Our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2024–2026 is a framework for guiding Respect Victoria’s contribution to reconciliation. It sets out the practical activities we will deliver to ensure that we are delivering on our commitment to reconciliation, and that reconciliation and self-determination are prioritised and embedded across our organisation.
Our Innovate RAP will contribute to our vision of building a society where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, children, and their families and communities live free from family violence and violence against women. Through this RAP we will also continue our commitment to working in collaboration with ACCOs, recognising their leadership role in violence prevention.
Our RAP Working Group
Our RAP Working Group is championed by our Chief Executive Officer (who chairs the Working Group) and Director People, Governance and Operations (as our Senior Leadership Team RAP champion). Our RAP Working Group has representatives from every Respect Victoria team, and a Board representative. Our RAP Working Group has one First Nations representative.
- Chief Executive Officer
- Board Director
- Director People, Governance and Operations
- Communications and Community Change Manager
- Social Media Coordinator
- Coordinator, Evaluation and Evidence
- Coordinator, Prevention Practice
- Manager, Prevention Policy and Influence
- Senior Advisor, Research and Translation
- Administration Support Officer
- People and Culture Manager
- Finance and Procurement Officer
- Strategic Advisor (Working Group Secretariat)
Our RAP journey
Respect Victoria’s first Reflect RAP was developed during 2021 and ran from December 2021 to June 2023 (following significant organisational changes and subsequent changes to our RAP Working Group membership, we extended the initial end date from December 2022 to June 2023). Activities delivered as part of our RAP included:
- All-staff participation in a cultural heritage walk with the Koorie Heritage Trust, to learn more about local Aboriginal histories in the area surrounding our office.
- Conducting a cultural learning needs assessment to inform the identification and delivery of targeted, fit-for-purpose cultural learning and development opportunities for Respect Victoria employees under our Innovate RAP.
- Introducing ‘extended’ Acknowledgements of Country at All-staff, Board, and other important meetings to contribute to employee awareness and education, and ensure that our Acknowledgements of Country meaningfully pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, and heritage. These entail a nominated team member being asked to share a personal reflection on topics such as the work of First Nations artists, musicians, and writers; the history of the Country they live on or have visited; or an event or training they’ve attended.
- Running an all-staff session on reconciliation and our RAP, following the recruitment of a significant number of new employees, to ensure ongoing cross-organisational awareness of our RAP and commitment to reconciliation.
- Drafting a Cultural Protocols guide, which will be further refined and promoted through our Innovate RAP to build awareness and understanding about Acknowledgement of Country, Welcome to Country, and other cultural protocols.
- Launched two significant pieces of research to inform effective prevention of family violence against Aboriginal peoples, which were commissioned for the Dhelk Dja Partnership Forum and conducted by Urbis in partnership with Karen Milward. The Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Mapping Project identified and mapped over 251 prevention initiatives across Victoria to identify successes, challenges, gaps and opportunities for further investment; and the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Evidence Review documented available evidence on effective First Nations-led prevention across Victoria, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Sates.
- Continuing our engagement with the Dhelk Dja Partnership Forum, and its sub-working groups on Aboriginal-led Prevention and Aboriginal-led Innovation, Data and Research.
- Participating in National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week activities in both 2022 and 2023, including the NAIDOC Flag Raising Ceremony, March, and Gala Ball, as well as celebrating NAIDOC Week on our social media channels.
- Providing funding to ACCOs (via the grassroots initiative with Safe & Equal) to participate in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence in 2022 and 2023, as well as funding to Djirra for the Young Luv Program to Prevent Violence Against Women.
- Procuring catering and design services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned businesses.
- Purchasing Acknowledgement of Country posters and other artwork by Aboriginal artists to display in our offices.
- Ensuring employees were aware of the clause in the Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement that allows employees to substitute a public holiday for another day, and supporting staff who wish to use this clause to work 26 January in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
As we approached the end of our Reflect RAP, we sought feedback from across the organisation about the strengths and challenges associated with delivering our RAP. There was a consensus that one of the key strengths was a genuine, cross-organisational commitment to delivering on our RAP, including support from the CEO and Senior Leadership Team and our Board. Our team also found activities such as cultural awareness training, participation in NAIDOC Week, and the Koorie Heritage Trust walks particularly valuable in deepening understanding of culture, connection to place and the importance of cultural safety.
Key challenges included the impact of organisational change – and subsequent changes to the RAP Working Group membership – on delivery timeframes for some of our RAP activities. Team members also reflected that although they were generally kept well informed about delivery of our RAP, at times they would have liked to be engaged at an earlier stage. Learnings from our Reflect RAP include the need to ensure RAP implementation is integrated into our day-to-day work. This will allow us to engage all staff in the RAP, not just Working Group members, and also to connect RAP deliverables with our business-as-usual activities, rather than delivering them in isolation.
For our Innovate RAP we want to maintain a broad focus on our vision and what we are trying to achieve, rather than a narrower focus on completing individual deliverables. This will require us to set up processes to measure the impact of RAP implementation, and mechanisms for sharing this with all employees. We will continue to strive for an appropriate balance between ensuring our team ‘do the work’, while also establishing and maintaining meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholder organisations.