RAP Speech Pathology Australia

Within these eight aspirations, a range of initiatives relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were identified and embedded in the Speech Pathology Australia Strategic Plan 2017– 2019. The development of a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) for Speech Pathology Australia was a significant inclusion: Develop an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Reconciliation Action Plan for the Association, including specific initiatives involving people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds on governance and advisory structures. Speech Pathology Australia recognises that reconciliation is a work in progress, a work which is the responsibility of all members and staff. The Reconciliation Australia vision for a reconciled Australia encompasses five important areas: race relations; equality and equity; institutional integrity; unity; and historical acceptance. We endorse the view expressed by Patrick Dodson in his introduction to the Report on the State of Reconciliation “Reconciliation must transcend Australian political theatre and promote a sense of national unity. All Australians should feel, as a nation, connected to the tens of thousands of years of human occupation of the Australian continent and surrounding Islands.” (Reconciliation Australia, 2016, p2) This document reports the processes of development of the first (Reflect) Reconciliation Action Plan for Speech Pathology Australia and outlines the commitments of the Association under the headings of Relationships, Respect, and Opportunities within the framework of the strategic platforms: Our voice, Our philosophy, Our workforce. An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee was established and met for the first time in October 2017. The Committee exists to ensure that the values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in relation to culture, language, land and history are embedded in the values and business of the Association now and into the future. It will provide advice to the Board and the Association on all matters related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and contributed strategic advice and knowledge to the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan for Speech Pathology Australia. The committee consists of two Aboriginal members of the Association, one Torres Strait Islander Association member, one Aboriginal member who holds a position in Health, one Aboriginal member who holds an academic position, one representative of Indigenous Allied Health Australia, and one Torres Strait Islander consumer. Non-Aboriginal members of the committee are the CEO of SPA, one representative of the Board of SPA, the chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum committee and one staff member. Terms of reference for the committee were finalised in 2018. The committee met four times in 2018 and has continued to meet in 2019. Five members of the Advisory Committee also serve as members of the Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group. The full Advisory Committee has provided feedback during the development of the RAP.

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