Our Reconciliation Journey
Our purpose is accessible justice – to create a system, place, and space to ensure a safety net of best practice legal advice, education, and advocacy in our specialist fields. We can only authentically work to achieve this if we honestly acknowledge our history and engage in reconciliation.
Circle Green is committed to an ongoing process of reconciliation. Our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan is the first step in formalising our reconciliation journey.
With this RAP, we look forward to developing an emerging understanding of our role in progressing reconciliation in Australia, developing relationships, and deepening our knowledge to lay the foundation for future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives.
During our first year of operation (2020), we placed an Acknowledgement of Country as a preamble to our Constitution. 2021 was a significant year of establishment and consolidation for our new organisation: we reviewed and strengthened how we work and what we offer the community. Circle Green registered with Reconciliation Australia to begin the Reflect RAP in Kambarang, the season of birth and we reflected on and shared the Uluru Statement from the Heart across the organisation.
As part of our Strategic Plan 2022-2025, Circle Green seeks to actively contribute to reconciliation in Australia by implementing the Circle Green RAP. In April 2022, we established a RAP Working Group (RWG) to guide the development and lead the implementation of our RAP. The RWG consists of board members and legal and non-legal staff across various departments and service areas. Our RWG members are deeply committed to creating and embedding this RAP in our workplace.
While developing our RAP, we have taken some initial steps toward reconciliation:
- We recognised and participated in several Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community initiatives and events, including during NAIDOC Week and National Reconciliation Week.
- We developed and implemented an internal policy allowing employees the flexibility to work on the 26 January public holiday in lieu of an alternative date.
- We arranged training for staff and volunteers on how to deliver an authentic Acknowledgement of Country with Acknowledge This!
- RAP updates are a standing item in all management meetings.
- Online Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Awareness training is provided to all staff and volunteers as part of their induction process.
- We ensure an Acknowledgement of Country is delivered before all training, events, and meetings and incorporate a Welcome to Country into all major events such as conferences.
Partners & Our Current Activities
Circle Green has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and organisations since our establishment. In 2022, we collaborated with the Aboriginal Family Law Service (WA), advocating for a dedicated Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People in Western Australia.
We are currently working in partnership with the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA) on our Workplace Respect Project, which aims to deliver legal services and community education to reduce the prevalence and impact of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination in Western Australia. We are recruiting an Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer to engage and build relationships within the community, increase First Nations engagement with the project, and strengthen our organisational capacity to ensure access, equity, and inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a culturally appropriate way.
We will continue to reflect on how we can meaningfully contribute to reconciliation, enhance our awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and traditions, and create and maintain a more respectful and culturally competent workplace.
We look forward to strengthening our current relationships and developing and maintaining strong, meaningful partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations through implementing our RAP.
Artwork
‘Our Connections’
Melissa Spillman (Woods), 2020
Acrylic on canvas
Travelling through our country, meeting new family members, making new connections. At gatherings, sharing and telling our stories to one another. Keeping our culture strong and respected.
About the artist:
Mel is a Noongar Aboriginal artist based in Western Australia, with family heritage from Gnowangerup on Goreng Country in the south-west of WA.
Raised away from her Aboriginal heritage, Mel is deeply passionate about sharing culture and keeping it alive. Through workshops in schools and storytelling through art, she works to inspire younger generations and foster connection to culture and Country.
Mel founded her business, Maarakool Art, in July 2021. Her work includes facilitating workshops, painting murals, and undertaking corporate commissions and licensing projects.
‘Yongka Skin’
Circle Green Staff Collaboration – Cultural Immersion Day, 2025
Burnt Etchings on Kangaroo Skin
In February 2025 staff across Circle Green engaged in a number of reconciliation activities, with a highlight being the Cultural Immersion Day led by Dooga Waalitj Healing. This powerful experience brought together team members from across the organisation to deepen our understanding of Aboriginal culture, history, and connection to boodja (country). At the end of the day, our team collaborated to create a collective artwork. Etched into a yongka (kangaroo) skin, team members chose symbols representing:
- Emu, kangaroo, and djiti-djiti (willie wagtail) tracks – journeys, resilience, and connection to Country.
- People dancing and sitting together – community and celebration (clients after receiving support).
- The river – our connection to Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) and the importance of place.
- Elders – wisdom, guidance, and cultural leadership.
This unique piece reflects our shared learnings, respect, and commitment to reconciliation. More than just a work of art, it serves as a tangible reminder of our journey and the responsibilities we carry forward. It now hangs proudly in our foyer, symbolising our services and our commitment to community – interconnected and working together.
‘Dandjoo koorliny, dandjoo waangkaniny, dandjoo kaadadjiny’
(Walking together, talking together, learning together)
Rosie Paine, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
The large, dotted circle at the centre represents Circle Green Community Legal, a meeting place. The U shapes around this highlight this as a place where people come together with respect, equity, collaboration and education. The gold wavy lines, with white dots, leading out from the central image represents the connection of Circle Green with other stakeholders (people, businesses, community). The smaller meeting places throughout the design, represent people coming together and the legal and cultural change influenced by Circle Green Community Legal.
‘Nodjam Dordong’ (Circle Green)
Rosie Paine, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
Nodjam Dordong takes inspiration from the spirit of connection and storytelling reflected in the collaborative creation of the Yongka Skin. The artwork represents Circle Green’s vision of empowered people thriving in a just society.
The central image represents people coming together and being empowered. The lines leading out from each side of the central image represent people thriving, connecting, and contributing. The dotted circles that these lines join represent this connection out to the wider community embracing the value of fairness.
The teal and white lines across the top and bottom of the artwork serve as Acknowledgement of Country, and the significance of place, to the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) and Noongar Boodja (Country). The emu and kangaroo tracks at the top and bottom of the artwork represent the importance of journey and resilience.
About the artist:
Rosie is a Yilka, Wongutha, Noongar and Yamatji artist living on Noongar Country. She grew up in Cosmo Newberry Aboriginal Community and Laverton, Western Australia. Rosie has spent most of her life as a primary school teacher and is currently a Deputy Principal at a public school in Perth. She is a proud mother of two and runs her own small business, Rosie Made.
