In the journey towards reconciliation, one way that organisations are turning good intentions into positive actions is by developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
One organisation taking meaningful action to advance reconciliation is Great Southern Bank, who launched their inaugural RAP in December last year. Great Southern Bank Chief Customer Officer Megan Keleher says their RAP forms part of the customer-owned bank’s broader commitment to address social issues and support customers and their communities.
“With our first RAP, we have sought to align our actions to our purpose of helping all Australians own their own home, by working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to address barriers to financial and social inclusion,” Ms Keleher says.
“Our RAP builds on the bank’s history of working with First Nations peoples to grow financial wellbeing over many years, including its merger 15 years ago with First Nations Credit Union and subsequent establishment of the First Nations Foundation.
“It represents another important step in our ongoing reconciliation journey by providing us with a clear roadmap upon which to strengthen our relationships, build respect and opportunities with First Nations peoples.”
The Great Southern Bank team worked closely with Reconciliation Australia to create the RAP, led by their RAP Working Group which involved both Indigenous and non-Indigenous team members from across the business.
“To help bring the RAP document to life, we worked with an Indigenous designer, Leigh Harris to develop the visual identity that flows through our RAP document and all the associated communications linked to our journey to reconciliation,” says Ms Keleher.
“We also commissioned artwork from a local Indigenous artist called Narelle Urquhart to celebrate the launch of our RAP and provide an additional layer of authenticity to the initiative. As well as their creative work, Narelle and Leigh generously gave up time to speak to and engage with our people.”
On top of the RAP, the team at Great Southern Bank continue to strive for further reconciliation action, having just celebrated National Reconciliation Week and with plans underway for NAIDOC Week.
“We’re lucky at Great Southern Bank to have highly engaged, committed and community-minded team members. Our team have really got behind our RAP and are actively sharing their ideas about how we progress reconciliation across our business,” says Ms Keleher.
“We’re also connecting with our partners to understand their journeys to reconciliation and learn from their progress. We’ve had some great conversations with our AFL sponsor partner, Carlton Football Club, as part of our activities to celebrate National Reconciliation Week and look forward to doing the same with our BBL partner, Brisbane Heat. We’ve also engaged with our community partners, including the Australian Red Cross who kindly shared their approach to reconciliation as part of our RAP launch activities.”
According to Reconciliation Australia, more than 1,100 organisations now have a RAP in place, directly impacting more than 3 million Australians at work every day. “We’re certainly very proud to join the many organisations that have so far made the commitment to reconciliation, by both acknowledging past failings but also recognising future opportunity,” says Ms Keleher.