We have developed this Reconciliation Action Plan to demonstrate our commitment to, and actions we want to take, to develop respectful relationships and culturally safe practices and to address systemic injustices Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are still experiencing because of the legal system introduced with colonialism.
Community Legal Centres NSW believes genuine access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities will only be achieved when the impact of colonialism and the systemic racism underpinning modern Australian society is fully recognised and combated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and non-Aboriginal people and organisations alike.
Critical to this process is the need for non- Aboriginal people and organisations to listen to, understand and address the histories and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the lived manifestations of systemic racism.
Through our commitment to reconciliation, we aim to ground all that we do in an understanding of that experience in order to disrupt, rather than perpetuate, the colonial legacy.
To realise this vision, we will:
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Ensure the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are central in the design of our responses to injustice.
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Create spaces for our sector and our people to listen and reflect on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and our relationships to the colonial legacy.
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Learn from, support, and collaborate with our sector to encourage and develop respectful and culturally safe engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities.
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Use our voice as an independent advocate to challenge structural injustices in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
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Engage in an ongoing process of personal and organisational self- reflection to address unconscious bias.
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Strive to acknowledge and combat systemic racism in all our work.
This is Community Legal Centres NSW’s third Reconciliation Action Plan endorsed by Reconciliation Australia.