Northside Community Service as an organisation is committed to building and maintaining positive relationships between the Northside community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Across the organisation we work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in a range of different capacities. We are focussed on building strong partnerships, promoting cultural awareness, and strengthening our role as an employer of choice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. To do this, and do this well, developing Northside’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP has been an important priority.

At the start of 2021, we established a RAP Working Group, who are collaborating in the development, implementation and maintenance of Northside’s RAP. Northside’s RAP ensures that we are actively considering diverse perspectives and representing the diversity of our Northside community in authentic and respectful ways.

As Co-Chairs of the RAP Working Group, we would like to thank all the participants who have started this journey with us. The members of the Working Group have all demonstrated a commitment to prioritising this important work amongst their many other duties, and in particular have ensured that they are listening and learning from the perspectives, histories, and lived experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

One of the first acts of the RAP Working Group was to watch the incredible documentary In My Blood It Runs. This documentary explores structural disadvantages and injustices faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the education and criminal justice systems in particular. Given the work Northside does in education and community services as a whole, it was particularly important for us that we were confronted with these issues as part of our work. The documentary was then shared with the rest of the Northside team, including the Board, and has sparked many discussions across our entire organisation. The development of a RAP is a long journey that requires ongoing engagement from the entire Northside team, and we are committed to ensuring that this remains a strong focus of the upcoming year.

We wouldd like to thank Ngunnawal Elder Caroline Hughes and the team at CIT’s Yurauna Centre for their guidance and leadership as we embark on this process, as well as Reconciliation Australia for their support throughout all stages of the development of the RAP. It will remain an important priority for the entire Northside team.

Anna Whitty & Melissa Crawford
Co-Chairs, Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group

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