Reconciliation action plan
Our Reconciliation action plan (RAP) has been developed through dialogue with Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff and stakeholders. The dialogue began with a working draft RAP considered by a working group to establish the key actions for our RAP.
All staff and selected stakeholders were invited to provide feedback, and their comments were taken into account as the RAP was finalised.
Our RAP is a living document and future actions will build on the base established by this one.
Our vision for reconciliation
The Forest Products Commission (FPC) commits to Reconciliation Australia’s goal of closing the unacceptable 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We will demonstrate this commitment by:
- identifying key Indigenous stakeholders and ways to foster relationships with them,
- improving cultural awareness and recognition among FPC people,
- seeking ways to increase employment, business and capacity building opportunities for Indigenous people.
Our targets
Our reconciliation action plan targets the following areas:
Relationships
Focus area: engaging with the Indigenous community will help us understand the issues affecting them.
- Establish a RAP committee with Indigenous and non Indigenous staff to monitor and review FPC’s RAP,
- Identify Indigenous leaders (corporations, groups or individuals) who can provide guidance and assistance in developing understandings between their community and FPC, and
- Review existing business arrangements across FPC where staff are engaged in work that impacts on Indigenous landowners/community members to identify opportunities to share information and learn from one another.
Respect
Focus area: cultural awareness for all staff, celebration, and monetary contribution to a relevant Indigenous organisation.
- Extend the availability of FPC’s cultural awareness training course to all FPC employees,
- Develop and implement protocols for acknowledging traditional owners at official events/meetings,
- Review and update induction programs to include Indigenous cultural awareness components,
- Launch and promote FPC’s RAP to staff,
- Conduct fundraising with proceeds to be donated to a relevant organisation that supports Indigenous well being outcomes, and
- Promote the objectives and achievements of FPC’s RAP.
Opportunities
Focus area: the foundations for opportunities are our support for education, training, and employment and our commitment to develop capacity in key programs and services.
- Develop an Indigenous recruitment and retention strategy,
- Establish a scholarship to fund the participation of a staff member in Indigenous studies,
- Establish a scholarship to fund the participation of an Indigenous staff member in tertiary studies,
- Establish a relationship with local senior schools to identify aspirational students for traineeships and possible scholarship funding for an Indigenous student undertaking horticultural studies,
- Identify programmes to build on existing FPC Indigenous land owner capacity building programmes, and
- Develop joint proposals in consultation Executive Manager March 2010 with Indigenous land owners for funding to undertake projects with environmental, social and economic benefits for Indigenous land owners.
More information
- Download our Reconciliation action plan (275kB PDF)
For more information on our reconciliation action plan, please contact:
Communications Manager
Forest Products Commission
Phone: +61 8 9363 4600
Facsimile: +61 8 9363 4601
Email: info@fpc.wa.gov.au
Further information can also be obtained from the Reconciliation Australia website.
