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Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples & communities

We are committed to further developing our relationships with Aboriginal stakeholders in Western Australia. Our vision is to gain a greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their history and culture, and to provide opportunities where their participation is valued and appreciated.

Our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) was launched in 2006 and was developed through collaborative dialogue with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and our employees across our state. Following this, we aim to fulfil our vision into the future and have an appointed project manager who monitors and manages our progress.

As part of our commitment to provide employment opportunities, we have successfully attracted and retained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who today continue to participate and strengthen our workplace.

We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the first Australians and aim to build long term sustainable relationships based on mutual respect and trust. We believe we can only truly call ourselves a successful society until Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples participate equally in the full range of life’s opportunities.

Partnerships

Through our partnerships, we are developing future generations. Please find some of our key partnerships which support young Australian programs, with a focus in increasing knowledge, life skills and career prospects for young Aboriginals:

Some of our key partnerships are:

  • Clontarf Foundation
  • Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company

Partnering with Aboriginal businesses

As we continue to develop relationships with Aboriginal people and communities, we provide opportunities to partner in our operations through corporative ventures.

This allows us to increase the representation of Aboriginal owned and part-owned businesses in our procurement contracts for goods, works and services.

We are inviting suitably qualified businesses to express their interest in becoming a Water Corporation supplier by registering for eProcurement.

Projects

Look out for our Aboriginal art displays across Western Australia. The artwork has been created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and reflects the connection and importance of water to the community. You will see their art displayed in some of our publicly owned spaces, buildings, digital channels and corporate stationery.

2019-21 RAP priorities

The 2019–21 RAP is our fifth revision of the RAP. In developing this, we consulted with our Aboriginal employees, the Aboriginal community and the RAP Working Group. The delivery of this plan is not only the responsibility of our RAP committee, Human Resources or Aboriginal Affairs. We all share ownership of these actions.

Each action in our refreshed plan is designed to embed cultural change in our organisation and contribute to closing the unacceptable gap in life expectancy, education and economic opportunities that currently exist between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians. Below are our key priorities:

We believe that enduring relationships with Aboriginal communities are necessary for our business success. We understand and recognise that Aboriginal people are important stakeholders, and that our operations must consider Aboriginal heritage, cultural and social concerns as well as native title rights.

Focus area: Engaging with Aboriginal people and communities.

Raising the visibility and recognising the contribution of Aboriginal people to Australia will help us to learn about the understandings, histories and diversity of cultures of our first people. Respectful practices help foster positive relationships and maximise opportunities for two-way learning within our organisation and with our Aboriginal stakeholders.

Focus area: To recognise the special contribution of Aboriginal people to Australia, enabling greater confidence in the actions we undertake in order to achieve the objectives of our Reconciliation Action Plan

Creating new ways of attracting, developing and retaining talent presents an opportunity for two-way learning within the organisation. This will create the building blocks for Aboriginal engagement capacity and knowledge exchange in relation to land, culture and water and through employment, training, development and mentoring opportunities.

Focus area: Create training and employment opportunities for Aboriginal people within the Water Corporation.

To track progress and report.

Related documents

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