Reconciliation Action Plan
Outlined below is information about the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Consultation Period for Wentworth Healthcare Limited Board and Staff Feedback.
The Consultation Period
The Reconciliation Action Plan through Reconciliation Australia requires specific strategies and actions to be part of the plan, which are mandatory for the approval of the plan. The Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group has endorsed these mandatory strategies and actions and has then built on these with specific actions that are representative of our organisation, vision and purpose to ensure that the plan is reflective of the work that we are doing and will continue to do over the next two years.
To assist you in the review of the RAP, this Reconciliation Australia Innovate RAP template will enable you to see the mandatory inclusions. There are footnotes on the DRAFT RAP (pdf, 505kb) which are intended to assist you to understand what are mandatory inclusions or the context behind the action item.
This consultation period is to provide an opportunity for the Wentworth Healthcare Board and Staff to review the RAP; ask any clarifying questions and provide feedback. The consultation period will be for two weeks commencing Wednesday 1 November and completing 17 November 2017. During this time, if you have any questions regarding the RAP or would like to provide feedback you can do so via the form below.
Community Consultation Cards have been printed and distributed across the four LGA’s to enable community feedback on the RAP key areas.
Background
Wentworth Healthcare has demonstrated commitment to improvement of health outcomes for Aboriginal people for over seven years. During this time we have been actively involved with the local Aboriginal community participating in key community initiatives; leading innovation in the delivery of programs (Healthy for Life and the CTG program); key stakeholders in the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Health Coalition and engaging and consulting with community in the planning of services to improve access and equity for Aboriginal people in the Nepean Blue Mountains Region. Please note that for the purpose of this document, the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used to refer to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The development of a Reconciliation Action Plan is an important component of an organisations commitment to the improvement of outcomes for Aboriginal people. Whilst we have a history of active involvement and commitment to improved health outcomes for Aboriginal people in the region, this is not documented in an outcome focused and action oriented plan demonstrating the organisations ongoing commitment and specific actions to ensure continuous cultural development in Aboriginal health.
Why develop a Reconciliation Action Plan
A Reconciliation Action Plan will enhance our ability as an organisation to improve the engagement with Aboriginal communities and deliver broader outcomes for Aboriginal people. These outcomes include:
- Providing a culturally safe workplace;
- Accessing, attracting and expanding funding sources to increase our impact and contribution to Aboriginal health;
- The opportunity to contribute to new projects, industries, services, and ways of doing business;
- Provide a more dynamic, innovative and diverse workplace;
- Become an employer of choice for Aboriginal peoples;
- Improve relationships, respect and trust between the Wentworth Healthcare and Aboriginal peoples.
What is a Reconciliation Action Plan?
The Reconciliation Action Plan program is a framework that is provided by Reconciliation Australia to assist organisations to develop robust plans to achieve their vision for reconciliation. A Reconciliation Action Plan provides organisations with a business plan that documents what the commitments of the organisation to the contribution of reconciliation in Australia. Reconciliation Australia provide four different RAP’s within their program. These include:
There are four different RAPs within the Program:
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Reflect
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One year plan for organisations just starting out and wanting to build relationships and respect for Aboriginal peoples.
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Innovate
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Two year plan for organisations that have developed relationships and are now ready to implement programs and initiatives for Aboriginal people.
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Stretch
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Three year plan designed for organisations that have been working with Aboriginal communities for some time and are ready to challenge themselves to set actions to achieve outcomes.
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Elevate
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This is for organisations with a long history of RAP programming.
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It is recommended that Wentworth Healthcare develops an Innovate RAP, given the organisations history, relationship with Aboriginal communities, organisations and contribution to Aboriginal programs across the region. This RAP will enable us over the two year period of the RAP commencing at the end of May 2018 to commit to activities that increase cultural safety across the organisation; engagement with Aboriginal communities and contribution to improved outcomes for Aboriginal people in the region.
Process of development of the Reconciliation Action Plan
Wentworth Healthcare has engaged an Aboriginal consultant, Eliza Pross, to work with the Senior Manager- Populations in Focus and the Aboriginal Liaison Officer on the planning and development of the RAP. Whilst this will be led by the Senior Manager - Populations in Focus and the Aboriginal Liaison Officer, Eliza will provide cultural guidance and mentoring in the development of this plan.
Key components required in the development of the plan:
- Announcement of the RAP development process occured at the Staff Development Day 30th May 2017 – introducing the staff to the development process and the benefits of the development of the RAP.
- Formation of a Reconciliation Working Group (RWG) – this is an internal working group that will contribute to the development of the plan. The Terms of Reference for this group will be developed at the beginning of June and an Expression of Interest process will be undertaken in June to identify the members of the group. The group will seek membership from each area of the organisation. The first meeting of this group will occur in July 2017 and will commence with a cultural safety workshop for all members.
- Reconciliation Australia provide a robust framework for each RAP level (stretch RAP) which was developed in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations as well as government and corporate Australia. The RAP framework provides required actions to be undertake at each level and optional actions that can be included in an organisations RAP. This framework will be used as a guiding document to ensure we meet the requirements and additional innovative activities will be included and co-designed by the RWG in consultation with all staff members.
- The RAP will be developed through a needs analysis/audit process across the months of August to October and then collated in Draft Format for review and approval from the CEO and the Board in November 2017.
- Once the RAP has Board approval it will be registered with Reconciliation Australia for their review and acceptance which can take approximately 4-6 months.
- The RAP will then be launched in Reconciliation Week at the end of May 2018.
What happens once the Reconciliation Action Plan is developed and approved?
The Reconciliation Action Plan will commences from 1 June 2018 and be in place until 30 June 2020.
The Reconciliation Action Plan will be located on the Wentworth Healthcare/NBMPHN website and reported on annually as to the progress against the actions identified and agreed to in the plan.
Through our registration with Reconciliation Australia, we agree to participate in their annual outcome reporting process against the registered plans. This requires the completion of a questionnaire on an annual basis and forms part of Reconciliation Australia’s Impact Measurement Report.
The Reconciliation Working Group will maintain a role in the oversight of the completion of actions included within the plan and internal reporting as to the progress of those agreed actions.
Your feedback
We welcome feedback from the members of the Wentworth Healthcare board as well as staff members. Please provide your feedback using the form below.
