The Creating Communities Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2025–2027 was endorsed in October 2025 by Reconciliation Australia.
The RAP is a structured framework that guides how we work and partner. It includes milestones and deliverables to ensure reconciliation is prioritised not just in our own organisation, but in the communities we serve.
Our RAP Working Group drove development of the RAP, led by CEO Donna Shepherd and Cultural Advisor David Collard.
Director of Special Projects Chris Cottier said Creating Communities is in a unique position to make a positive difference in First Nations communities.
“We don’t come in and tell people what to do. We listen, build trust and support communities and organisations to realise their own aspirations,” he said.
“Our role is to build capability, but the drive for change comes from within communities themselves.”
This approach is critical to how we deliver our RAP.
Our journey to reconciliation
Working towards a fair and inclusive community is at the heart of our reconciliation journey. This journey started when we opened our doors more than 30 years ago and entered a new phase when our first RAP was endorsed in 2018.
Since 1992, we have partnered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to deliver projects that make life better for communities. We believe that when communities have a say in the decisions that affect them, outcomes are better for everyone.
For this to happen, First Nations peoples need a seat at the table. Formalising this approach in our RAP ensures this continues to happen in a consistent and accountable way.
Head here for more on our reconciliation journey.
How the Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan works
Reconciliation Australia’s RAP framework includes four pillars: Relationships, Respect, Opportunities and Governance.
The Innovate RAP is the second level in Reconciliation Australia’s RAP framework. It requires organisations to show how they will implement and embed reconciliation in a practical way.
This means:
- Committing to structured, time-bound actions across Relationships, Respect, Opportunities and Governance.
- Delivering cultural learning and building internal cultural capability.
- Building and maintaining meaningful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
- Developing employment and procurement strategies that support First Nations people and businesses.
- Tracking, measuring and publicly reporting on progress.
Celebrating our RAP
This month, our team came together to celebrate the launch of our Innovate RAP in Perth. The special event featured music by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and First Nations catering.
David attended as a special guest.
Donna said the event was a moment for the team to pause and take in what reconciliation means to Creating Communities.
“Reconciliation calls on us to continue learning and improving how we work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” she said.
“Our Innovate RAP helps to ensure this commitment is reflected in the decisions we make every day.”
Why reconciliation matters
Reconciliation is about building fair and respectful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. First Nations people have taken care of this place we now call Australia for more than 60,000 years.
They have built rich cultural knowledge around how to live on Country, including how to harvest responsibly from the land and waters, so resources are there for generations after them.
But structural inequalities make life more challenging for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We see this in the data, which says First Nations people live around 8 years less than non-Indigenous Australians.
As of 2021, 30% of First Nations people lived in the most disadvantaged areas of Australia, compared with just 8% of non-Indigenous people.
Reconciliation works to address these inequities, so First Nations people have equal opportunity to live healthy and prosperous lives.
For the gap to close, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people need power over the decisions that affect them. Frameworks like RAPs are formal commitments to make this happen.
They require organisations like ours to look closely at how we operate and who we include in decision-making. When this occurs, reconciliation takes a step forward.
Thank you
We’d like to thank David Collard for sharing his expertise and cultural authority during the development of our Innovate RAP. His support was critical to ensuring our RAP reflected the lived priorities of First Nations people.
