Reconciliation in Australia

Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) March 2024 - 2026)

Our Innovate RAP is guided by our vision for reconciliation to take meaningful steps where individuals are valued, respected and celebrated. Our new RAP reinforces our ongoing commitment towards reconciliation while providing us with a framework to turn our good intentions into action.

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Through unity we can achieve a workplace that is culturally rich and proud and create a nation that is inclusive and fair.

Our commitment to social responsibility, globally and in the Australian community, is embedded into the way we do business, and we are proud to build our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) into our ways of working.

Endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, our new Innovate RAP March 2024 – March 2026, focuses on strengthening relationships, creating shared value opportunities and exploring our sphere of influence both internally and externally, as we aspire to embed our commitment to Reconciliation into our core operations.

Our vision for Reconciliation in Australia is a nation in which each individual is valued, respected, and celebrated. Critical to this success is the pursuit of equity in health so every Australian can achieve their full potential. GSK partners take a holistic view of health; our vision embodies the physical, social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual wellbeing of First Nations Peoples.

Through our health, science and technology efforts, we at GSK have a unique and important opportunity to address health inequity for First Nation Australians. We must provide meaningful opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to make decisions that impact their own lives and communities. This includes constitutional, government, industry and community reform, coupled with cultural learning, appreciation and safety.

We will work together, in genuine partnership with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, to learn, support and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to live long, healthy lives that are centred in their cultures.

Reports:

GSK is proud to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We accept the invitation from the Uluru Statement to all Australians to support constitutional and structural reform so Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can take their rightful place in our nation. We support the proposal for a Voice to Parliament enabled by the constitution that gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a say on matters that impact their communities.

The Uluru Statement was delivered to the Australian people in 2017, after extensive dialogue with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The call for a Voice to Parliament through the Uluru Statement from the Heart remains just as important as it was in 2017. It is a fair and practical reform that will make a real difference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I am proud to be leading an organisation on a reconciliation journey. Through our learnings, we have recognised how important this Statement is - and while it has been a few years since originally released, we nonetheless recognise that it is essential that we show our support now. I am proud to sign the Digital Canvas, representing both my personal support and the support of GSK Australia. I believe now is the time for our nation to make this change happen.

Patrick Desbiens, SVP & GM GSK Australia & New Zealand is also proud to support the From the Heart campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the Uluru Statement from the Heart around Australia.

You can read the Uluru Statement from the Heart here (PDF - 606KB) and you can find out more about From the Heart here.

See the press release here:

GSK Supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart, March 2021

Worawa Aboriginal College was formally registered in 1983. The College was founded by Aboriginal Visionary Hyllus Maris based on her personal and community ‘lived experience’ of education. An Aboriginal initiative, the College was made possible with the support of non-Aboriginal people who supported the vision of the Founder. As a result, the College embraces the philosophy of ‘Walking Together’ Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people walking together to make a difference through combining Aboriginal knowledge and wisdom with Western education.

Our Focus

We aim to implement symbolic and practical measures through leadership and career exposure, build long lasting relationships, enhance cultural respect, appreciation and provide valuable opportunities to young Aboriginal Women in our local communities.

Our focus of this partnership is to ensure reciprocity. We aim to implement symbolic and practical measures through leadership and career exposure, build long lasting relationships, enhance cultural respect, appreciation and provide valuable opportunities to young Aboriginal Women in our local communities. GSK will implement long-term partnership with Worawa College to provide students with exposure to the key elements of a successful transition into work, further education pathways (should they choose it) and a deeper understanding of the social and professional expectations of contemporary work environments through exposure to the careers and pathways GSK offers.

As an all-girls college, we understand the importance of female leadership and mentorship. We aim to establish professional relationships between our senior female leaders and Worawa Girls, with the guidance of Worawa teaching staff and students.

GSK hopes to create an emphasis on increasing our knowledge and understanding of the issues facing the Aboriginal community. Seeking to recognise these issues is a core component in the development to address issues affecting the Aboriginal community.

GSK Australia and Save the Children Australia have worked together to improve children's health across regions of Australia since 2007.

In 2013, this partnership grew when GSK announced an ambitious global partnership with Save the Children. Through our partnership we are committed to sharing our expertise and resources to make a lasting change for the world’s most vulnerable children.

Specifically, our work globally with Save the Children focuses on:

Developing child-friendly medicines to reduce child mortality and new-born deaths.
Widening vaccination coverage to reduce the number of child deaths in the hardest to reach communities.
Increasing our investment in the training, reach and scope of health workers in the poorest communities to help reduce child mortality.
Researching new affordable nutritional products to help alleviate malnutrition in children.
A critical part to making this partnership a reality is generous and enthusiastic fundraising from GSK staff across the world.

"At Save the Children, we believe that corporate Australia has an important role to play in advancing reconciliation. That’s why we’re delighted to see the commitments being made by GSK in their Reconciliation Action Plan which endeavours to make a tangible difference in the nation’s reconciliation journey. These commitments are reflected in GSK’s partnership with Save the Children that builds and strengthens relationships between health services and the community of Doomadgee. Importantly, and thanks to GSK’s investment in the community, this partnership will lead to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families accessing health and early intervention in illness"
- Mat Tinkler, CEO of Save the Children Australia

The Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation has kindly provided us with names in Woi-wurrung language for each of the rooms in our GSK Australia Head Office, which is located next to the Yarra River in Abbotsford, Victoria.

yagilaith wilam (Learning room)
nallei jerring (Join/Unite)
umarkoo wominjeka (Everyone welcome)
ganbu gulinj (One mob)
dulaiwurrung (Platypus)
djerring (Together)
nanggit wilam (Leaders room)
gama dji (Emerge)
mungo galk (Message Stick)
kirrip wilam (Friendly room)
ngarn ga (Hear/Understand)
wayi (Us)
bunjil wilam (Eagle room)
ngulu (Voice)
yurlendj wilam (Wise room)
birrarung wilam (Yarra River room)
waa (Crow)
berbert (Ringtail possum)

Our key activities for 2025/2026 include:

GSK partners with Save the Children to help make a difference to some of the world’s most vulnerable children. In 2020, our partnership in Australia was reshaped to support the families, children and young people in Doomadgee, Queensland.

The Doomadgee program has been developed with the community, for the community and by the community. Through this partnership, we are taking steps to learn more about Australia’s Indigenous culture and support Indigenous health.

Doomadgee is a remote, Aboriginal community in the Gulf of Carpentaria in North Queensland, located on the Nicholson River on the traditional homelands of The Gangalidda, Waanyi, Garrawa and Yunjulla people. In 2016, the estimated population was 1,405 people with 93.7% Aboriginal and 38.5% aged between 0-14 years of age. The community experiences intergenerational vulnerability, increasing the risk factors for children and families who face social and economic conditions of systemic disadvantage.

The focus of the partnership is on delivering community-developed programs to

Build and strengthen relationships between health services and community.
Increase the number of children who have health checks.
Give adult community members the opportunity to access literacy programs and build on their own skills to assist children.
Build the confidence of young people who are leaving community to attend boarding schools or school-related activities.

This partnership has the aim of building and strengthening relationships between health services and the community, enabling families to access healthcare more often and receive early intervention in illness.

Activities planned for 2025/2026 include: Children and Family Camps; International Women’s Expo and Men’s Health Week; Babies Welcome to Country; Community Literacy Program and Mentoring; and Hygiene Packs.

The community is proud and resilient, and the Elders, local leaders, community members, service providers, State and Commonwealth Governments are working together to create the environment for children to grow up strong in their identity and connectedness to culture and community. Together with Save the Children, GSK are committed to supporting children in Doomadgee to have the best start in life.

Learn more about our Doomadgee project here

GSK have partnered with Save the Children to help make a difference to some of the world’s most vulnerable children. In 2024 our partnership activities expanded to support the families, children and young people in Mornington Island, Queensland.

The Mornington Island program has been developed with the community, for the community and by the community. Through this partnership, we are taking steps to learn more about Australia’s Indigenous culture and support Indigenous health.

Mornington Island is a very remote, Aboriginal community in the Gulf of Carpentaria in North Queensland, located 28km off the coast of mainland Australia on the traditional homelands of the Lardil people. In 2016, the estimated population was 1,143 people with 86.1% Aboriginal and 30.5% aged between 0-14 years of age. The community experiences intergenerational vulnerability, and families face social and economic system disadvantage which lead to significant health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, mental health issues, substance abuse and high mortality rates.

The focus of the partnership is on delivering community-developed programs to:

Build and strengthen relationships between health services and community.
Increase the number of children and families accessing health services.
Increase the number of women accessing maternal health services.
Give adult community members to find the opportunity to access literacy programs and build on their own skills to assist children.

This partnership has the aim of building and strengthening relationships between health services and the community, with the hope of families accessing health care more often and receiving early intervention in illness.

Despite the challenges faced, the community is proud and resilient. The Elders, local leaders, community members and service providers work together to create an environment for children to grow up strong in their identity and connectedness to culture. Together with Save the Children, we are committed to children in Mornington Island to have the best start in life.

Reconciliation in Australia

Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) March 2024 - 2026)

Through unity we can achieve a workplace that is culturally rich and proud and create a nation that is inclusive and fair.

Reconciliation Action Plan

Uluru Statement from the Heart

Worawa Aboriginal College Partnership

Save the Children

Indigenous meeting room names

Our key activities for 2025/2026 include:

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