by making your workplace a more attractive employer to Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander employees.
Establish a working group
The following step is to type a working group that can oversee the whole RAP process. This group will need to be made up of assorted representatives from all sectors of your organisation.
The group is accountable for planning and implementing the RAP, so it might want to encompass members who have some actual energy to make changes in the organisation, and members who understand it from a policy and culture perspective.
Lastly, for the RAP to be really profitable, you’ll need involvement from members who work with clients or clients, so that people outside your organisation understand you are trying to make a difference.
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