Our RAP

About the 2024 Innovate RAP

Through our 2024 Innovate RAP, DCA will build on our past Innovate RAP and the work we have done, and continue to do, to promote true reconciliation. We will do so by taking an aspirational and innovative approach to our commitment to create an Australia that takes meaningful action on reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-First Nations people. Importantly this work is informed and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our aim is to improve on our previous Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan by creating more substantial and significant deliverables, strengthening our current position and setting a firm foundation for our future RAP development.

About the Artwork

Buranbaa Ngarran (New Dawn) by artist Kirsten Gray

“The piece is bright and bold and speaks to the hope for the future between First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians and amongst First Nations people themselves.

It shows many communities coming together from across the country to rally around justice for First Nations people. You can see this in the large pink circle on the left and all the different colours interacting with it. These represent all the diverse populations coming in to answer the call for a better Australia for us all. Important discussions are being had by and with First Nations people about Voice, Treaty, Truth, and beyond. It is a long and ongoing journey.

You can see a new day breaking in the background and community and Country flourishing in the right-hand side of this piece as these changes take hold.

This piece represents the hope around national conversations to change the Constitution through the Referendum and the long call for justice for First Nations people. It envisions the positive change that will flow from this, an act that will unite all Australians and provide the basis for substantive outcomes for First Nations people now and into the future.”

Buranbaa Ngarran (New Dawn) by artist Kirsten Gray The piece is bright and bold and speaks to the hope for the future between First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians and amongst First Nations people themselves. It shows many communities coming together from across the country to rally around justice for First Nations people. You can see this in the large pink circle on the left and all the different colours interacting with it. These represent all the diverse populations coming in to answer the call for a better Australia for us all. Important discussions are being had by and with First Nations people about Voice, Treaty, Truth, and beyond. It is a long and ongoing journey. You can see a new day breaking in the background and community and Country flourishing in the right-hand side of this piece as these changes take hold. This piece represents the hope around national conversations to change the Constitution through the Referendum and the long call for justice for First Nations people. It envisions the positive change that will flow from this, an act that will unite all Australians and provide the basis for substantive outcomes for First Nations people now and into the future.

“Diversity Council Australia is proud to launch its third Reconciliation Action Plan. Over the past two years, we have continued to reflect on our internal work, as an organisation that specialises in diversity and inclusion, to support and empower First Nations Peoples. In improving our internal capability, we are better placed to support our members.

This Reconciliation Action Plan is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to promoting justice, equity, and reconciliation in Australia. We look forward to continuing this work with our partners, colleagues, and stakeholders, and to continuing to learn from and be guided by First Nations Peoples.”

-Lisa Annese, CEO, and RAP Champion

“DCA takes its commitment to reconciliation very seriously, reflecting on the role it plays in guiding organisations to a more inclusive culture. This is evident throughout this iteration of the RAP, as well as the integrated approach to cultural capability and inclusion demonstrated in all DCA’s research, resources and events. 

“Since our last RAP, DCA has launched pivotal research including Racism at Work: How Organisations Can Stand Up to and End Workplace Racism and Culturally and racially marginalised women in leadership: A framework for (intersectional) action. These reports reinforce that, as a nation, we have much work to do, but DCA presents solutions for how we can do better.”

-Kate Russell, DCA Board Director & Chair of DCA Aboriginal &/or Torres Strait Islander External Advisory Panel

Since 2006, RAPs have provided a framework for organisations to leverage their structures and diverse spheres of influence to support the national reconciliation movement. 

“With close to 3 million people now either working or studying in an organisation with a RAP, the program’s potential for impact is greater than ever. Diversity Council Australia continues to be part of a strong network of more than 2,200 corporate, government, and not-for-profit organisations that have taken goodwill and transformed it into action.”

-Karen Mundine, CEO, Reconciliation Australia

DCA's RAP Working Group

Our RAPs have been developed by DCA’s RAP Working Group, led and chaired by Simone Empacher Earl, DCA’s Indigenous Liaison and proud Awabakal woman from the NSW Hunter Valley.

The RAP Working Group is also made up of:

  • Lisa Annese, DCA’s Chief Executive Officer and RAP Champion,
  • Dr Jane O’Leary, Research Director and RAP Champion,
  • Catherine Petterson, Operations Director,
  • Emily Tynan, Policy & Projects Manager,
  • Rebecca Kearney, Communications Advisor, and
  • Clea Newson, People & Culture Lead.

As part of our first RAP, DCA established its first Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander External Advisory Panel, to provide guidance, support, cultural knowledge and advice throughout our reconciliation journey. Our panel is made up of respected Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community members across Country, with representatives throughout Australian states and territories.

DCA also consulted with staff and the DCA Board of Directors, during this process, to ensure support throughout all levels of the organisation.

Our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander External Advisory Panel

DCA supports the proper recognition of the unique status of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in our country’s history and of ensuring Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander voices are central in any discussions around recognition and reconciliation.  

DCA’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander External Advisory Panel is an external group that provides guidance and advice on DCA’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Constitutional Recognition and Reconciliation activities.

Our Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander External Advisory Panel is made up of respected Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community members across country, with representatives throughout Australian states and territories.

The Panel meets regularly throughout the year to assist DCA promote and facilitate, on behalf of its members, reconciliation between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, specifically with respect to better labour market engagement and recognition of the talents and untapped potential of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

Panel members provide expertise, cultural knowledge and lived experience to DCA about our direction and activities in the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employment, community engagement and supplier diversity space.

Kate Russell is a proud Awabakal woman from Lake Macquarie and is committed to empowering her community. Kate draws on her extensive experience working across public and community sectors and is driven by a desire to promote opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – making sure to approach all programs, policies and initiatives through an intersectional lens. Kate is passionate about engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities to co-design programs and services using international best practices to make tangible changes in policy. 

As a consultant, Kate has worked across multiple policy areas to support the delivery of outcomes and community benefits, with a focus on people and culture programs. Prior to this, she held senior roles at the Department of Planning and Environment, where she oversaw the design and delivery of programs across a portfolio of agencies and over 15,000 staff.

Additionally, Kate has spent time working at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Sydney and Canberra and for the Catalan Department of Education in Spain. Kate returned to Australia to work in the community sector to focus on Aboriginal employment and leadership development, and eventually joined the NSW State Government in 2016. Kate’s broad expertise and experience in diversity and inclusion, organisational culture, leadership, human resources and knowledge, and project management enables her to develop programs that recognise the intersectionality of diverse experiences.

Currently, Kate is a Board Director at the Diversity Council Australia and has previously served as a Director for Yilabara Solutions and Interrelate. In July 2023, she commenced her role as Chief Executive Officer at Supply Nation, the Australian leader in supplier diversity. Kate holds a Bachelor of International Studies (Distinction), an MBA and an Executive Masters of Public Administration.

As a proud Ngarrindjeri/Narungga woman, Lauren is committed to promoting cultural diversity, respect and equity within the South Australian community. Drawing on her extensive experience within the public sector and educational institutions, she campaigns for equality for Aboriginal peoples.

In 2009, Lauren commenced her career with the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) in Adelaide, South Australia. There, she worked across all tiers of government to promoted cultural diversity and equality within the workplace. Lauren was a member of DPTI’s Reconciliation Committee, a cultural representative and was awarded Campbelltown City Council’s NAIDOC award for services to the community.

In her current role as a Planning & Audit Officer, Lauren provides professional support in the areas of business planning, audit and risk management, policies and procedures. Lauren is responsible for the coordination of Parliamentary Estimate briefings, Service planning and audit requirements, undertaking reviews (including Freedom of Information Act Internal Reviews) and projects, preparation of/and reviewing Service policies and other significant proposals and matters.

In 2018, Lauren graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Written and Creative Communication) from the University of South Australia, where she developed skills as a professional, technical and creative writer, editor and publisher. Lauren is currently completing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with the University of South Australia.

Peter Anderson is from the Walpiri and Murinpatha nations in the Northern Territory. He researches in the area of Indigenous education and educational systems and its relationship with indigenous peoples globally within the Australian context the protocols of engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in educational settings. A member of the ARC College of experts, he also holds research advisory positions to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Diversity Council of Australia and the Australian Education Research Association.

Thomas Mayo is a Torres Strait Islander who was born and raised on Larrakia Land in Darwin.

He was a stevedore, or wharfie, for sixteen years before becoming an official of his union, the Maritime Union of Australia. As an activist in his local community, Thomas has passionately fought for workers rights, Indigenous rights, and for social justice in general. In 2017 he attended the Darwin Regional Constitutional Dialogue, where he was elected to represent the region at the Uluru National Constitutional Convention. The convention is where the Uluru Statement from the Heart was overwhelmingly endorsed on 26 May 2017.

Thomas has since advocated for the proposals in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and is the author of ‘Finding the Heart of the Nation – the journey of the Uluru Statement towards Voice, Treaty and Truth’, published by Hardie Grant. His book tells his story, the story of the Uluru Statement, and features some of the remarkable Indigenous people that he met on his campaigning journey. A children’s version, Finding Our Heart, will be published in June 2020.

Today, Thomas continues to advocate for the Uluru Statement while being the National Indigenous Officer and Deputy Secretary of the Northern Territory Branch for the Maritime Union of Australia, and the Assistant Secretary of the Northern Territory Trades and Labour Council.  

Jordy is a proud Peek Whurrong woman of the Gunditjmara nation, born on beautiful and sacred Eastern Maar land, but currently residing on Bunurong Country in Naarm. Across her career, she’s worked in several different sectors in Indigenous affairs, including but not limited to health, education, sport, and business. In her current role as a Policy Advisory at the Business Council of Australia, Jordy works with corporate Australia and the Federal government, to drive social and economic policy change across the Indigenous, disability and women’s participation spaces. She also coaches the under 15 Australian Indigenous Women’s AFL team, the Woomeras, who come together twice a year to develop their football abilities, personal skills and strengthen their cultural identity. Being an inaugural Woomera and VFLW player for Hawthorn Football Club herself, Jordy is a proud leader and positive role model for our younger generations of Indigenous women. She is also a consultant for Mifsud Consulting & Advisory, who are an Aboriginal family-owned and run business, that partners with and advises clients on the design, implementation, and monitoring of tailored solutions, predominantly in Indigenous affairs.

Nareen Young is Industry Professor, Indigenous Policy (Indigenous Workforce Diversity) at Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology, Sydney where she is Director of the Indigenous People and Work Research and Practice Hub. The Hub is a community of scholars and practitioners that aims to enhance and advance the standing of Indigenous people in the Australian employment market via robust diversity research and practice.

Prior to this appointment, Nareen spent over twenty years developing her standing as one of Australia’s leading and most respected employment diversity practitioners, leading two peak diversity employment organisations (NSW Working Women’s Centre and Diversity Council Australia) to enormous impact and success.  She has led diversity thinking and practice in Australia, and most recently as employment lead for PwC’s Indigenous Consulting where she developed many concepts for Indigenous employment diversity practice. Nareen is influenced by her own Indigenous and culturally diverse heritages in this regard and has received many citations, awards and accolades for her work. She has commentated widely and published and presented nationally and internationally.

Nareen also has significant governance experience. She spent a three-year term as a Director of Indigenous Business Australia and currently serves as Director of Souths Cares, BlakDance and Refugee Talent.

About the 2021 Innovate RAP

Our Innovate RAP builds on the work DCA has done to promote reconciliation. Through our Innovate RAP we hope to develop an aspirational and innovative approach to our commitment to creating an Australia that takes meaningful action on reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous people, in a way that is informed and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our Innovate RAP is a framework to work together to develop innovative strategies to ensure the self-determination and inclusion of First Nations People in our workplaces. We will continually review our work to ensure we proceed to improve, as individuals and as an organisation, in this area.

About the 2019 Reflect RAP

Our ReflectRAP was developed on the basis of two guiding principles: Inclusion and Reconciliation.

DCA defines inclusion as occurring when a diversity of people feel valued and respected, have access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute their perspectives and talents to improve their organisation. Genuine inclusion must begin with reconciliation. There can be no genuine workplace inclusion while our First Nations Peoples are excluded from opportunities, and we as a nation do not address race relations, equality and equity, unity, institutional integrity, and historical acceptance.