Barwon Water partners with Kinaway

We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this nation. We proudly acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live, and pay respect to their Elders past and present. We recognise and value the continuing cultures and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to our community and their ongoing connection to the land, waters and skies over thousands of years.

Barwon Region Water Corporation is Victoria’s largest regional urban water corporation, with a history that can be traced back to the Geelong Municipal Waterworks Trust in 1908.

Barwon Water provides world standard water and sewerage services to more than 349,000 permanent residents over 8,100 square kilometres. Over the holiday period, the serviced population can expand to approximately 545,000 people.

Ninety-two per cent of our customer base is residential, with the remaining 8% a mixture of commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers. Around 30% of metered consumption is attributed to non-domestic customers.

The service area incorporates local government areas of City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliffe, Surf Coast Shire, Colac Otway Shire and part of Golden Plains Shire. The service area also sits within two Registered Aboriginal Party boundaries being the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation.

Implementation of Barwon Water’s first Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) demonstrated strong outcomes and embedded robust approaches towards advancing reconciliation within our organisation and across our interactions with First Nations businesses and people. We are currently in the process of finalising our Stretch RAP that will further build our capacity to implement long term strategies and develop measurable targets to source, procure, support and create opportunities for First Nations businesses and people.

Our Aboriginal Employment and Retention Strategy is a key commitment under our RAP. Central to the strategy is understanding and embedding Aboriginal cultural values in our workplace.

We aim to attract increasing numbers of First Nation employees into career pathways and empower Aboriginal staff to progress and succeed professionally. The strategy outlines the path we will follow on our journey to achieving employee outcomes, enhancing relationships and continuing our commitment to be a diverse, inclusive employer of choice for First Nations people.

Barwon Water is committed to strengthening Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prosperity through employment opportunities, in the supply of goods and services (2021/22 Indigenous business spend was $228,000) and by enabling genuine opportunities for economic participation and development. In accordance with our RAP, building and maintaining relationships with Traditional Owners is critical to the way we work. Our relationship with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners and Aboriginal Corporation continues to deepen through the renewal of our Partnership Agreement for another three year term, commencing July/ August 2021. Equally, we look forward to growing our relationship with the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation as we begin to engage and become more aware of their values and Knowledge of Eastern Maar Country.

Our award-winning 12-month traineeship program has been running since 2016.

The program provides access to education and on-the-job training and support while working to achieve a nationally recognised qualification.

We work closely with organisations such as Wan-Yaari Aboriginal Consultancy Services with the common goal of creating employment opportunities in the region.

Regional prosperity is front of mind in all that we do. Partnering strategically with organisations such as Kinaway will help enable us to not only deliver innovative and reliable services, but also generate social value above and beyond the value of the goods, services or constructions being procured.

We are hopeful that our new Partnership with Kinaway will help us navigate and simplify procurement with certified Victorian based First Nations businesses. Being allocated a Relationship Manager provides a level of comfort for when we require additional guidance, including understanding the cultural landscape, and bringing our RAP to life!

Barwon Water is passionate about the role it plays in regional prosperity, including its relationship with traditional owners and how it can support the First Nations economy. Our aim is to develop long lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with certified First Nations organisations, and as a result see our spend with First Nations organisations grow substantially. We want First Nations sourcing to be front of mind during the procurement process, and our cultural understanding to help guide and inform our practice.

We hope to enhance our knowledge and understanding of certified First Nations organisations that we can collaborate with to deliver key services and projects within our region. We understand that working with small businesses can provide unique challenges, and are keen to unpack whether changes to our current practices could be made to assist such businesses work with us more easily.

We hope to refer to Kinaway when needed, for advice and guidance to achieve actions identified under our RAP.

Welcome to Country image from Bostock Reservoir.