Working with Indigenous Communities
Reconciliation Action Plan
In Australia, our commitment to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to build sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships is underpinned by our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
A RAP sets out practical actions and deliverables to help advancing reconciliation in the communities in which we operate. Our second Stretch RAP 2019–20221 activities were closed out at the end of 2022 and our third Stretch RAP 2023–20252 was endorsed by Reconciliation Australia in early 2023. INPEX’s RAP Steering Committee is comprised of senior management and provides oversight of the RAP, monitoring the implementation of actions and deliverables, with progress being reported publicly each year.3
1 INPEX Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2019–2022
2 INPEX Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2023–2025
3 Reconciliation Action Plan Report 2022
Case study: INPEX delivers on its RAP commitments
INPEX Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2019–2022 was developed with the organization’s own charter of values and the vision of mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in which INPEX operates.
RAP commitments are championed by the RAP Steering Committee and the RAP Working Group to deliver positive outcomes in and around key communities including Darwin, the Kimberley and Perth.
Key achievements under the RAP 2019–2022 include:
- Enhancing INPEX’s profile as an employer of choice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander direct employees to 49, exceeding INPEX’s RAP commitment of 36.
- Engaging an average of approximately 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through INPEX’s contractors, exceeding the target of an average 60 each year.
- Engaging 23 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned businesses for work scopes to the value of over A$ 13 million, exceeding INPEX’s deliverable of 12 businesses with a total spend of A$ 1 million over the RAP period.
- Delivering RAP engagement surveys across INPEX’s workforce in 2021 and 2022 which provided valuable feedback in terms of RAP awareness and understanding, and interest to pursue other cultural activities.
- Increasing employee engagement through National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC activities across all INPEX work locations including offshore facilities.
Building on previous RAPs, INPEX Stretch RAP 2023–2025 includes further stretch targets to advance reconciliation efforts in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Employment and Local Businesses
Through our business activities, INPEX is laying the foundation in Australia to support sustainable, multi-generational economic participation opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We integrate both employment and business participation opportunities through regular reviews of our human resources and procurement practices to remove barriers to engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and businesses.
Our “Solid Pathways” program provides learning and developmental employment opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals to work in the energy industry. The program’s participants receive on-the-job support and external training for 12 to 18 months, in preparation for potential long-term direct employment with INPEX Australia. As at the end FY2022, 17 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals were employed by INPEX through this program.
The Solid Pathways program was a key deliverable contained in INPEX’s Stretch RAP 2019–2022 and was a major contributor to INPEX achieving its commitment to employ 49 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by end of FY2022, exceeding its RAP target of 36 individuals or 3% of overall workforce.
Under our new Stretch RAP 2023–2025, we will continue our efforts to increase our direct employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with a new target of 60 direct employees, or five per cent of our Australian-based workforce, within that three-year period. Over the same timeframe, we will retain 10 Solid Pathway Program positions across the organization, recruiting new participants as others transition out of the program. We will also focus on initiatives to retain and develop our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.
We likewise exceeded key business engagement targets set under our Stretch RAP 2019–2022. Accordingly, under our Stretch RAP 2023–2025, we have committed to increase engagement by INPEX or its business partners to a targeted 24 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned businesses, with a target total spend of A$ 15 million over the three-year period.
Cultural Heritage
In Australia, heritage management plans have been developed and implemented to protect the cultural heritage of the communities in which we operate. The INPEX Larrakia Advisory Committee—a group primarily comprising of Larrakia people from a range of backgrounds and experience—is consulted on cultural heritage matters as the traditional owners of the Larrakia lands and waters in the Darwin region on which the Ichthys LNG onshore processing plant is located.
INPEX has long been committed to preserving items of cultural significance to Aboriginal peoples and was the first company in the Northern Territory (NT) to engage Larrakia Heritage Monitors during the early stages, and prior to construction of, the Ichthys LNG onshore processing facilities. During archaeological surveys, known Aboriginal heritage sites were identified in and just outside the onshore development area.
Following consultation with the Larrakia Heritage Management Executive Committee (the predecessor to the INPEX Larrakia Advisory Committee) and the NT Government Heritage Branch, some sites and objects of cultural significance remained in situ while others were relocated to Heritage Hill, near the Ichthys LNG onshore processing facilities.
A Larrakia-owned business has been engaged to provide the Heritage Hill grounds maintenance services, with Larrakia Heritage Monitors employed when required.