Respecting Aboriginal History and Culture

Reconciliation Action Plan

We feel immensely privileged to be based on Kaurna land, we acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the traditional custodians of unceded country across Australia and respect their spiritual relationship with Country.

We want to build on the foundations our history provides to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to establish connection and support reconciliation. To guide this process, we have developed a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) as a focused effort to strengthen our organisational knowledge and guide our practices to improve our capabilities and meet our obligations for reconciliation in the community.

Our Vision for Reconciliation

Credit Union SA’s vision for reconciliation is directly linked to our Purpose of ‘Helping South Australians Thrive’. It is a vision based on respect, common understanding, awareness, and truth telling of our shared history. It is acknowledging and celebrating our Nation’s history as home to the world’s most ancient continuous culture. In support of our vision our goal is to walk alongside First Nations Peoples to achieve economic independence and financial aspirations through our products and services. 

At Credit Union SA we strive to build a culturally safe and inclusive workplace that celebrates and honours the histories and lived experiences of our First Nations peoples and communities. Through education, employment, partnerships, and economic engagement, we are committed to helping all South Australians thrive and achieve their full potential.

To support the continued development of our RAP, we aim to strengthen the knowledge of our staff through regular education and further our engagement with First Nations stakeholders to seek guidance and advice.

The implementation of our RAP is supported through our RAP working group, which includes a range of team members from across the organisation, our CEO and other members of the Executive Leadership team to ensure deliverables are rolled out across the organisation and supported by the leadership team who will demonstrate their commitment through action.

Our Commitment to Reconciliation Continues

Credit Union SA is proud to be implementing our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) which builds on our Reflect RAP that formally signalled our commitment to reconciliation.

We want to continue to build on our foundations and connections to support reconciliation within our sphere of influence, working alongside First Nations peoples and communities through our RAP journey moving from Reflect into Innovate. The next stage of our RAP journey will see a continued, considered effort to build upon our organisational knowledge, practices and capabilities to empower and provide meaningful impact towards Australia’s reconciliation journey.

With guidance from Kellie Graves, CEO of Tjindu Foundation, as our mentor, our RAP Working Group has shaped Credit Union SA’s Innovate RAP commitments which allow our organisation to gain a deeper understanding of our sphere of influence and establish the best approaches to advance reconciliation.

Over the next two years, we’re committed to strengthening relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, deepening cultural understanding, creating meaningful opportunities, and embedding reconciliation into the way we work.

We’re proud to launch this part of our journey embracing the powerful artwork created for our Innovate RAP by Monica, Hamish, and Kobe Collins, representing Emu and Rock Wallaby Dreaming and the gathering of communities on Kaurna Country.

We recognise the ongoing support and guidance from Reconciliation Australian and Reconciliation SA as we play our part towards closing the gap.

Aboriginal Cultural Sensitivity and Respect Training

All Credit Union SA staff take part Aboriginal Cultural Sensitivity and Respect Training. This training covers a range of important topics, including:

• identifying the gap;
• implementing change;
• culturally sensitive terminology;
• understanding Aboriginal Australia;
• facing the facts: historical and contemporary;
• identity and Aboriginality; and
• racism and privilege.

The training creates awareness and understanding of Aboriginal Australians’ history and culture and provides opportunities for us all to examine and challenge our own personal values and attitudes. This training is part of standard onboarding for all new staff, ensuring everyone who works for us has the same education opportunity and can contribute to our efforts towards reconciliation.