Our Anti-Racism and Cultural Safety Framework sets out how we will create a workplace and care environment that is safe, respectful and free from racism for First Nations staff, patients and communities.
Acknowledgment
The Royal Melbourne Hospital acknowledges the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our services are located.
We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of First Nations people.
Key points
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) recognises that cultural safety cannot be defined or determined by non-Indigenous people or institutions. Our role is to listen, learn and act, dismantling racism, shifting power, and embedding First Nations voices, knowledges and leadership across every level of our organisation.
- The Framework was developed with ABSTARR Consulting, through close consultation with First Nations staff, the RMH Board, Executives and senior leaders. It builds on the work already underway and sets a clear path forward.
Truthtelling and our responsibility
We recognise that the impacts and structures of colonisation still exist today, and that racism is a public health issue that continues to drive inequity for First Nations peoples. We will speak openly about power, privilege and history, and name the RMH's role in past and ongoing health inequity. We accept that the responsibility for sustainable change lies with the institution and our leadership, not with the First Nations staff and communities who have carried that load to date.
About the Framework
The Anti-Racism and Cultural Safety Framework was developed by ABSTARR Consulting in close partnership with First Nations staff, the RMH Board, Executives and senior leaders. It builds on years of work and conversation, and sets a clear path forward.
Our commitments
Our actions are organised across three priority domains:
We will mandate cultural safety and anti-racism training across all levels, embed it in onboarding, performance reviews and position descriptions, and grow the First Nations workforce across clinical, operational and leadership roles.
We will adopt zero tolerance for racism, establish clear processes for calling out and responding to it, and embed cultural safety into our policies, procurement and strategic planning.
We will create First Nations-identified positions at the Board, Executive, and senior leadership levels, establish a First Nations Governance Committee with majority First Nations representation, and ensure First Nations leadership oversees the Framework's implementation.
Holding ourselves accountable
We will conduct regular cultural safety and anti-racism audits, host annual community summits with Victorian Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations (ACCHOs), and develop a First Nations data dashboard guided by Indigenous Data Sovereignty.
Continuous quality improvement and transparent reporting will keep us answerable to First Nations staff, patients and communities.
Working in partnership
We will deepen partnerships with Victorian ACCHOs, Traditional Owner groups, First Nations businesses, and health services across the Parkville precinct.
We acknowledge our most influential stakeholders as First Nations communities, locally and nationally.