During National Reconciliation Week, we pause to Be a Voice for Generations in wholehearted support of a just, equitable, and reconciled Australia. As a leading voice in the reintegration field, we acknowledge that First Nations people across all jurisdictions are significantly impacted by the criminal justice systems as a direct result of colonisation.

We are currently demonstrating our commitment to Be a Voice for Generations this year via three key actions:

1. The establishment of Vacro’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group. The Group has created Vacro’s first Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which is being implemented over the next three years.
2. The development of our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) – Innovate RAP – this year. An Advisory Group of Vacro staff and Board members will oversee the process.
3. Working closely with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations across the state to ensure we are delivering the best support possible for our First Nations participants.

We believe all our participants have agency over their future. Throughout the year, we work closely with First Nations program participants on their journey to living well as they reintegrate into their communities. We support their needs and ambitions through reconnection with culture, community, family, employment, and housing.

We also fully support the principle of self-determination for First Nations people and communities, including their right to freely determine their political, economic, social, and cultural development.

National Reconciliation Week is bookended by two historically significant strides taken on the journey to reconciliation: 27 May (the date of the 1967 referendum) and 3 June (the High Court’s Mabo decision) that ended the legal fiction of Terra Nullius and recognised Indigenous ownership of land.

The road to reconciliation is long. We are committed to the journey and recognise National Reconciliation Week as a time for us to give voice to inequalities, as well as the opportunities to take meaningful action toward a reconciled Australia.

Marius Smith

CEO Vacro