Process of Engagement

1.1 Identify Traditional Owners and or First Peoples Community

Engaging with Traditional Owners needs to be done when a project:

• Directly disturbs or interacts with Country
• Promotes Traditional Owners’ history, language, culture and or customs
• Promotes on Country economic opportunities through procurement and employment.

Engaging with the First Peoples Community and Traditional Owners needs to be done when a project aims to:

• Increase cultural safety and accessibility to transport services
• Promote wider economic opportunities through procurement and employment
• Create and promote opportunities that involve the broader First Peoples Community participation.

To identify the Traditional Owners your project area search via the RAP Map. Similarly, visit the P&E intranet page to identify appropriate First Peoples Community organisations.

1.2 Highlight opportunities to Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community

To identify potential opportunities you should read and understand the following:

• the Transport Portfolio Aboriginal Self-Determination Plan 2020-2023
• Relevant RAP Partnerships Agreements
• Regional Chapters
• Whole-of-Country Plans and other relevant strategic documents.

Potential opportunities are put in place as ideas only. Opportunities will be fully realised during your engagement with Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community. Refer to case studies on page 14 & 15 for best practice engagement across the portfolio.

2.1 Determine engagement approach

Your engagement approach should be based on the notion of self determination and transferring the power of choice and decision making to Traditional Owners and the First Peoples Community.

The below is an example of how you could present your project engagement opportunities for consideration. Engagement approach may change as Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community interest and priorities change throughout the project.

This means the engagement approach may involve all three engagement options.

3.1 Always open with an Acknowledgment to Country and or Connection to Country

Ensure that every meeting you have with Traditional Owners and or the First Peoples Community is opened with an Acknowledgment to Country and or Connection to Country. Further information can be accessed here.

3.2 Apply engagement principles, P&E and or APO advice and direction

Ensure that you utilise the frameworks engagement principles and incorporate any advice and direction from P&E and or APOs in your engagement approach. Any issues or risks identified during the engagement phase need to be reported back to P&E and or relevant APO/s.

3.3 Develop an engagement budget in partnership

An engagement budget should be factored into your project’s planning phase (ideally business cases on major projects), and will be informed by Traditional Owners and or First Peoples Community during engagement. Engagement budgets that are pre-set, inflexible and not informed will typically inhibit Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community’s ability to participate at the level that they want.

Your engagement budget will need to be flexible as it will need to consider:

• Traditional Owners and or First Peoples Community level of involvement in a project or initiative,
• the resourcing need for Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community to meaningfully engage; and
• varying consultation rates between Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community organisations.

3.4 Keep P&E informed of arising risks or issues

Inform and seek advice from:

• your engagement with Traditional Owners and or First Peoples Community
• changes in project scope and or negotiables (i.e. project size, budget, scalability and or ministerial intervention) and;
• other perceived issues or risks that may need P&E input, advice or direction.

Evaluating engagement with Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community is important to:

• understand the extent of self determination in project decision making and outcomes, and
• reflect on your engagement approach taking away key learnings to improve future engagement.

P&E use this information to:

• strengthen portfolio-wide project outcomes for Traditional Owners and First Peoples Community
• share best practice across the portfolio; and
• support monitoring and reporting requirements.

Keeping Traditional Owner and First Peoples informed of project progression, outcomes and successes is vital to a partnership built on respect, trust and transparency.

As a way to acknowledge and recognise this contribution, consider providing an opportunity to co-launch the project with a Traditional Owner and or First Peoples Community member.