Reconciliation Action Plan

We commit to being truthful in our work together, with a vision to progress and celebrate health, well-being and equity for and with First Nations peoples.

We understand the importance of responding with culturally appropriate models of care, designed by and with the people who will use them. With focused engagement in the reconciliation process, our aim is to foster respectful and safe environments for participation and promote inclusivity across all that we do. This is a whole-of-organisation responsibility.

We appreciate the Innovate RAP working group for their commitment to this important work. We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of First Nations members of the RAP working group in truth telling and for guiding us through an authentic process.

Launched in 2019, our Reflect RAP was a way to cement and detail our commitment to reconciliation and 'closing the gap' in health outcomes for First Nations people in South Eastern NSW.

Learnings from the Reflect RAP recognise Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander ill-health and the connection to historical impact, colonisation, and dispossession.

Since launching the Reflect RAP, we have focused on deepening our understanding of the reconciliation process, cultivating relationships, welcoming truth telling and identifying ways to gain better understanding.

My name is Rhiannon Chapman. I’m 22 years old and I’m from the Djiringanj Yuin nation on the Far South Coast of NSW.

I aim to be a role model in my community and have the next generation to look up to me. I wish to make my people proud and make change to break the cycle. When I paint it gives me the sense of belonging and connection to culture, spirituality, mentally, emotionally and physically.

My artwork includes our sacred sites, our cultural heritage, our waters, our animals, our bush medicines, our traditional practices:

• in the centre is our people gathering
• the six circles symbolising our sacred sites of the land and the protection of them
• animal track – kangaroo and goanna, meaning protection
• our salt waters and fresh waters flowing
• our people’s hands in the corner to remind us of our strength and compassion that’s in our blood as well as the guidance of ancestors
• the pink and purple circles through the painting to resemble the berries and bush medicines
• and the gum leaves intertwining and connecting us as one, as well resembling the mother feeding us oxygen.