NAB banks on closing indigenous gap with reconciliation plan

National Australia Bank is working on a three-year reconciliation action plan to address indigenous disadvantage.

NAB employee Kieran Cain-Hall at the bank headquarters in Melbourne. NAB has hired 50 indigenous people this year, taking the total number to 220. Picture: David Geraghty

National Australia Bank is working on a three-year reconciliation action plan as part of the group’s commitment to overcoming indigenous disadvantage.

In the lead-up to national reconciliation week, which ends tomorrow, NAB also developed an e-learning module to roll out for the bank’s 30,000 staff across Australia.

“These and other programs show that NAB is serious about addressing indigenous disadvantage,” said the bank’s head of indigenous finance and development, Glenn Brennan.

The nation has 500 RAPs, defined as a public statement by a local organisation outlining the measures it will undertake to help close the 17-year gap in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

NAB announced its first annual RAP in 2008, with each one of them launched by the group chief executive. The 2015 version, the bank’s seventh, will be different because it will have a three-year duration.

A key commitment in the RAP will be to build NAB’s organisational understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as their culture and aspirations. The RAP will also be reviewed by accounting firm Ernst & Young for its transparency and accountability.

So far this year, NAB has hired 50 indigenous Australians as part of various employment programs, taking the total number to 220.

The bank has also helped more than 20,000 indigenous Australians build their financial capability through its microfinance products and services.

Group executive for people, communications and governance Michaela Healey said embracing reconciliation was part of the bank’s commitment to doing the right thing. “National reconciliation week is a time to celebrate indigenous culture and understand how we can all be part of the reconciliation effort,” Ms Healey said. “We want to give our ­employees that opportunity.”

As part of efforts to improve understanding and respect for indigenous culture, 641 NAB retail staff have received face-to-face cultural training, with a further 104 employees supported in skill-based volunteering and secondments throughout the country.

Native title training has been provided to more than 40 business bankers and JBWere advisers to improve understanding and support for traditional owners.

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