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Our Place’s commitment to reconciliation has been endorsed in our new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

Our Place has joined a network of more than 1,100 corporate, government, and not-for-profit organisations that have made a formal commitment to reconciliation through the RAP program.

The work Our Place undertakes aims to ensure that all families experience equity and inclusion and their strengths are valued and celebrated. We also have a strong commitment to being a true child safe organisation and explicitly address additional challenges that some groups in our communities experience, including those faced by First Nations people. Embedding an organisational RAP within our work is one of the ways we are seeking to achieve and support these goals.

What is a RAP?

A RAP is a strategic and public commitment toward reconciliation. It is a plan that we are accountable for delivering as an organisation. There are 4 types of RAPs, and as Our Place is at the beginning of the journey – we are starting with REFLECT, which will lay the foundations and prime Our Place for future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives.

The cover of the Our Place RAP – Artwork designed by Tanisha Welsh, a student at Seymour College, which is a school involved in the Our Place initiative. Her love of drawing and painting is inspired by her aunties who have been teaching her the meanings and stories behind Aboriginal artworks.

How will we undertake this work?

Our aim is to, first and foremost, be authentic in our commitment and deliverables of the RAP and plan to achieve this through embedding actions in our day-to-day work. We also aim to practise leadership by understanding and articulating our own agency, responsibility, and power (including privilege) that we bring to our decisions. ​

Our Place has already begun the journey towards expanding our awareness, knowledge and appreciation of First Nations Peoples’ histories, cultures, and ongoing leadership and self-determination. Some examples of this include:

  • Our Place sites developing relationships with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, networks, and co-operatives to ensure our work aligns and remains inclusive of First Nations Peoples’.
  • Staff undertaking cultural competency training through BlackCard, which has led to a greater understanding of First Nations Peoples’ histories and cultures. This training has also resulted in staff re-evaluating their practice to align with and be inclusive of First Nations Peoples’.
  • Organisational rituals and norms such as regular Acknowledgments of Country and participation in activities that celebrate NAIDOC, National Reconciliation Week, and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander festivals.
  • Staff are encouraged to learn more about the lands on which they live and work and share this with the organisation on an ongoing and regular basis.
  • Establishment of a RAP working group that is made up of a cross-section of the organisation. Our Place RAP champions work through each action and deliverable, unpack them, and determine how to best meet these in an authentic and sustainable manner. 

Our Place is extremely proud to be playing a role in and undertaking such important work toward Reconciliation.

“The Our Place RAP expresses our aspirations to help achieve tangible positive changes in the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the broader community. It also provides us with the mechanism and framework to keep ourselves accountable to our commitment” – CEO of Our Place.

 To download or view a copy of our RAP CLICK HERE