Reconciliation Action Plan

We chose to develop our second National Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) as a practical and powerful way to continue our contribution towards reconciliation in Australia.

This highlights our commitment through specific business actions that will provide us with a vehicle for engaging with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to ensure our services are culturally responsive, relevant, safe and available for their children, young people and families.

In late 2023 OzChild completed its Second National Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, achieving success in many areas and progressing our ongoing journey to build genuine and meaningful relationships within communities, creating opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and building cultural safety and responsiveness throughout our organisation.

OzChild’s vision for national reconciliation is that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people will have access to services and be able to fully participate in every aspect of life they choose.

The deliverables of our Reconciliation Action Plan help to guide us to achieve this vision.

We are pleased to report that many of the deliverables outlined in our Plan are now complete and many more are now acted upon as part of business as usual.

Click here to read our final progress report.

A statement from our Chief Executive Officer, Dr Lisa J. Griffiths

“Across our wonderful organisation during the past few years our staff, carers and volunteers have contributed to the successful completion of our Second National Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan.  Building our workforce’s cultural awareness and responsiveness of our workforce has seen the implementation of cultural training which has been warmly embraced and completed by team members and carers alike, and is now embedded within our onboarding process for new staff and newly accredited carers.

Our employment practices have been strengthened, and Aboriginal Practice Lead roles implemented across the organisation to ensure our practices are culturally safe and respectful, and relationships built with communities and Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations are authentic and meaningful. Most importantly these actions are ensuring better outcomes for First Nations children, young people and families.

We plan to take the next step in our reconciliation journey and embark on a Stretch RAP. Our expression to do so has been submitted to Reconciliation Australia.

Our journey towards advancing reconciliation is one of continuous learning, adaptation, deepened knowledge, cultural respect and understanding for all our staff and carers.

Our Reconciliation Action Plans have paved the way for us to further embed our cultural practices into everyday business and strengthen our responsiveness to meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to create positive lasting change. I am enormously proud of our journey so far and hope that one day we won’t need a plan to guide us; as an organisation genuinely committed to reconciliation, our everyday actions will speak louder than written words.”