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Demonstrating leadership

IAG’s RAP has received the highest level of endorsement from Reconciliation Australia and is recognised as an ‘Elevate’ RAP. To achieve Elevate status, organisations must have a proven track record of embedding effective RAP initiatives throughout the organisation, while taking a leadership position to advance national reconciliation. Our leadership position has eight key areas of focus.

Support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart

Uluru Traditional owners Rene Kulitja, Charmaine Kulitja, Christine Brumby and Happy Reid with their original artwork on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Photo courtesy Maruku Arts

We believe that there needs to be a significant change in the way First Nations affairs operates in this country. First Nations peoples need to have a greater say in, and greater control of, the choices government makes for them.

This is why IAG supports the principles of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. In order for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to have a voice on decisions that affect their communities a First Nations Voice must be enshrined in the Australian Constitution. The establishment of the Makarrata Commission would supervise the process of agreement-making or treaties between First Nations peoples and Australian governments.

It would also enable the process of truth telling so Australians can know and understand our country’s full history and the treatment inflicted upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples since the invasion in 1788.

The Uluru Statement is a significant document, representing the consensus views of over 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and we encourage further discussion about how it could be enacted by Parliament.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

Reducing incarceration and reoffending rates 

Crimes such as theft, property damage and break-ins affect both individuals and the community and the impacts are often covered by general insurers.

The incarceration rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is one of the highest in the world. We believe there is a role we can play in supporting initiatives that lower the possibility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples engaging with the criminal justice system and thereby the incidence of crime. This is a topic that few other organisations are proactively focused on.

Through our partnership with Just Reinvest NSW and local First Nations-led organisations and community members, we will play an active leadership role in supporting a localised approach in Mount Druitt (Western Sydney), with an overall aim of reducing interactions with the criminal justice system by addressing the drivers of crime and lowering the incarceration rates among young people in this region in the long term.

During the course of this RAP, our immediate aim is to work with our partners to explore if First Nations community members in Mount Druitt want to lead a justice reinvestment approach in Mount Druitt.

At the same time, we will partner with a local organisation to co-design and support First Nations-led solutions that engage with young people at risk of engaging with the criminal justice system, recognising that the voices and participation of young people are central to justice reinvestment.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

First Nations peoples insurance offering

In research we commissioned in 2015, we found low levels of insurance knowledge and coverage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This extends to the understanding and uptake of business insurance among small business owners – a segment where insurance is particularly critical in protecting against multiple risks.

Given our unique role as Australia’s largest general insurer we identified an opportunity to take the lead and develop an offering specifically tailored to these customers to ensure they have the knowledge and understanding to make well-informed decisions about their insurance needs.

Currently, there are no specific products or campaigns relating to insurance that are specifically designed to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers. In this RAP we intend to develop solutions that are informed through extensive consultation with Indigenous consumers.

In the long term our focus on small to medium enterprises’ (SMEs) is two-fold. As well as increasing understanding of insurance, we aim to support the growth of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander small business sector.

In the short term we will position our CGU brand as a supporter and promoter of First Nations business success. This action supports outcomes under SDG Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

‘Sorry Business’ funerals financial hardship project

IAG is working in partnership with Commonwealth Bank, Suncorp and Social Ventures Australia to develop a social enterprise that addresses the financial challenges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face when
paying for the funerals of loved ones.

The project will create an enterprise that will offer a financial product and wider funeral support that meets the cultural needs of First Nations communities. The project is identifying pilot locations, with a product to be available to local consumers by early 2020.

Given the significant issues First Nations communities face when a loved one dies this innovative and co-ordinate approach by leaders in the financial services industry will provide an urgently needed solution.

This action supports outcomes under SDG Goal 10 - Reduced inequalities.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

Supporting the growth of enterprise

To further our leadership role in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprise, we will offer opportunities for business owners to build their skills and business acumen.

We aim achieve this in the next three years by offering a minimum of five scholarships each year between 2019 – 2022 to business owner-operators. The scholarship will allow recipients to identify opportunities that will increase their ability to maintain and grow their business in the future.

This will be activated in partnership with Supply Nation and relevant state-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander chambers of commerce. This action supports outcomes under SDG Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

Supporting Carbon Credits Projects

IAG supports action on climate change mitigation and we have been actively involved in this for more than 15 years.

We believe there is a significant opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to benefit from growing climate change mitigation opportunities, including through carbon credit projects.

IAG will continue to purchase a portion of our carbon credits from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as part of our ongoing Climate Action Plan. We will also work to engage other corporate organisations and First Nations communities during the next three years to develop a new carbon offset project that will provide an economic opportunity and employment outcomes for a local community. It will also aim to provide a mechanism for corporate organisations to offset their carbon emissions.

This action supports outcomes under SDG Goal 13 – Climate Action and SDG Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

Contributing to the development of new RAPs

We will continue to play a leadership role in working with other organisations that are developing RAPs. We will share our RAP, challenges, difficulties and successes with others to help them as they develop their strategies and identify their RAP priorities.

IAG’s Indigenous Engagement Manager has played a role as an external member of RAP Steering Committees for several organisations including Google and NRMA Motoring & Services, as well as providing advice and support to help Salesforce to develop and embed a RAP within its businesses.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

Cultural competency for external partners

As well as ensuring we provide opportunities for IAG employees to participate in face-to-face cultural competency workshops we will offer places for 50 non-IAG people to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and culture. In these workshops, we will   seek to include non-Indigenous people employed by our partners, suppliers and other organisations that have a relationship with IAG.

These workshops will help participants gain a deeper understanding of Australian history. The impact that government legislation has had, and continues to have, on First Nations communities and understand the need for and the importance of engaging with the reconciliation movement.

For information about how we are supporting Reconciliation Australia's strategic goal through this initiative, .

Australia

Acknowledgement

IAG acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands across Australia as the continuing custodians of land and waterways in which we live and work. We pay our respects to Elders and ancestors past and present.

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