Inclusion, Equity And Diversity Strategy 2024-2027

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Acknowledgement of Country

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) acknowledges Australia's First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We recognise the ongoing custodianship of land, sea and sky and the perpetual spiritual connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people hold with Country. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to First Nations people throughout Australia.

Commitment to First Nations peoples

DFAT is committed to building a workplace that respects, values, elevates and includes First Nations people, and First Nations ways of being, knowing and doing.

DFAT will progress reconciliation through our Reconciliation Action Plan, applying co-design and partnership principles. We will engage responsibly, acknowledging the cultural load that can fall on First Nations staff through embedding the perspectives, experiences, and interests of First Nations people into Australia's international policy, relationships, trade and development activities.

DFAT will continue to work in partnership with First Nations people to bring First Nations knowledge and culture to the world, celebrating the achievements of First Nations people in the past, present and future.

About the artist and artwork

Nganawi mitji Brooke Rigney - My name is Brooke Rigney, or Rigney-Lively, and I am a proud Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna woman. I am a mother - ninkawi - a musician, an artist, and passionate advocate for our young people and community.

I am a graduate of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM). I have shared the stage with the likes of Uncle Archie Roach and No Fixed Address and performed at community events across the years with my father and our band. For the last eight years, I have been working across government both alongside and on projects dedicated to the distinct rights and needs of our young people. My passion is to help empower our young ones in self and culture in the same ways that my mentors did for me, to be where I am today. Key to my identity and strength in culture is my music and art.

Growing up I was lucky enough to be surrounded by musicians, my language, art and culture through my father and various artists and musicians in our family. They were such strong examples of expressing culture and healing through those art forms. My art uses elements of Ngarrindjeri art techniques and is influenced by my Uncles, who shared their art with family, as well as my sisters in community who have taken the time to sit with and guide me. This approach is woven together with more contemporary approaches both on canvas and in digital forms.

I paint my own stories, experiences and perspectives as a Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna woman living on Kaurna Yerta. Many of my pieces depict or represent my personal journey, family and connection to our country and waters.

About DFAT

DFAT promotes and protects Australia's international interests to support our security and prosperity. We work with international partners and other countries to tackle global challenges, increase trade and investment opportunities, protect international rules, keep our region stable and help Australians overseas.

With over 6000 staff located in Australia and overseas, we manage Australia's international presence with a network of over 120 embassies, high commissions, consulates-general and representative offices across five continents. We issue passports, provide travel advice, negotiate trade agreements, and support international development.

In addition to DFAT's 900+ (Australian Public Service (APS) staff posted overseas, a further 1100+ APS staff from other government agencies are deployed across our global network, working alongside 4200+ locally engaged staff.

Our vision for inclusion, equity, and diversity

'Embracing diversity for global influence'

Our vision is for an inclusive workplace that projects and values diversity. We strive for workplaces that are safe, where staff feel respected and valued, and where everyone has equitable access to opportunities.

Publication information

ISSN 2982-0235 (Online)

IISSN 2982-0227 (Print)

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Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Strategy 2024. Commonwealth of Australia 2024.
Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.

Third party copyright

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Contact information

Written requests for permission or enquiries about this publication should be directed to:

People Culture Branch

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

R.G. Casey Building, John McEwen Crescent

Barton ACT 0221

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