- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Commitment to First Nations peoples
- About the artist and artwork
- About DFAT
- Secretary’s Message
- Strategy at a glance
- Understanding inclusion, equity and diversity
- Our progress.
- Our workforce in 2024
- Strategy pillars
- Pillar one: Inclusive leadership at all levels
- Pillar two: Inclusive and equitable policies, systems and workplaces
- Pillar three: Overseas posts that drive equal opportunity
- Pillar four: A diverse workforce at all levels
- Detailed Implementation Plan
- Principles for prioritising DIP actions
- Focus areas
- Roles, responsibilities and supports
- Governance
- Measuring impact
- Targets by end 2027
- Appendix
- Definitions
- Legislation
- Closing the Gap
- APS policies
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)
© Commonwealth of Australia 2024
The material in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), with the exception of:
- The Commonwealth Coat of Arms
- The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade logo, and any other material protected by a trademark
- Any image where credit is not directly provided to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence is a standard form license agreement that allows you to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt this publication provided that you attribute the work. The full legal code for the licence (which includes any relevant licence conditions) is available on the Creative Commons website accessible by using this link: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
The Commonwealth’s preference is that you attribute this publication (and any material sourced from it) using the following wording:
- 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
Some material in this Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Strategy, made available under the Creative Commons Licence framework, may be derived from material supplied by third parties. In these instances, the work will be clearly labelled with the source of the original material. If a third party holds copyright in materials in the Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Strategy, the copyright remains with that party and their permission may be required to use the material. Use of the Coat of Arms The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are detailed on the website of the .
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
