We're developing a plan for indigenous inclusion

We believe that rec­on­cil­i­a­tion under­pins the for­ma­tion and nur­tur­ing of trust­ing rela­tion­ships between First Nations peo­ples and all oth­er Aus­tralians. These rela­tion­ships are fun­da­men­tal to dis­man­tling struc­tures that inher­ent­ly per­pet­u­ate the overt and covert dis­ad­van­tage that First Nations peo­ples expe­ri­ence every day, in every facet of life. 

The CEIH Rec­on­cil­i­a­tion Action Plan (RAP) aims to ensure that: 

• prin­ci­ples of heal­ing and har­mo­ny under­pin our approach to rec­on­cil­i­a­tion and relationships. 
• Abo­rig­i­nal and Tor­res Strait Islander cul­tures and sov­er­eign­ty are under­stood, respect­ed and cel­e­brat­ed in all their forms and expressions. 
• the impact of the past on the present acknowl­edged, recog­nised and reconciled. 
• our rela­tion­ships with Abo­rig­i­nal and Tor­res Strait Islander peo­ples are strengths-based and nur­tured through val­ues of togeth­er­ness, trust, com­pas­sion, and inclusivity. 
• rec­on­cil­i­a­tion is con­sid­ered and pri­ori­tised in all thoughts, state­ments and actions under­tak­en by CEIH. 
• time and space are afford­ed to all staff, in all con­texts, to invest in our rec­on­cil­i­a­tion journey. 

Rec­on­cil­ing in a mean­ing­ful and respect­ful way with First Nations peo­ples is a nec­es­sary step to move for­ward as a coun­try and an inclu­sive soci­ety. At the CEIH, we believe that each of us should be active­ly mov­ing towards rec­on­cil­i­a­tion with­in our own sphere of influ­ence. As such, we com­mit to doing what we can with­in ours, in ways that are cul­tur­al­ly respect­ful, sen­si­tive and that work towards achiev­ing equi­ty and reconciliation. 

The CEIH pro­vides guid­ance and direc­tion to stake­hold­ers across the health care con­tin­u­um and aims to improve qual­i­ty of care across the state. To achieve this aim, ded­i­cat­ed com­mit­ment to improv­ing health out­comes and expe­ri­ences for First Nations peo­ples is essen­tial. We have a strong appre­ci­a­tion of the forces and fac­tors that impact First Nations peo­ples, par­tic­u­lar­ly when it comes to access­ing high qual­i­ty health care in an equi­table and inclu­sive man­ner, and we are com­mit­ted to con­tin­u­ing to learn as we work towards reconciliation. 

For the CEIH to con­tin­ue learn­ing and work­ing toward the goals of rec­on­cil­i­a­tion and equi­ty, staff need to be sup­port­ed to under­stand Abo­rig­i­nal and Tor­res Strait Islander cul­tures, recog­nise how and where dis­par­i­ties exist, and to apply suit­able prac­tices that account for cul­tur­al con­sid­er­a­tions. The RAP pro­vides our agency with a pub­lic state­ment about our com­mit­ment to improve out­comes for First Nations peo­ples and pro­vides a frame­work through which we aim to achieve it. We look for­ward to updat­ing you with our progress and shar­ing our RAP with you once it has been for­mal­ly endorsed by Rec­on­cil­i­a­tion Australia.