‘Flight’ artwork by Ella Gillespie.
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we live and work across Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land and waters as the oldest living culture on Earth. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.
Building a future of respect and resilience
Our commitment to reconciliation commenced in 2015 with an initial focus on building awareness of Australia’s shared past, evolving to deliver education and employment opportunities and strengthen community partnerships.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan
Developed in partnership with Reconciliation Australia, the QBE Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2026-2029 builds on our strong foundations and sets a more strategic direction for long-term outcomes. This marks QBE’s fifth RAP and first at Stretch level with a focus on embedding reconciliation across core business practices.
Our vision for reconciliation is to create an environment where First Nations peoples are respected, empowered, and have equitable access to opportunities. Through continuous learning, collaboration, and meaningful engagement, QBE strives to support the social, cultural, and economic aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
To bring our vision and Stretch RAP to life, we’re focused on:
- Fostering a respectful and inclusive workplace
- Building financial and customer inclusion
- Sustainable procurement opportunities
- Strengthening community and climate resilience
As a global organisation that was established in Australia, we strive to use our platform and sphere of influence to drive ongoing change, be active allies and continue to show our respect through listening and learning from the oldest living culture on earth.
The artwork
Meet the artist behind QBE’s latest RAP artwork – Ella Gillespie.
Ella is able to trace her family history to the Yorta Yorta and Awabakal nations. However, it was growing up by the ocean and surrounded by the national park on Bundjalung Country that Ella has been able to truly connect her love of painting and drawing with the natural beauty of the landscape and animals and incorporating her own stories which inspire her work.
Ella has enjoyed painting and drawing from a very young age and her creative energy was always fulfilled by taking in her surroundings and painting the bright blue of ocean or green of the bush, blending and mixing colours to get the exact colour for a pink sunset and painting on rocks, paper or natural product.
Ella has been successful in winning several national art competitions and is mentored by renowned Australian artists who have inspired her to discover her own artistic pathway. Ella’s love of bright colours in her artwork and eye for fashion and design has led to a collaboration with Jarin Street apparel with a dream to design her own fashion label in the future.
The artwork in Ella’s words: “This artwork is my interpretation of black cockatoos as they graciously glide from tree to tree feeding amongst the Casuarina (She-oak) trees that line the river’s edge and surrounding landscape. The red dots represent the red flower of the Casuarina tree and the orange dots represent new growth.”
As well being represented on our RAP, the original piece of Ella’s artwork is proudly displayed at our Parramatta (on the Dharug nation) office.
The committee
QBE aims to establish an inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of our customers and the communities we work within. Our footprint and ability to drive change continues to grow as we learn more about our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, partners and customers.
Our RAP committee and our senior leaders at QBE have a passion to make a difference, and work towards reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inclusion at QBE.
Committee-led initiatives include the national “Acknowledgement of Country/Welcome to Country” guidelines distributed to all offices and partners, annual events for NAIDOC Week, education around key dates of cultural and historical significance as well as partnering with Indigenous communities on various projects.
Community engagement
The QBE Foundation is committed to creating strong, resilient and inclusive communities by working in partnership with community organisations. A core priority for our Foundation is inclusion, with a focus on creating sustainable and meaningful impact for First Nations peoples and communities.
Two key ways we do this are through:
- Partnering with Stars Foundation
A partner since 2019, Stars Foundation provides evidence-based, full-time engagement and wellbeing programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and young women. - Awarding QBE Foundation local grants
Since reinventing our local grants program in 2021, QBE Foundation has awarded local grants to Australian charities working to address key areas of need such as climate resilience and inclusion across Australia and the Pacific. You can find out more on our QBE Foundation local grants page, including who we have supported and how to apply.
Bunjis at QBE
“Bunji’ is a word in Warlpiri and other languages of northern Queensland and the North Territory, meaning “a mate, a friend or a kinsman”. This was chosen to be the name of our Bunjis at QBE employee network, established in 2020 to not only support the activities of our RAP committee but also lend a voice to greater inclusive practices within QBE for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and community.
CareerTrackers at QBE
QBE has a longstanding commitment to the CareerTrackers Indigenous Internship Program, a national non-for-profit organisation that creates private sector, multi-year, paid internships for talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students with the goal of creating lasting employment opportunities. Through our partnership with CareerTrackers, we create opportunities for our interns to build a long-term career at QBE and encourage and support them to apply to our graduate program upon completion of their degree. The program provides a two-way learning experience, supporting both intern development and leadership growth for QBE leaders.
Read our case studies to find out more about how we are working to bring our RAP commitments to life.
Have questions?
Contact our RAP Committee at [email protected], and one of our team members will be happy to assist.