We’re committed to creating a culture of respect and inclusion across all parts of our organisation, and embedding reconciliation through respectful and mutually beneficial partnerships, education, understanding, respect, and recognition. 

In 2019, we created our Indigenous Employee Network (IEN) following a suggestion from employees. The IEN was designed to help to share knowledge and stories, build meaningful relationships, provide support, and facilitate learning about each other’s cultures, with a view to sharing these across the Origin workforce. 

Starting with around 30 employees, the network has grown to more than 70 members in 2022, as Origin continues to focus on employing more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  

Co-chaired by Indigenous employees, Tania Carlos and Brigitte Bin Awel, the network meets six times per year. Members of the Origin Executive Leadership Team are invited to attend, with agenda topics focused on the development of members, building awareness of different business unit strategies and providing opportunities for employee growth and wellbeing.  

The network supported the development of an Indigenous employee handbook which outlines the support groups and channels available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. These include the IEN, Reconciliation groups across the business, and a buddy system, in which all new Indigenous employees are offered the opportunity to buddy with an IEN member to provide additional support. 

We also recognise the importance of cultural obligations and the ability to participate in cultural activities by implementing, in consultation with the IEN, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Leave policy. This supports employees with an additional three days of paid leave per year to help our people meet traditional law (or lore), customary law, family and community obligations or to participate in ceremonial, cultural or religious activities. 

In addition, all employees are asked to complete online cultural awareness training, developed in consultation with our IEN, and the option of face-to-face cultural awareness workshops to learn more about relationships, respect and opportunities to support our broader Reconciliation journey. 

In 2022, we surveyed IEN members to see what was working well and how we could improve. It was rewarding to see that 84 per cent of respondents felt supported by the network. What they liked most was feeling connected to other Indigenous employees from across Australia and the opportunity to meet with leadership team members to openly discuss attraction, retention and promotion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and how to promote cultural education and support across our organisation. 

Tania Carlos, Co-Chair of the network, said, “When we started this network, I had been with Origin for five years and only knew five Indigenous employees. Thanks to the network, I now know more than 70! It is wonderful knowing we have so many Indigenous people employed across the business and that we have a way to connect with each other.”  

Co-Chair of the network, Brigitte Bin Awel, added, “Meeting with the leadership team has provided a fantastic opportunity to discuss progress and help guide our executive on our Reconciliation Action Plan and on Indigenous issues more broadly. To have a voice amongst our senior leaders has enabled us to provide insights into issues impacting Indigenous employees at Origin, which has led to better decision making and the deployment of key initiatives to support all Indigenous employees.”    

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Origin is working with CareerTrackers to invest in the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and helping to create an exciting pipeline of future science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) professionals.

CareerTrackers aims to create pathways and support systems for young Indigenous adults to graduate from University with industry experience and bright professional futures. Origin first partnered with CareerTrackers in 2014, and is a member of the 10×10 program, providing internships for at least 10 students each year for 10 years.

Origin’s internship program incorporates professional and leadership development, along with volunteering opportunities, to help create long-term partnerships where the interns are supported by their mentors for multiple years, throughout their degree and beyond where possible.

Completing an internship at Origin allowed CareerTracker Alumni Keziah Alimpulos (Kez), second year People & Culture graduate, the opportunity to gain an inside look into the energy industry before successfully applying to join the Origin Graduate program.

Kez’s role supports Origin’s Indigenous Recruitment strategy. A proud Yidinji/Ngadjon woman on her grandfather’s side, and proud Kalkadoon/Wakka Wakka woman on her grandmothers’ side, Kez appreciates that she can bring her whole self to work each day.

“I love that I am able to embrace and celebrate my culture with all of my colleagues at Origin. The culturally safe and inclusive culture is what makes Origin a great a place to work,” Kez says. Kez truly believes in the quote “You can’t be, what you can’t see”.

As the first in her family to attend University and go on to work in corporate Australia, she wasn’t sure how she could be successful in an environment that was so foreign. Having the opportunity to be part of the Indigenous internship program that Origin offers each year, gave Kez the opportunity to see what was possible.

Kez hopes to use her experience to inspire other young Indigenous Australians on their career journey and to be a role model for future generations to come. “I’m thankful I am able to bring a different perspective to the table to create a culturally safe workplace and be able to get involved with the work Origin is doing to support Indigenous Australians,” Kez said.

The Origin Energy Foundation has supported the expansion of CareerTracker operations with a series of grants since 2015. Head of the Foundation, Sean Barrett said it’s rewarding to highlight the power of education to change lives for the better.

“Giving tertiary qualified Indigenous people the opportunity to enter leadership roles in industry and community, challenging the prevailing negative discourse and allowing a celebration of Indigenous success that can inspire young people who are too often held back by low expectations is one of the things that makes the Origin/CareerTrackers partnership so successful” he said.

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As a large energy company, we know that opportunities are not always available for smaller companies to work directly for Origin. However, these opportunities may be possible through subcontracting with our major contractors.

Since 2016, we have included commitments in our key supplier contracts to increase opportunities for Indigenous businesses to participate in our supply chain. Today, these commitments are captured in our IPCs and ensure our contractors develop, identify and commit to areas where Indigenous companies can be engaged as subcontractors. 

CRC Electrical is one of those subcontractors. Founded in 2004, CRC Electrical is a small, Indigenous-owned business located in Miles in regional Queensland. The CRC Electrical team hires locals, including apprentices, with the aim of ensuring the contracts they are awarded benefit the local community.

CRC Electrical first worked directly with Origin on small jobs in accommodation camps, and then moved on to larger contracts such as refrigeration works, communication installation and data and electrical works.

“Working with Origin gave us the opportunity to grow and develop our skills and procedures. It also gave us the chance to get our vehicles up to spec and buy uniforms and PPE. This experience has opened us up to winning work with other companies, including larger scopes of work as a subcontractor of Origin,” said Clayton Cusack, an electrical and refrigeration supervisor at CRC Electrical.

CRC Electrical has recently won subcontractor packages with one of Origin’s major contractors, Downer, as part of the IPCs included in its contracts with the Integrated Gas business.

“We have been working with Downer for the last four years on a variety of jobs, including installing air conditioning units on high voltage substations, high voltage cable installations, and reinstalling air conditioners from demobilised accommodation camps,” said Clayton.

Reflecting on the development of the team Clayton said, “We now have a really concentrated workforce at CRC Electrical that is accountable for their work. We strive to evolve and develop our people and have them follow in our footsteps.”

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Jill O’Dea, one of Origin’s Cultural Heritage Specialists, is a quietly spoken, Barunggam woman whose family has a long and close connection to her land around Chinchilla in south-western Queensland.

Her colleague Daen Munn, a Gunggari man and Traditional Owner Relationship Development Officer at Origin, says Jill is regarded as an emerging elder in her local community. Emerging elders play a vital role in Indigenous culture, maintaining community connections and preserving the stories and memories of existing elders.

“Jill wouldn’t say that – she’s way too modest, but many of us see her that way,” Daen said.

“I remember the elders telling all the stories about our people and their connection to the land – when they spoke the young people sat up and paid attention – it was the elders’ responsibility to keep the stories alive because many of them have been lost over the years,” Jill said.

Australia Pacific LNG, where Origin is the upstream operator, has named one of its tenements ‘Murrungama’ to respect and acknowledge the traditional owners of the land. The tenement is near Chinchilla and is the first tenement in Australia where the gas produced is reserved solely for domestic manufacturing businesses.

Daen says the naming of the block has been welcomed as another way of raising cultural awareness among Origin staff and the wider community.

“As part of Origin’s Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan, we want to get people talking about Indigenous culture – asking questions and learning,” Daen says.

“I drive one of our field vehicles featuring an Indigenous design based around the idea of a journey and reminds us that every day many Origin people work on and travel across traditional lands – it gets people talking about culture and that’s a good thing.”

Jill and Daen manage Indigenous scouting of proposed gas developments for areas of cultural significance, to ensure they are not disturbed and are protected for future generations.

“I love to be on my country, sitting up on a hill – you look and follow the lay of the land and you can see where a camp would have been and the lines where our people walked,” Jill said.

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The team at the Eraring nursery grow plants from seed harvested locally and use these to regenerate sections of the 1,100 hectares occupied by the Eraring Power Station beside Lake Macquarie.

There are around 110 native species on site and the team from the nursery collect seeds from these plants, propagate seedlings, and raise tube stock for planting. The team is also responsible for weed and pest control, clearing of nominated areas, and bushfire management.

We currently have five local Indigenous employees at the nursery, including three trainees who are studying for their Certificate III in Indigenous Land Management. While the trainees are learning modern methods in their studies, their knowledge of traditional Indigenous land management practices is proving to be invaluable.

Many of the native plants on site have different life cycles, with some seed pods requiring fire or cold weather to release seeds. To help ‘trick’ the pods, the team employs a mix of traditional and modern techniques such as smoking to replicate a bushfire or using a fridge to make them cool. Once the pods have released their seeds, they’re labelled and then stored in a seed bank in the fridge for longevity.

Use of recycled materials is also a big part of the nursery’s operations. Ash from the power generation process is used for drainage on the greenhouse floors, while seaweed harvested from the power station’s inlet canal screens is used as fertilizer, to make potting mix, and improve soil.

Tony Phillips, Origin’s Group Manager Operations at Eraring, said the team is committed to developing a healthy ecosystem through the protection and reintroduction of native plant species.

“The team planted around 2,000 seedlings during FY2020, and estimate they’ll propagate and plant over 2,000 seedlings over the next 12 months. In time, we hope to build up stock and capacity so the nursery can develop into a viable business that can service other revegetation projects in the Hunter region, particularly mine rehabilitation works as well our own on site needs.”

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