This year’s National Reconciliation Week (NRW) runs from 27 May – 3 June, and marks two significant anniversaries. The week begins on the 50 year anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, and the week ends with the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision overturning Terra Nullius.

This year’s NRW theme is ‘Let’s Take the Next Steps’. With 25 years since Mabo, and 50 years since the Referendum that removed two discriminatory references from the Australian Constitution, it's time for all Australians and Australian employers to take the next steps.

So to help you mark this special week in a significant year, I’ve put together just a handful of ideas for events in your workplace. If you’ve got other ideas, please add them to the comments at the bottom of the page.

Here’s a quick list of ideas:

Have a morning tea or lunch to celebrate #NRW2017. Get catering from a local Indigenous catering business: I often use Bara Barang on the Central Coast. The Newcastle based caterer I use isn’t available right now, so I can’t make a recommendation. But I’m sure if you search on google or Supply Nation you will find someone. It’s a great opportunity to support Aboriginal community organisations and businesses. If you can recommend any local Aboriginal catering businesses - add their details in the comments section below.
Host a lunchtime viewing of ’Cleverman’ - a sci fi/drama incorporating Dreaming stories with a future dystopian Australia. If that’s not your idea of fun, try something else from the NRW recommended viewing. My other favourites include ‘Babakiueria’ a classic satire on colonisation (bound to spark conversation), and ‘The Sapphires’ if you’re looking for a feel-good option.
Experience local culture, people, places and history by organising a cultural tour for your staff or senior management. Bara Barang hosts tours of the bush or the beaches of the Central Coast. You can participate in a traditional Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony, as well as see local sites of cultural and historical importance. In the Hunter you can do a quad bike or hummer tour of the Sand Dunes with Worimi Land Council.
Learn how you can contribute to closing the Aboriginal employment gap by attending one of my workshops. Register for my Aboriginal Cultural Awareness for Workplaces, or the Special 2-hour Workshop on Aboriginal Employment on 30 May at Tuggerah.
Make a donation to a local Aboriginal community organisation.
Hold a lunchtime discussion on the Recognise campaign for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal peoples in Australia’s Constitution or other relevant topic. Learn what real change would look like and what you can do to help.
Commit to developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) or initiating an Aboriginal Employment Plan in 2017.

For more ideas, check out the National Reconciliation Week resources including recommended viewing and reading. One of the recommended readings is The Little Red Yellow Black Book (and if you come along to my Aboriginal cultural awareness on 30 May you get your own copy for free).

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #NRW2017 on social media postings, and follow along with others.

What's your next step? What will you do in your workplace to mark National Reconciliation Week? I’d love to know what you’ve got planned. Whatever you have planned, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section below.

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Racism in the workplace can manifest in subtle ways, and the impact on Aboriginal employees and clients can be profound. One common pitfall is when non-Indigenous people turn to their non-Indigenous peers to validate their response to feedback on racist behaviours. This creates harmful feedback loops, where lived experiences are ignored, and harmful behaviours are reinforced.

To foster a culturally safe workplace, organisations need to prioritise the voices of those directly affected by racism and seek guidance from Aboriginal staff or cultural experts. By listening, learning, and taking action based on the perspectives of those with lived experience, organisations can break the cycle of harm and build a more inclusive and respectful environment.

If your organisation is serious about creating a culturally safe workplace, understanding these feedback dynamics is essential.

Proofreading Your Workplace: How Cultural Capability Prevents Harm

Most people wouldn’t send a report without proofreading it, so why ignore the cultural capability of your workplace? Small mistakes in how we talk about and engage with Aboriginal people may seem harmless, but they can cause real harm and create unsafe environments. Just like with grammar, cultural capability requires continuous learning and a commitment to getting it right. In this article, I explore why every organisation needs a ‘proofreader’ for their cultural capability and how this can build safer, more respectful workplaces for Aboriginal people.

Beliefs that could have led to a Yes vote: Lessons from the 2023 Referendum

Almost a year on, the 2023 referendum on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament is still a topic worth revisiting—not to analyse why people voted one way or another, but to explore what beliefs might have led to a different result. Imagine if the message had truly resonated. What values would have inspired a ‘Yes’ vote, and what can leaders learn from this for their own workplaces? In this article, I break down the beliefs that could have shifted the outcome and show how these same values can help build safer, more respectful workplaces.

Read the full article to find out what those beliefs are and how they can shape change in your organisation.

Mentoring Aboriginal Staff: How to Avoid Gaslighting and Be a Better Ally

When a young Aboriginal woman told her non-Indigenous mentor that her employer was racist, his first reaction was to explain that they weren’t. This response is common—and problematic. It's called racial gaslighting: dismissing or undermining someone’s experience of racism. By listening without defensiveness, recognising lived experience as expertise, and questioning our own biases, we can avoid this pitfall. Becoming a better ally means standing with those facing discrimination, not explaining it away. If you’re serious about building a safer and more respectful workplace, it starts with listening deeply and challenging your own assumptions.

Expanding the Understanding of Aboriginal Employment

When people think of Aboriginal employment, they often focus on recruitment and placement services. While these are important aspects, Aboriginal employment encompasses a much broader range of activities and strategies that go beyond simply filling jobs. People who work in Aboriginal employment could have experience in any or all of these areas. Understanding the full scope of Aboriginal employment can help organisations make a meaningful impact and create lasting change.

I've listed 16 areas that people might mean when they say Aboriginal employment.

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The “It's Not Just Culture" Principle

I've developed a set of principles over more than 20 years working in Aboriginal employment. These principles form an important part of my Aboriginal employment philosophy.

This article series introduces you to two of my three of these principles.

My Three Principles:

It's not me, it's you
It's not just culture
Look good, feel good, do good principle

This article covers the second principle.

I use these principles when working with clients to help guide their best intentions towards things that work. Each of my products has been designed with these principles in mind.

These principles will help you work out if what you're doing or planning to do with Aboriginal employment is going to get you where you want to be with Aboriginal employment.

Reading Recommendation: Radical Candor by Kim Scott

The ideas in this book, Radical Candor, resonated strongly with me. As I read, I realised how relevant the core framework was to my work in Aboriginal employment.

I had a very clear idea in my mind what kind of supervisor was best, but no framework - and barely any language - for what it was.

Here’s a very quick introduction to the framework and how it applies to Aboriginal employment.

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3 ways to get internal support for Aboriginal employment and the 1 way that works

Have you ever tried to get internal support for an Aboriginal employment program or initiative and failed?

Ever struggled to get your board, senior leaders, hiring managers, or staff to get on board with a important initiative?

You either can't find the message that works, or you can't get the message to the right person to make a decision. If you can't get support for an initiative, how can you expect it to succeed?

This article looks at why you need a strong rationale, three kinds of arguments you could use, and the most effective kind to use to bring staff on board.

How do I find someone who can do a Welcome To Country in my area?

Do you need to find someone who can deliver a Welcome to Country?

The below information is meant to be a starting point for you to identify and connect with Traditional Custodians in your area. It is not a comprehensive list, and may be updated from time to time.

It is important that you check whose country your meeting/event is being held.

We talk about Welcomes to 'Country' and Acknowledgements of 'Country', but what do we mean by 'Country'?

Over the last few years, so many workplaces have introduced Acknowledgements of Country. Rising community expectations to acknowledge Traditional Custodians and First Nations people have meant my most popular downloads and blog posts are about this modern take on a traditional custom.

But, what do we mean by ‘Country’?

Here's an explanation from Professor Mick Dodson OA.