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First Nations Reconciliation at Zurich

Acknowledgement of Country

Zurich would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our head office is based, the Cammeraygal people of the Eora Nation. We extend this acknowledgment to the many traditional lands that we operate on in Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.

We acknowledge their continuous cultural and spiritual belonging to Country and know that they will always remain the Traditional Owners and the First Peoples of this land.

We remain committed to walking and working with the First Nations peoples of the Country as we build long lasting partnerships for future generations together.

Our Reconciliation Journey

Participating in Reconciliation Australia’s RAP program is a strategic commitment to connecting and collaborating with First Nations peoples and celebrating the unique contributions they make to the communities we serve in Australia. If we want to create a brighter future together, we need to work together and we need to listen.

We have been working closely with Reconciliation Australia since developing our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which we delivered between November 2020 and November 2021. We’ve learned that relationships come before business; sometimes we must slow down to go fast, do fewer things better, and yarn without an agenda. We’ve learned that honest conversations may be uncomfortable, but they bring us closer together. In addition, building a grassroots network of champions across the business is vital: Everyone owns reconciliation. Listening, learning, and building trust is more important than doing, achieving and counting. Our RAP Steering Committee and RAP Champions hold the responsibility of educating leaders on the need to balance corporate needs for measured outcomes with the need to take the time to make genuine long-term impact which cannot always be immediately seen.

Our Innovate RAP

We are currently delivering our Innovate RAP (September 2023 – September 2025).

Our vision for reconciliation is that First Nations peoples and other Australians live well and enjoy confident lives together.

To achieve this, our commitment for advancing reconciliation is that our employees understand, respect and care about First Nations histories and cultures and we contribute to better outcomes in our industry and areas of influence.

This means that we will commit to:

  • Increasing our understanding of First Nations cultures, histories, traditional knowledge, strengths and aspirations by learning, listening, asking and yarning
  • Building open and inclusive employment pathways and taking action to become a culturally safe workplace for all
  • Co-creating opportunities for and with First Nations peoples through partnerships with like-minded organisations
Download Innovate RAP

Yulang (ripples) by Peta-Joy Williams

Reflecting this vision, Zurich commissioned Wiradjuri artist Peta-Joy Williams to create a unique artwork, which Peta-Joy has called Yulang (Ripples). Learn more about Yulang here.

What have we achieved so far?

Respect

  • We have well-established Welcome to Country and Acknowledgment of Country guidelines and are regularly using these cultural practices in our meetings and events.
  • We are building cultural safety through exposing our employees to First Nations Awareness training, with 56% of our Australian workforce having completed face-to-face training so far. We continue to offer bespoke training opportunities relevant to specific teams.
  • We have embedded an internal communications strategy informing our employees of important First Nations milestones, celebrations, and topical issues throughout the year.
  • We have a well-established cultural immersion and education program to mark National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week. We engage our broader employee base, Employee Resource groups, and external partners in our sphere of influence.
     

Relationships

  • We are nurturing close relationships with First Nations external advisers, educators, and cultural knowledge holders. We are enjoying positive and growing relationships with several First Nations businesses.
  • We are collaborating with like-minded business partners who are also on a RAP journey through sharing ideas, opportunities, joint events, volunteering, and fundraising.
  • We have forged new relationships with First Nations charities through volunteering and donations.
     

Opportunities

  • We have committed to a Supply Nation membership and increased our spend with First Nations businesses.
  • We have reviewed key employment and procurement policies and procedures to encourage First Nations participation and inclusion.
  • We have extended exciting development opportunities offered by the Z Zurich Foundation to our First Nations network.

Governance

  • Our RAP SteerCo includes representatives from across the business and we continue to build a team of RAP champions to help us embed reconciliation in our culture. We meet quarterly for deeper learning meetings and have monthly stand-ups.