Reconciliation at Ochre
The Ochre Group acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and we recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to Elders and Custodians past, present and emerging.
Ochre has been very involved with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities since we were founded in 2002. Our Ochre Recruitment team recruits doctors for Aboriginal Medical Service organisations around the country and, through our medical centres and the doctors we support, we deliver care to around 12,000 patients around the country who identify as First Nations peoples. This includes the doctors who practice with us on Flinders Island flying across to Cape Barren Island every fortnight to run a clinic for the Aboriginal community there.
NAIDOC Week celebration welcome dance at Narrabri Public School
We have a number of Aboriginal team members around the country, many of whom play key roles in our NAIDOC Week and National Reconciliation Week activities, as well as in the development and implementation of our ongoing Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program. We are also proud annual sponsors of the Australian Federation of Medical Women (AFMW) “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Purple Bush Leaves Medicine Bursaries”, which provide recipients with financial support to attend events for professional development and leadership opportunity.
With National Reconciliation Week starting on Saturday 27th May we are delighted to announce that Ochre’s inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has just received formal approval and endorsement from Reconciliation Australia!
Ochre's Reconciliation Action Plan highlights our strong commitment to reconciliation as an organization and features the wonderful artwork of Meleisa Cox, a Wiradjuri woman from the Bathurst area, and photography of George Williams, a patient of our Walgett practice and a Barkindji man on his mother’s side. Noting for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that the document may contain images or names of people who have passed away since its publication, our RAP can be viewed
We will be officially launching the RAP itself at an event in our Bathurst Practice during NAIDOC Week on July 5.
Should you have any comments or enquiries regarding our reconciliation commitment, please address them to:
Damian Pennyfield
Ochre RAP Coordinator
Email: [email protected]
