Our commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples covers all aspects of NHMRC’s responsibilities, as well as contributing to the Australian Government’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021-2031.
NHMRC renewed our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in collaboration with Reconciliation Australia about turning good intentions into real actions and rising to the challenge of reconciling Australia. A RAP is a business plan that uses a holistic approach to create meaningful relationships, enhance respect and promote sustainable opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
Our previous Reconciliation Action Plan 2016-2018, is available on the National Library's Australian Government Web Archive.
Publication Data
Our Vision for Reconciliation
Our vision for reconciliation is an Australia in which all people are able to live happy and healthy lives.
To support this vision, we will continue to build an organisation that is culturally aware and committed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, experiences and rights.
Greater cultural understanding within NHMRC will ensure we can improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including through research that addresses health equities.
Our vision is supported by our RAP, our Corporate Plan, NHMRC’s Road Map 3, and our Indigenous Employment Strategy. The development of our RAP has been a priority for NHMRC, to ensure our commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is embedded in our culture.
Our Commitment to Reconciliation
NHMRC commits to:
- Strengthen our procurement policies, to maximise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment and supplier opportunities
- Strengthen cultural competence. This is more than cultural awareness. It is the set of behaviours, attitudes and policies that will enable us to work effectively in cross-cultural situations
- Raise internal and external awareness of our RAP, including communicating regularly with staff on updates about and progress with the RAP
- Monitor existing relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, identify gaps and encourage relationship development in those areas
- Raise the agency’s profile and visibility to attract, retain and foster Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, interns, researchers and recipients of research grants.
Our Reconciliation Journey
NHMRC’s commitment to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people covers all aspects of NHMRC’s responsibilities, as well as contributing to the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap initiatives.
We support and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health by:
- investing in research that addresses issues of importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- providing unique funding opportunities for research into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health
- increasing participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers in health and medical research, specifically NHMRC’s grant schemes.
The launch of NHMRC’s inaugural Reflect RAP in March 2015 enabled us to publicly declare our commitment to reconciliation, which we maintained through the 2016-2018 Innovate RAP. Throughout the last five years, employees have been involved in turning our commitments into actions.
Our RAP documents our ideas and actions on ways that we as an organisation, and as individuals, can contribute to closing the gap.
We have used the principles of Relationships, Respect and Opportunities to assist us. Our RAP has allowed us to focus on building relationships, both internally and externally, and to raise awareness with our stakeholders to ensure there is shared understanding and ownership of our RAP. To achieve our vision for reconciliation, our future RAPs will continue to be developed in consultation with staff across NHMRC, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, as well as stakeholders.
Read our complete Reconciliation plan from the Downloads section.
