Our commitment to Reconciliation
The WNSW PHN Innovate RAP and our reconciliation journey recognises the past, strengthens the present and shapes a shared future.
WNSW PHN’s Innovate RAP and approach are central to the way we design, deliver and support primary healthcare. Through this journey, we aim to create meaningful change by acknowledging the past, listening in the present, and building culturally safe care for the future.
Acknowledgement of Country
Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN) acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and work. We recognise and respect the enduring connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to Country, waterways, land and skies.
We pay our deepest respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge the strength, resilience and cultural wisdom of Aboriginal communities and commit to working in genuine partnership to improve health and wellbeing outcomes across our region.
Our vision for Reconciliation
We acknowledge that we work on the traditional lands of many Aboriginal clans, tribes and nations. We commit to working in collaboration with our region’s Aboriginal communities and peoples to improve their health, emotional and social wellbeing in the spirit of partnership.
Embedding Aboriginal health is a guiding principle for the work we do at the WNSW PHN. Reconciliation is an essential part of our approach to making meaningful improvements in the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people across our region.
WNSW PHN’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
Our Innovate RAP was launched in November 2024 and developed with guidance from Reconciliation Australia.
The WNSW PHN RAP outlines practical steps we’re taking to strengthen relationships, deepen respect and increase awareness of Aboriginal health and culture. It also affirms our commitment to working in partnership with individuals, organisations and communities to improve access and health outcomes.
Our RAP artwork
As part of our reconciliation journey, we commissioned local Tubba-gah Wiradjuri artist, Nathan Peckham, to create an artwork that would tell our story and demonstrate our commitment to reconciliation.
Artwork title: Maradhal-Yandhul-Giriya (Wiradjuri: Past-Present-Future)
Artist: Nathan Peckham, 2021
The piece symbolises a cultural and physical journey – one that mirrors the ongoing work of WNSW PHN to build connection, understanding and shared commitment across all communities we serve.
Artist’s statement
As a proud Tubba-gah Wiradjuri man, I respectfully acknowledge all nations which Western NSW Primary Health Network operates on. I acknowledge this artwork will be viewed off my home country of the Tubba-gah people of the Wiradjuri Nation and therefore ask you accept this artwork on behalf of my family which I wish to share with you.
I would also like to pay respect to the Traditional Custodians of the country whose ancestral lands we all share. I thank the Elders for their wisdom, courage, and sacrifice and pledge my commitment to preserving their legacy for future generations.
The artwork depicts a gathering of people in camp (dhandha) along a river (bila or ghi). The camp shelter was made from gathering leaves which were thrown over a temporary frame made of branches. They are on a journey (birrang) to find a new home. They have travelled a long way, crossing many different tribal lands. They hope to find a place that is better resourced to ensure the survival of the tribe. The centre dreaming trails (yarrudhang murruway) represent where they came from, where they are, and where they want to be.
Metaphorical interpretation: This piece represents the journey the WNSW PHN is undertaking with its Reconciliation Action Plan. The aim of the journey is to reach a place where the WNSW PHN and its partners have successfully contributed to a unified understanding and commitment to reconciliation across the nation. It speaks to the continuing evolution of the organisation in this space through recognising the past, understanding the present, and celebrating the future.
A journey to a unified understanding and commitment to reconciliation across the nation.
