This year ANZ launched its Reconciliation Action Plan - the first of any major Australian company. The Action Plan sets out specific commitments to assist Indigenous inclusion through employment, financial literacy, cultural recognition and awareness, and capacity building. It includes the most significant Indigenous employment targets of any major Australian company.
Indigenous disadvantage is one of the most pressing social problems facing Australia, touching on a range of socio-economic issues such as health, education, employment and housing.
Community organisations and governments cannot address these issues alone.
Taking action also assists the continued growth of our business. Establishing a higher representation of Indigenous people in our workforce and better understanding and responding to the needs of Indigenous consumers will only make ANZ more relevant - particularly in some of our communities where Indigenous people make up 40% of the population.
In developing our Action Plan, we sought input from Reconciliation Australia as well as a number of Indigenous leaders, community organisations and government agencies. They encouraged us to build on the work we were already doing in financial literacy and focus on our strengths.
For example, ANZ is a large national employer with reach into metropolitan, regional and remote communities across Australia. It was therefore clear to us that creating more employment for Indigenous people would form a core part of our Reconciliation Action Plan.
Continuing our work to improve the financial literacy and money management skills of Indigenous Australians was also vital. The Plan builds on current partnerships with Indigenous and community organisations and the Australian Government, which deliver innovative programs such as MoneyBusiness.
A SHARP FOCUS AND TIME FRAMES
The Action Plan includes specific objectives and details about how we were going to achieve them. For example, we aim to:
- Recruit 300 young Indigenous trainees (100 each year) by end 2009
- Promote 20 Indigenous employees on merit to management positions by end 2014
- Expand the reach of ANZ's financial literacy and inclusion programs for Indigenous communities
- Develop better understanding within ANZ of Indigenous perspectives
There are public time frames for each action, ensuring we are accountable for follow-through on our commitments. And each commitment has an owner at ANZ - someone who is personally responsible for maintaining momentum and delivering results on the promise.
IMPROVING OUR UNDERSTANDING
We have much to learn about the issues facing Indigenous Australians and we rely on the feedback of Indigenous community partners and other stakeholders to ensure our initiatives remain appropriately targeted. The experience of our branch staff is also vital.
Our involvement in the development of the My Moola: Opening Financial Pathways pilot in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria has given us a deeper appreciation of the concept of communal ownership in Indigenous communities and what this means for financial literacy programs. My Moola includes a series of workshops to help young participants and their families understand that having personal goals and life objectives, including those relating to personal finances, is not inconsistent with a commitment to family and community.
Another important initiative this year has involved improving our understanding of the issues related to Indigenous home ownership, which is low (28%) relative to non-Indigenous Australians (71%) and also when compared to Indigenous peoples in other developed countries.
Home ownership has been linked to broader social and community benefits and has been recognised by many experts as an important element to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians. But our role is not as simple as offering more home loans to Indigenous consumers.
We have conducted in-depth consultation with Indigenous people, community groups, housing groups and government agencies to better understand specific actions we might take. Should the focus be on encouraging saving? Is home ownership a common aspiration of Indigenous people?
Early feedback suggests we need to do more to understand what is important to Indigenous people and that housing needs can differ from community to community. It is clear there will be no 'one size fits all' solution. In 2008, we will use this and other feedback to develop specific responses to help improve Indigenous home ownership in the coming years.
