Indigenous Employee Assistance Program
As part of our ongoing commitment to reconciliation, in 2020 we launched the Indigenous Employee Assistance Program (EAP) partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations, Gallang Place and the Indigenous Wellbeing Centre.
This initiative offers our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees access to counsellors who support our people and understand their cultural needs.
The Indigenous Wellbeing Centre is an inclusive organisation that offers holistic services and programs— including health and medical, family and community, and cultural—without discrimination or barriers.
Gallang Place provides culturally appropriate counselling and support services for our employees. Counselling can help improve social and emotional wellbeing, supporting employees through:
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stress, anxiety and depression
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complex family challenges, raising children and managing work-life balance
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pressures in the workplace or at home.
'Gallang' is a word from the Jagera nation and means 'healing', which is relevant to the professional, confidential and solution-focused service their counsellors provide.
Wil Ivinson, Director Activity-based working, discussing the value of the Employee Assistance Program
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Video transcript
Well, I'm Wil Ivinson from Wakka Wakka Country, which is up around the Gayndah Region.
And yeah I've been public servant for over 26 years. I've been in TMR for about 2 1/2 years now, almost 3.
We have established is our First Nations Employee Assistance Program.
So, what that does is we all have the access to the Employee Assistance Program here. Should anybody have any issues they need to call someone those sorts of things.
But what we found was, there's a massive gap in cultural knowledge and understanding of how First Nations People respond to trauma, and particularly generational trauma, and how that impacts them in the workplace.
So, our First Nations Employee Assistance Program is about bridging that gap and finding an appropriate way for people to actually be re-engaged back in the workforce that's culturally appropriate.
That means something to them. So when they ring up in their person who answers the phone, they understand that this person on the other end is just like them understands their needs, knows where they're coming from, those their background, and there's no judgement there. And that's a really powerful message to send to support for people.
