So, what are we doing right now?
People
Our people come first. Underpinning everything we do is the desire to provide a safe, healthy and balanced workplace where our people can be themselves and are valued for their individuality and diversity. Our business balance commitment areas are:
- Gender
- Race & Faith
- LGBTQ+
- Ability & health
Gender
It’s no secret that there is an underrepresentation of females in the real estate industry, and we are actively working to achieve 40:40:20 gender balance across all levels of our organisation.
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We have extended and broadened our Principal Partnership with the Waratahs Women's Team for a further five seasons following a successful 2022. This support is not only for the Super W Team, but also the Opens Women's Sevens team, U17 Girls Seven's team, the Women's Senior Academy and the Girls Gen Blue U18 Academy.
We will look to provide employment pathways for Waratahs Women's players which will work around their sporting and training schedules.
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We’re also:
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Race & Faith
We are focused on creating a culture that is supportive of people from all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Each year we celebrate Harmony Day in acknowledgement of Australia's, and our, richly diverse workforce, and we also recognise significant religious events for each major faith.
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We also have a formal commitment to reconciliation through a structured program called RAP. We are one of over 1,100 organisations to make this commitment.
The RAP provides a framework for relationships, respect and opportunities for us to strategically set reconciliation commitments in line with our business objectives.
The four RAP stages - Reflect, Innovate, Stretch & Elevate allow us to continuously develop and strengthen our reconciliation commitments in new ways.
At this stage we have developed our Innovate RAP which outlines the actions for achieving our vision for reconciliation. It sets out a clear action plan for how we achieve goals set as part of the process.
This includes a commitment to gain a deeper understanding of our sphere of influence and the best approaches advance reconciliation.
To view the full Innovate RAP click here
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These partnerships include:
- Supporting the Students of Redfern Jarjum College: In 2020, we commenced a partnership with Redfern Jarjum College, a primary school for Aboriginal children from Kindergarten to Year 6. We have strengthened this partnership through regular interaction with the students and educators. In 2021, we established a bursary to support a Redfern Jarjum College student in pursuing their high school education. We participate in various fundraising events and support the families of Redfern Jarjum College at Christmas time, delivering personalised gifts for the school students and their siblings.
- Working with CareerTrackers to offer Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander university students 10-week placements over summer each year to provide them with the opportunity to kick-start their careers in property
- We have recently become a member of Supply Nation, a not-for-profit organisation that supports the growth and long-term viability of the Indigenous business sector. Supply Nation facilitates supplier diversity by working with procurement teams from Government agencies and corporate Australia to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
- Bandu, a registered charity that provides comprehensive wellbeing care, corporate training and administrative support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students graduating secondary school. Working with tertiary education and corporate sector partners, Bandu connects students from over 30 schools across NSW with the right people at the right places to ensure successful study and employment in these crucial years.
LGBTQ+
In recognition of Australia’s diverse society, we’re committed to supporting the LGBTQ+ community. We’ve partnered with the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) to ensure our policies support a diverse, inclusive and flexible workplace where all our employees feel valued and connected. As a result of the positive changes we’ve made and the support shown for the wider community, we’re proud to have achieved Bronze Tier status by the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI).
We mark World Pride Month every year and provide learning and development programs focusing on LGBTQ+ awareness and inclusion. Some of the initiatives we’ve introduced to support colleagues of all sexual orientations and gender identities include:
- We are a member of ACON’s Pride in Diversity and Welcome Here programs
- We are an Ally and support several LGBTQ+ organisations, such as Building Pride
- Supporting LGBTQ+ youth nationally through Minus18 and the Rainbow Shoelace Project
- Educating ourselves on inclusive language and adding pronouns to our email signatures and profiles
- Paid gender affirmation leave
- LGBTQ awareness and inclusion training for our Executive Committee.
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Ability & Health
We strive to create a culture that supports the health and safety of our people, including their physical and mental wellbeing. And as an equal opportunity employer, we have a number of partnerships and initiatives in place to support and create opportunities for people of all abilities regardless of any impairment, disability or health condition. These include:
- Partnering with Jobsupport, the leading employment service for people with moderate intellectual disabilities in Australia, to provide permanent part-time employment opportunities.
- We selected The Black Dog Institute as one of our two national charities and each year, we actively participate in RUOK? Day to promote open and honest conversations about our mental health.
- We have also partnered with Lifeworks as our Employee Assistance Program to provide our people and their families with a confidential platform to help navigate problems and challenges in both their personal and professional lives.
Planet
We work responsibly, in partnership, to enhance people’s lives and environments. We share the growing concern over important environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. That’s why we’re committed to lowering our operational footprint and that the changes by all of us, for all of us, will sustain our planet for generations to come.
- We are committed to achieving Net Zero Carbon status by 2040 (to be validated by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi).
- We are certified in ISO 14001 (Environmental management standards), demonstrating our proactive approach to minimising our environmental footprint, conserving resources, and mitigating potential adverse effects on the environment.
- We are actively reviewing resource conservation in our offices around the country, from the energy we use to how we dispose of waste.
- We are a member of the Green Building Council of Australia and have committee members on the PCA Sustainability Committee and Better Buildings Partnership.
Community
Working in property, we know how integral communities are to our well-being and future which is why we are adamant about giving back. We offer our people two paid volunteering days per year to get involved with causes close to their hearts and commit to donating 1% of our profits to our nominated charities.
We have aligned with the national charity The Black Dog Institute, the only medical research institute in Australia to investigate mental health across the lifespan.