UTS Centre for Indigenous People and Work Launch

Introduction

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Katie Kiss.

I am a proud Kaanju and Birri/Widi woman from far North Queensland. I grew up on Darumbal Country in Rockhampton, and now live on the lands of the Yuggera, Turrubal and Quandamooka Peoples in Magun-dgen/Meanjin (Brisbane).

I acknowledge that this event is being held on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders - past, present and rising – and I also acknowledge all First Nations People attending this event today.

It is an honour to be here with you all for the opening of the Centre for Indigenous People and Work, and to celebrate the strong collaboration between the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research and the UTS Business School.

A partnership that is leading the way in reclaiming the Indigenous employment narrative in this country and is centring Indigenous-led research, consultation and leadership.

This centre, I am certain, will play an integral role in progressing Indigenous human rights as they relate to our experience of employment.

And it will do so by continuing to bring to light the ongoing systemic racism and structural disadvantage that impacts our people’s potential to achieve economic prosperity and self-determination.

I want to acknowledge and thank Professor Nareen Young, Associate Dean for Indigenous Leadership & Engagement and Professor of Indigenous Policy, for inviting me to speak here today, and for your opening remarks. Nareen’s unwavering commitment to Indigenous employment and equality is well demonstrated over more than two decades.

Social Justice Commissioner Role

With respect to my role as the Social Justice Commissioner, I was appointed for a five-year term in April last year so have just passed my one-year anniversary.

Under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, my functions are to monitor, promote and assess the protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' exercise and enjoyment of their human rights.

Human-Rights based approach to employment/labour

Basic human rights include the right to work as well as other work-related rights, such as access to just and favourable working conditions, as indicated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - that Australia ratified in December of 1975.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which was adopted by Australia in 2009, also provides internationally agreed MINIMUM standards to ensure the survival, dignity and wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples globally. Article 17 of the Declaration relates to employment and labour, stating that:

• Indigenous peoples have the right to enjoy employment and working conditions as established under applicable international and domestic labour laws
• Indigenous children will be protected from economic exploitation, and that
• Indigenous people have the right not to be subjected to discriminatory conditions of labour, employment or salary.

Equality, freedom from discrimination and self-determination are also foundational rights under the Declaration. Although Australia has formally adopted the Declaration, we are yet to incorporate it into domestic law and practice.

Australia’s codification of its international human rights obligations has consistently lagged behind other countries and as a result we do not have comprehensive, national legal protections.

Systemic racism and structural disadvantage are experienced by our people across many areas of life, but particularly in relation to employment and economic freedom. System failures directly impact the ability of our people to live healthy, safe and productive lives, and so, transforming government and consequently ‘the system’, is critical to closing the gap and achieving better outcomes for our people.

A tool that is available to us in addressing systemic disadvantage is the National Anti-Racism Framework – or the NARF, which was led by my colleague Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giri Sivaraman and his team.

The publication of the NARF is an important and unprecedented milestone.

It names racism for what it is, locates it within the structures that surround us, and provides a plan to transform those structures. The framework was informed by First Nations people, and centres our knowledges, experiences, and ideas.

Implementation of each of the framework’s recommendations is essential to embedding cultural competence, cultural safety, cultural integrity and cultural humility – but there are three overarching recommendations from the NARF that are relevant to the agenda I hope to take forward as Social Justice Commissioner.

They ask the Australia Government:

• to establish a National Anti-Racism Taskforce to develop and implement a First Nations Anti-Racism Framework Implementation Plan,
• to enact a federal Human Rights Act, and
• to comprehensively incorporate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into domestic law.

Within the National Anti-Racism Framework, several recommendations within the priority area of Workplaces and Employment focus on the need for organisations of all sizes to implement internal anti-racism strategies, develop internal cultural safety frameworks, and to implement strategies for hiring, promoting and retaining First Nations staff.

And finally, the NARF recommends that the Australian government fund the Australian Human Rights Commission to convene a national council to develop nationally consistent standards for employers and employees to report experiences of racism and racial discrimination in the workplace.

As the Social Justice Commissioner, it is part of my mandate to hold all parties accountable for making progress on these recommendations as well as the implementation of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and to ensure that the rights, needs and priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are respected and protected.

Whilst all elements of the National Agreement are critical and interconnected – monitoring and reporting on progress against all priority reforms will be essential, but I have identified within my term agenda, a particular focus on Priority Reform 3: Transforming Government, and addressing and eliminating systemic and structural racism. We must deal with the prevalence of culturally unsafe workplaces and systems so that our people can feel safe and included, and their contributions valued.

The National Agreement also sets targets specific to employment, including to increase:

• the proportion of Indigenous adults aged 25-64 years in employment to 62%;

  and

• the proportion of Indigenous youth aged 15-24 years in employment, education or training to 67% - by 2031.

While the evidence indicates that the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment rates might be narrowing gradually overall – persistent barriers to accessing education, training or employment continue - particularly for those living in remote communities.

In 2024, the First Nations Economic Development Partnership was established as a mechanism that brings government and community together to find solutions that will contribute to meeting these Closing the Gap targets – and recent engagements indicate that all priority reforms must be activated if we are to make any real progress towards establishing economic empowerment and security for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities.

This includes strengthening partnerships, building new economies in local communities, reforming employment and training services, and improving access to, and a clearer picture of, data related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander economic development and participation.

The groundbreaking Gari Yala study, led by Nareen, has been instrumental in uncovering and ‘speaking the truth’ in relation to the diverse and often exclusionary experiences that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face in the workplace, and the study has set a national benchmark for highlighting the reality behind the statistics.

Gari Yala revealed that a significant proportion of First Nations employees experience workplace racism and exclusion, as well as excessive cultural load and additional workplace demands.

How can we expect to reach National Agreement targets when workplace conditions are unstable and unsafe for our people?

The research that The Centre for Indigenous People and Work produces, will no doubt, continue to speak truth to these statistics and in conjunction with the NARF, can be used to advocate for the transformation of workplaces into safe places where racism is not tolerated, and is always appropriately addressed.

Where our people can go to work and feel culturally safe. Where our identities are respected and nurtured, but the cultural load carried by our people doesn’t rest solely on our shoulders – it is shared across the organisations in which we work – and our colleagues take joint responsibility for understanding how to work effectively with First Nations People.

Centring Indigenous voices and experiences is at the very heart of our Informing the Agenda consultations which are drawing to a close at the end of this month.

This nationwide tour has been an opportunity for me to spend time listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country about what they see as key priorities.

Their contributions will inform our Social Justice Report and will help set the agenda for the rest of my term.

Specifically in relation to First Nations experiences of employment, we are of course hearing similar themes around experiences of racism and discrimination and the need for improved cultural awareness training within organisations.

We’ve heard serious concerns about unemployment and difficulty accessing employment opportunities in remote locations. But we also hear about how meaningful work gives our mob a sense of purpose, and how our communities are held up by the unpaid labour of women – both the challenges of this, and the importance of their work in supporting the community.

On a personal note, I learned from a fairly young age that we all need a village to support and champion us. Sometimes it comes in the form of family and community supporting you to confidently enter and stay in the workforce.

Having lost my mum at the age of six and becoming a mother myself at 17, if it wasn’t for my village, providing me and my babies with a solid foundation and support, I wouldn’t have been able to independently step into the workforce when I most needed to, in order to financially support my little family. My village invested in our wellbeing and our future success.

But I also believe that we all have a role to play in lifting, encouraging and supporting our people, and this Centre is an important part of rebuilding and nurturing the foundations of a village where First Nations People can thrive.

In quoting Nareen – through this Centre - we have an opportunity to “influence” the “goodwill and decency” of all Australians to create workplaces where our people can “flourish”.

So, once again I commend the work of the Centre for Indigenous People and Work – the first of its kind in the Country - and your mission to uncover the real employment perspectives and experiences of First Nations people, and I welcome your advocacy around a positive paradigm shift that focuses on policy collaboration and economic self-determination for our people. I look forward to working with the Centre to develop Indigenous-led practical solutions for change – that support our people to achieve their greatest potential.

Thank you