In consultation with Reconciliation Australia, our journey towards a new RAP recommenced in July 2022. We spent the next 10 months listening and learning to those with lived experience and crafting a plan to address the contemporary opportunities and challenges faced by Indigenous peoples and communities.
Led by our values of ‘we care deeply’, ‘we listen and learn’, and ‘we do the right thing’, our RAP stays true to Woolworths Group’s purpose of creating better experiences together for a better tomorrow. By moving from safe to brave, and leveraging our collective strengths, we look to address the targets outlined in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, referencing the Closing the Gap 2020 Report
We received Reconciliation Australia's endorsement on our latest Innovate RAP in May 2023 and are now working towards implementing our plan’s actions and deliverables over the next two years.
To effectively drive our plan forward, we’ve invested in building our First Nations capability with the appointment of Woolworths Group’s General Manager for Indigenous Strategy and Affairs, National Indigenous Engagement Manager and Indigenous Employment and Team Experience Lead. These key roles have enabled us to activate our strategies and regularly hold Yarning Circles to foster community while providing a direct line of feedback to our senior leadership and First Nations Advisory Board.
Woolworths Group continues to be supported by our First Nations Advisory Board, formed in August 2021. The eight-member board has 75 percent First Nations representation, composed of a combination of Woolworths Group team members, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and external Indigenous business leaders, who provide guidance on our actions towards reconciliation.
Our reconciliation journey has many steps left to take, but it's a journey we are ready to continue so we may continue playing our part in Australia's future as a truly reconciled nation.