#TeamDEWR’s Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) represents our commitment to transformational change and reconciliation.
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At the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (the department), we are not just implementing policies and delivering programs: we seek to fundamentally reshape how we work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations to achieve reconciliation and close the gap.
We must put respectful relationships at the heart of everything we do. It is the foundation of true collaboration. Only through doing so, can we achieve genuine partnership, shared decision-making and truly recognise and honour First Nations expertise and self-determination.
Since the department’s establishment in July 2022, we have prioritised Closing the Gap and embarked on a deliberate and unique reform journey that has seen the development of our Closing the Gap Strategy 2024 – 2027 and this RAP.
We continue to grow our number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander SES and, critically, we have reshaped our governance to embed First Nations voices in our decision-making. Our newly established First Nations Executive Board — with equal First Nations and non-Indigenous representation — will support strategic oversight of all policies and programs impacting First Nations peoples. We have embedded the Closing the Gap Priority Reforms into each of our Tier 2 committees and begun amending our business-as-usual practices, ensuring every part of our organisation is maximising opportunities to improve outcomes for First Nations people.
Reconciliation is not a destination but a continuous journey of action, accountability, and transformation. This RAP will reinforce our reform journey with measurable actions, accountable timelines, and build deepened relationships between #TeamDEWR and First Nations peoples. Together with our Closing the Gap Strategy, it forms our comprehensive commitment to the systemic and structural change that reconciliation demands.
I call on every member of #TeamDEWR to play your part in the concrete actions in this plan, as we work together to close the gap and deliver positive outcomes for Australia’s First Nations people.