Welcoming Workplaces

We had incredible two days in Toowoomba, delivering multi-stakeholder sessions for employers, local employment services, state and federal government teams and Toowoomba Regional Council as part of our Workplace Readiness Regional Pilot Project in Toowoomba and Western Downs. It was wonderful to see whole of community coming together for a common goal building stronger and more inclusive workforce and ensuring long term sustainability for the region. Thank you David New FIEP and the Workforce Australia team for hosting us on one of the days and your ongoing support to the project. #WorkforceReadiness #RegionalDevelopment Welcoming Australia

Nominations for the 2025 Welcoming Cities Awards for Change close in one week! The Welcoming Cities Awards for Change celebrate change made in communities by organisations and local councils, celebrating leading practice and innovation in advancing welcoming and inclusive communities. We want to hear about and celebrate YOUR stories - what change has occurred in your community? Why was it important and how did it happen? Tell us all about it to nominate your local council or organisation. https://lnkd.in/gnsgzHNa Let’s celebrate the everyday stories of welcome and belonging! 📸 2024 award winners - changing the game for welcoming, belonging and inclusion every day! • Expand Your Library, Welcoming Cities Awards for Change, organisation category (QLD) winner • Wollongong City Council, Welcoming Cities Awards for Change, local government category winner (NSW) • Con Pagonis OAM, Welcoming Australia Medal (VIC) • Ellen Han, Logan City Council, Welcoming Cities Award (QLD) • Tracey Grosser, TATIARA DISTRICT COUNCIL, Welcoming Cities Award (SA) #BelongingStartsHere #SayWelcome

Introducing...... Welcoming Wednesdays! We're always so excited to see the wonderful acts of welcoming, belonging and inclusion happening in communities across these lands now called Australia every day. In a world that is increasingly struggling to combat the politics of fear, division and unwelcome, we thought we would make an intentional point to share these contrasting beautiful moments with you all more regularly. Every Wednesday, we'll curate an update from a Welcoming Australia initiative, one of our member Cities, Clubs, Universities or Workplaces, or other community connection that will bring a little light and hope into our worlds. Follow along to be inspired by the incredible work to advance a welcoming, inclusive future that is happening every day of the year - being led, championed and actioned by all of you. Have a story to share? We'd LOVE to hear it - and amplify it. Let us know all about it here: campaigns@welcoming.org.au #SayWelcome #BelongingBeginsHere #StoriesOfWelcome Welcoming Cities Welcoming Universities Welcoming Workplaces Welcoming International

It’s exciting to see so many changemakers in the world, all knuckling down to deliver solutions to some of the world’s most pressing needs.   One of those changemakers is our very own CEO Dr Karina Davis. Karina has recently been appointed to the advisory group of Welcoming Workplaces, a subset of Welcoming Australia that focuses on readying employers to embrace new employees from migrant and refugee backgrounds through knowledge, resources and partnerships.   And as we know, everyone benefits when businesses provide workplaces that promote and practice inclusive and diverse employment. This concept is at the heart of why Jobsbank exists and why we do what we do. We’re stoked to be able to partner in this way with Welcoming Workplaces – joining forces to create fairer and more inclusive work environments for all. Shoutout to Aleem Ali, Ken Dachi and Niyati Acharya - thankyou for welcoming Karina into the fold!

We have some big news to share - after delivering incredible impact as Chair of the Welcoming Australia board, we recently bid farewell to the incomparable Anthea Hancocks. All the work represented in this print was conceived, established and developed during Anthea's tenure. Thank you doesn't begin to express our gratitude.    We're now very pleased to announce Dr Sonja Hood AM as Welcoming Australia's new Chair. Under Sonja's leadership, we look forward to continuing to advance communities across this country where people of all backgrounds can belong, contribute and thrive. Please join us in thanking Anthea and welcoming Sonja! #SayWelcome  Welcoming Cities Welcoming Universities Welcoming Workplaces

Can you help us reach our fundraising goal and help kids play sport? Sport brings us together – but for many people new to Australia, being part of a sporting community is just out of reach. Can you help us to use the magic of sport to advance a welcoming Australia? Support Welcoming Clubs to create inclusive, vibrant sports communities where everyone can belong, contribute, and thrive. Your donation will make a lasting impact on the lives of many, ensuring that sporting spaces in Australia are welcoming for all - and donations are tax-deductible, so that’s a win-win! With 2 days before the end of financial year, what better time is there to back our work advancing a welcoming Australia through sport? Donate here: https://lnkd.in/ggwjJVp7

Congratulations to our very own Ken Dachi, Welcoming Workplaces Coordinator and Leeton Shire Council Multocultural Affairs Advisor on receiving the Office of the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner’s Commendation. At Leeton Shire Council and Welcoming Australia, we all know Ken is excellent - and now we get to share and celebrate that excellence with the broader community! Congratulations Ken! Ken was commended for his work supporting the recovery of vulnerable and exploited migrant workers in the Riverina. Congratulations to the other recipients of the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner’s Commendations for Strategic Priority 2 – Achievement in Enabling Remedy: 💫 Poonam Datar, Independent Advisor on worker-led due diligence Commended for the development of the Cleaning Accountability Framework and support to cleaners victimised by modern slavery. 💫 Yvette Proud, Lived Experience Engagement Program Coordinator, The Salvation Army Australia Commended for enabling survivor recovery through the Lived Experience Engagement Programme and beyond. 💫 David Hillard, Pro Bono Partner, Clayton Utz Commended for securing remedy for survivors through the civil justice system.

Happy National Volunteer Week! Welcoming Australia volunteers are the heartbeat of our movement; every day volunteers around the country are working tirelessly to build a welcoming, inclusive Australia. Thank you for your commitment to creating a future where everyone has equal opportunity to belong, contribute and thrive! A few weeks ago, the Welcoming Australia Symposium hosted an incredible discussion about “re-framing volunteering” with: 💫 Amar Singh JP Founder and President, Turbans 4 Australia (T4A), 2023 Australian of the Year Local Hero,  💫 Andy Parkinson, Sector Engagement Manager, Volunteering Queensland 💫 Ravin RAMACHANDRAN NAIR, Community Liaison Officer, Department of Home Affairs,  💫 Maranda Buchanan Volunteer, State Emergency Services (SES),  💫 Tuifa’asisina Tapenaga Reupena Polataivao-Fatialofa II, President of the UQ South Pacific Islander Association Our panel dove deep into the important questions and left the audience with some key takeaways to consider: What gets noticed, what gets rewarded? Is there a better word to recognise the diverse experiences and ways people volunteer? How can we ensure volunteering spaces are safe, inclusive and welcoming? How do we make sure that everyone feels like they belong? Let’s keep working together to cultivate a culture of welcome - in our volunteering spaces and beyond! 
Thank you to everyone who commits their time, energy, finances and heart to advancing a welcoming, inclusive future! #HappyVolunteerWeek #SayWelcome

It’s launched, out in the world and now in your hands! Today, together with The Aqua English Project Ltd , we hosted the online launch of the Inclusion Guidelines for Public Aquatic Facilities. While developed for aquatic facilities, it’s also a blueprint for broader inclusion in our communities - we encourage you to download the guide, share it, examine how you can implement the ideas, strategies and examples shared within. Thank you to our presenters Sarah Scarce, Zahra Rahimi, Nikki Dryden and Maia Tua- Davidson for sharing their insights, experience and stories today. Our experiences and expectations of safety and inclusion is different for everyone - a commitment to advancing a welcoming future is for all of us! Genuine change requires work, investment and the right intent. Facilities won’t become more inclusive and welcoming overnight, but it will happen through small increments and culture shifts. These guidelines were developed by Welcoming Australia and The Aqua English Project, with input from local governments, contractors, aquatic participants and those yet to access a swimming program. Check out the resource here: https://lnkd.in/gpkufkif Check out the comments for more ways that Welcoming Cities, Welcoming Universities, Welcoming Workplaces and Welcoming Clubs can help you to help your communities and organisations advance inclusion and belonging! #SayWelcome

The Welcoming Australia 2024 Symposium was an incredible opportunity to explore answers to the question of #WhatBringsUsTogether? We will be unpacking many of the learnings from this phenomenal experience over the weeks ahead. For now, a huge thank you from the Welcoming Australia team, for trusting us with your time, energy, experience and stories. Whether you joined us in-person, on the stage or in the audience, from a watch-party or online, you made the Symposium the transformative experience that it was and were truly grateful! 📸 some of the team that brought you #WASymposium2024