Reconciliation at TAL

In line with TAL’s Cultural Protocols, TAL has progressed towards delivering Acknowledgement of Country at major internal and external meetings, while inviting Traditional Owners and Custodians to deliver a Welcome to Country on an annual basis.

By having cultural protocols for practices such as an Acknowledgement of Country, TAL can provide opportunities to:

• recognise that protocols for welcoming visitors to Country have been a part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture for thousands of years
• reflect TAL’s Purpose, Ambition and Spirit with how we connect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• build relationships and partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and
• educate our people and partners on the cultural traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – noting the relevant Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land and sea on which we live and work.

For our RAP launch, TAL hosted Uncle Allen Madden from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council who delivered a Welcome to Country. Since then, with regular delivery of Acknowledgment of Country addresses by TAL’s Group CEO and leadership team and following requests across the business for support in delivering their own addresses, workshops were held for our people, led by Seona James from Indigenous Cultural Connections.

At TAL, we have sought to develop a RAP with strong representation from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander individuals and organisations, including our existing partners and stakeholders, our external advisors Two Point Co and creative agency, Little Rocket. We have engaged our partners including NASCA, RFDS, Orygen, ABCN, Supply Nation and CareerTrackers to help explore and develop our stakeholder engagement guiding principles. As we work towards delivering our RAP, we are committed to creating the conditions to support more of our people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander to actively contribute to our reconciliation journey.

TAL has launched and continues to roll out an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Learning Module across the business. Licensed from SBS Australia, the learning module comprises 10 interactive chapters exploring themes central to the understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, particularly as it applies to the workplace.

To encourage uptake and completion for the period, the learning was promoted to all staff at launch and during key reconciliation events and activities. Key stakeholder groups were also identified to complete the module, where cultural competency is of particular importance, including TAL’s NASCA volunteers preparing to travel to remote communities in the Northern Territory, and people leaders taking on CareerTrackers student interns. More than 500 staff members have completed the learning module to date.

Building on the lessons learned in this area, TAL has started to explore the development of a cultural learning and employment strategy with our partner Two Point Co – a key commitment for TAL to deliver in 2023.

TAL has spent $4.3 million with First Nations suppliers as part of our commitment to supplier diversity, increasing our share of procurement of goods and services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned and/or operated businesses. Working with Supply Nation, the Australian leader in First Nations supplier diversity, this included:

• Generate Interiors, an architectural and interior design business to deliver the refresh of TAL’s head office in Sydney.
• AWM Amaroo, a commercial furniture joinery business, supplying workstations, furniture and joinery for our office fit outs.
• Two Point Co, a First Nations engagement consultancy, supporting the development of TAL's First Nations Employment Strategy.
• Little Rocket, a creative agency, supporting the development of a series of educational videos exploring First Nations financial literacy, superannuation and life insurance videos based on research with First Nations super fund members.

TAL has put measures in place to provide appropriate support for the effective implementation of our RAP commitments. This includes refining and maintaining appropriate systems to track, measure and report on our RAP commitments, engaging senior leaders and other staff in the delivery of RAP commitments, and defining resource needs for RAP implementation.

TAL’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, which oversees the governance of TAL’s RAP commitments, appointed Stewart Mantell, General Manager of Internal Audit, to lead the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stream.