Terms of Reference

Victorian Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group

Role/Purpose /
  • The purpose of the group is to help make The Salvation Army a culturally safe and inclusive organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by:
  • Driving the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan for Victorian based social programs and corps, and
  • Overseeing its implementation.

Function /
  • The following activities will be carried out by the RAP working group:
  • Establish a collaborative/consultative process engaging staff across the organisation and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities so that they can provide:
  • Ideas for the RAP
  • Comment on drafts.
  • Develop a project plan and timeline to development, launch and begin implementing the RAP, including consultation with Reconciliation Australia at regular intervals.
  • Engage relevant internal and external stakeholders in implementing deliverables outlined in the RAP.
  • Regularly liaise with relevant business units and key stakeholders to review progress of RAP actions and:
  • Report RAP progress to Reconciliation Australia annually
  • Report RAP progress internally as per organisational requirements
  • Report RAP progress to relevant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders
  • Reflect on key learnings in the development of new RAPs.
  • Consider RAP implementation issues and consult with relevant business units to find solutions.
  • Liaise with internal or external designers to finalise the RAP document, and register it on Reconciliation Australia’s website.
  • Develop a new RAP when the current plan expires.

Membership /
  • Membership of the RAP working group will be limited to 15 people.
  • Nominations are open to any staff member/officer who is interested in reconciliation and how it can be a positive force for changing the culture, work practices and core business of our organisation.
  • The membership of the RAP working group will be reviewed every 12 months. New members will be invited to join annually/regularly or as required to ensure the working group has new ideas as well as continuity.
  • Nominations should be submitted via the Chair.
  • Final selection will be made by the current working group.
  • A quorum of 4 (or half of current working group membership) must be established to make key decisions.

Member’s Role and Responsibilities /
  • The roles to be divided among the RAP working group include:
  • Taking and disseminating minutes to the RAP working group
  • Planning up-coming meetings
  • Locating and sharing research or other documents as determined by the working party members
  • Facilitating consultation with interested staff, external stakeholders (as decided by the RAP working group), and Reconciliation Australia.
  • All members will be allowed to contribute to discussions without bias or impediment from other members
  • Members of the RAP working group can ask for any item relating to the core business of the group to be placed on any agenda.
  • The RAP working group chair and responsibilities will be reviewed annually at the first meeting after the RAP Impact Measurement Questionnaire has been submitted to Reconciliation Australia in September.

Frequency /
  • The Victorian RAP Working Group will meet every two months while the RAP is being developed and every quarter after the RAP is launched to monitor progress.

Review /
  • The members of the RAP working group must agree to these Terms of Reference before they come into effect.
  • The terms of reference will be reviewed annually at the first meeting after the RAP Impact Measurement Questionnaire has been submitted to Reconciliation Australia in September.

These Terms of Reference were approved and adopted by the RAP Working Group on 13 May 2016.