Our Reconciliation Action Plan

Our Reconciliation Action Plan

Our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) for 2024 – 2026 outlines St John of God Health Care’s continued commitment to reconciliation and our intent to build on our meaningful partnerships and opportunities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the next two years and beyond.

Through our Innovate RAP 2024 - 2026 we will demonstrate leadership in health and community care service provision and use our influence to recognise our shared responsibility in closing the gap in Aboriginal health care.

Through our journey of reconciliation, we will be inspired by cultural learning and truth telling to connect deeply with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities where our hospitals and services operate.

Through our reconciliation focus areas we will continue to celebrate First Nations peoples and cultures, grow our community partnerships, enhance and pursue progress within the areas of employment and the provision of culturally safe health and community care services that deliver improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

You can download our Reconciliation Action Plan.

National RAP Working Group

The St John of God Health Care National RAP Working Group was established in 2021 as a deliverable of our previous RAPs. The group has maintained a membership of approximately 30 people and meets quarterly. The National RAP Working Group is Chaired by the Chief Mission Integration Officer and includes Aboriginal caregivers and community representatives such as state reconciliation bodies.

The governance structure of our Innovate RAP consists of the National RAP Working Group, comprising representatives from the hospitals and services’ local reconciliation committees. The purpose of these local reconciliation committees is to ensure that relevant initiatives from the organisation’s Innovate RAP are used to inform local RAP Implementation Plans for which the hospital/service takes accountability. The local reconciliation committees also meet at least four times per year. Each member of the local reconciliation committees and National RAP Working Group will serve as our organisational RAP Champions.

National RAP Working Group Membership

• Chief Mission Integration Officer (Executive Sponsor and Chair)
• Local Site RAP Champions (representing each St John of God Health Care hospital and service)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander caregiver representatives
• Subject matter experts in specialty areas to support and resource RAP objectives:
• Aboriginal Health and Liaison Services
• Aboriginal Cultural Advisory Services including reconciliation peak body representatives
• Patient Experience and Clinical Excellence
• Procurement
• Learning and Organisational Development
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Communications and Public Relations
• Mission Integration

Our history

Through our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, we will continue to build upon our organisation’s rich heritage of engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Sisters of St John of God, the founders of St John of God Health Care, have a long history of serving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly in the remote Kimberley and Goldfields regions of Western Australia.

St John of God Health Care is inspired to build upon this great heritage and further our relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations with effective partnerships which are mutually beneficial.

Our RAP focus areas

• Relationships – We commit to proactively reaching out to grow our relationships with existing and new local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders to achieve our reconciliation vision through focussed and meaningful partnerships.
• Respect – We commit to celebrating cultural diversity within St John of God Health Care and creating a culturally safe place in all our hospitals and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander caregivers, patients and clients.
• Opportunities – We commit to developing an Aboriginal Employment Framework and invest in increasing employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander caregivers within St John of God Health Care..
• Governance – We will work together as one organisation to share our reconciliation learnings, monitor and report on our achievements with the aim of having greater impact together.

Previous Reconciliation Action Plans

• Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2020 - 2022
• Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2017 - 2019