Strengthening cultural connections through Connect.Yarn.Grow

Through their Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), we committed to listen to and consult with Indigenous employees to help attract, recruit and retain Indigenous talent in a culturally appropriate manner. As part of this commitment, the Group held the inaugural Connect.Yarn.Grow (CYG) conference in May 2024, guided by the RAP Working Group and feedback from site-based yarning circles.

The one-day conference provided a platform for building connections, fostering a sense of belonging, and enabling business leaders to gain insights into the lived experiences of Indigenous employees. CYG was hosted in Meeanjin – Brisbane – and attended by senior leaders, operations leaders, site employees, function leads and the RAP Working Group. A total of 62 Indigenous employees (75% Indigenous representation) attended from 15 national projects across Thiess, MACA and RTL.

CYG identified key actions for 2024 to increase cultural safety, engagement and retention of Indigenous employees:
• develop and distribute CYG Insights Report to all Australia leaders;
• develop and launch a pilot Indigenous mentoring program;
• improve communications through ongoing annual yarning circles at all sites, and an employee communication channel via a closed social media group; and
• relaunch in-person cultural competency training to support leaders.

For Wiradjuri Ngunnawal man and RTL General Manager Owen Cavanough, the conference was an effective platform for sharing and highlighting areas of improvement. He said, “When we undertake events like Connect.Yarn.Grow, we as a group come together to share our experiences, and from that, we get to share our experience of the day with others to build allies in reconciliation and moving forward together... It’s us coming together, building a solidarity of purpose and reaching out to others in the Group."

We have received industry recognition for CYG, winning the Australian Resource and Energy Employer Association (AREEA) 2024 Diversity & Inclusion Award, and the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Empowerment Award 2024.