Continuing to deliver on our Reconciliation Action Plan in 2021
Throughout 2021, we continued to drive our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and successfully delivered 66% of our commitments in the first 12 months of our RAP’s lifespan.
We have had an exceptional year at Export Finance Australia.
Throughout 2021, we continued to drive our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and successfully delivered 66% of our commitments in the first 12 months of our RAP’s lifespan.
We are committed to making a difference by working with our partners to create new opportunities. Specifically, we have set our sights on supporting new and existing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, broadening our supplier network, building a more diverse and inclusive workforce and expanding our Indigenous partnerships.
Our vision for reconciliation is for Australia’s First Peoples to be valued, accepted and to experience equality in our society.
Our RAP is made up of four key focus areas
- Relationships
- Respect
- Opportunities
- Governance
Relationships
Working through our Indigenous Engagement Plan, we saw important dialogue and developed mutually beneficial relationships to work towards our vision for reconciliation. Our participation in the Indigenous Network for Investment, Trade and Export (IGNITE) seminar on Indigenous Businesses looking to export and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) Industry Roundtable were some of the highlights this year.Our ongoing focus in the Relationships area led us to substantially increase the number of partnerships and alliances in our network this year.
Our National Reconciliation Week events allowed us to immerse ourselves into the community and make new, meaningful connections. Community-focused events, such as corporate volunteering and fundraising, were key in propelling our aspirations in the Relationships area.
We also continue to promote positive race relations by educating our leaders on the effects of discrimination.
Respect
We continue to build on the progress we have made in the Respect area.
Cultural protocols are a part of how we operate and keep our reconciliation focus at the top of our agenda. We celebrated NAIDOC Week through an internal campaign and local immersion opportunities, enabling us to show our respect to the cultures and histories of Australia’s First Peoples.
We delivered on our Cultural Capability Strategy by implementing our first, organisation-wide cultural learning program with a completion rate of 89% and positive feedback from our employees. We also demonstrated our respect to the traditional lands of our First Peoples, by renaming our meeting rooms with appropriate Aboriginal names in consultation with local Traditional Custodians.
Opportunities
We are delighted to have made great strides this year in the Opportunities area, as it holds some of the most significant actions for our organisation.
Our Employment Pathways Strategy has enabled us to provide opportunities for two additional internships through our CareerTrackers partnership. We continue to support our interns through future career development opportunities, with three of our employees now identifying as Aboriginal.
Two of our Executives, including our Managing Director & CEO, participated in the Jawun Executive Visit program and shared their insightful experiences with the organisation.
We continue to develop and implement our Indigenous Procurement Strategy, creating more opportunities for our organisation to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supply partners for our procurement needs.
Through our collaboration with government affiliates and their diplomatic network, we continue to scan for opportunities to support Indigenous businesses that are considering exporting internationally.
Challenges
Much like the previous year, we continued to face the challenges brought about by COVID-19.
From a cultural capability perspective, the opportunities for local immersion activities and face-to-face learning for our people were limited as was our capacity to engage new suppliers.
We are dedicated to finding new ways of thinking to overcome these hurdles, should subsequent years pose similar challenges.
Learnings
Our organisation has been successful in delivering on its RAP actions, due to the commitment, diligence and passion of our people.
The ability to create engagement, find new opportunities and keep the dialogue alive have been instrumental in the way we approach our RAP commitments. Our RAP Working Group, key stakeholders, leaders and broader organisation have all played a part in collaboratively driving reconciliation outcomes for Export Finance Australia.
We are proud of our progress to date and will strive to build on this momentum for years to come.
Our Innovative Reconciliation Action Plan
Access and view a PDF copy of our Reconciliation Action Plan.
‘Bookootjwoorar Moort’ by Bradley Kickett
(Noongar term for 'far or distant relations')
The artwork, entitled Bookootjwoorar Moort, depicts the northern part of Australia and its neighbouring counties where the proximity of each land mass brings to mind our history of trade and connection. Bookootjwoorar Moort talks to our ability to connect Australians to other parts of the world no matter how near or far.
The ocean, which moves outwardly from the coastal regions of Australia, depicts local businesses taken to the world and is reminiscent of our past and present journey. The circles on the rich earth of Australia represent the multi-cultural makeup of our county and symbolise how we are all connected through diversity.
