Recommendation 42: Organisational healing and culture change through reflective practice

In November 2021, AV’s Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team reflected on the findings and recommendations in Volume 1 of the final report of the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission. This enabled those leaders to listen and connect with the experiences of AV’s workforce, and to consider how AV would respond to the findings and recommendations, including the expectations of leaders.

In April 2022, AV commenced a series of reflective sessions on Volume II findings for employees. These reflection sessions, facilitated by the executive or their departmental leads, gave employees an opportunity to express their own experiences at AV. The reflective sessions offered a space for our people to discuss their reflections and experiences. These sessions provided an opportunity to reinforce the necessity for AV to drive cultural change across the organisation to create a safe, fair and inclusive workplace. The Board and the Executive’s commitment to respond to the VEOHRC findings and its recommendations were communicated and staff had the opportunity to provide feedback.

By May 2023, the AV Board of Directors completed a series of four reflective practice dialogues, facilitated by an independent, expert consultant (Recommendation 41). These sessions were supported by a reflective practice framework designed by external experts.  The Executive has completed reflective sessions (Recommendation 1) and, going forward, AV will use the devised reflective framework to ensure alignment between the reflective practice undertaken at a Board and Executive level is delivered across the entire organisation commencing in financial year 2026-2027.

To further embed reflective practice, the Prevention Strategy roll out (recommendations 3 and 4) across financial year 2024-2025 will continue to engage our people on the ways AV will work towards preventing unlawful and harmful workplace behaviours.

• In November 2021, AV’s Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team reflected on the findings and recommendations in Volume 1 of the final report of the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission. This enabled those leaders to listen and connect with the experiences of AV’s workforce, and to consider how AV would respond to the findings and recommendations, including the expectations of leaders.
• In mid-2022, AV engaged an independent expert to develop a framework to support regular and ongoing reflective practice at a Board and organisational level.
• On 8 September 2022, the independent expert commenced a series of reflective practice workshops with AV’s Board, to enable reflection on the key drivers of unlawful and harmful workplace conduct in AV, sense-making related to the Commission’s findings and ownership of new ways of working to ensure a safe, fair and inclusive organisation going forward.
• Going forward, AV will use the framework developed by the independent expert to ensure alignment between reflective practice undertaken at a Board and organisational level. AV will also consider how to use the framework to embed reflective practice into our program of work to implement the Commission’s recommendations once key staff are recruited.
• Safe Fair Inclusive: Your AV Roadmap 2022-27 includes statements of commitment to create a safe, fair and inclusive organisation from the Board, the CEO and each member of the Executive Committee.

• The Executive Committee and over 60 senior leaders participated in reflective practice workshops following the release of Volume 1 of the final report of the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission in late 2021. This enabled those leaders to listen and connect with the experiences of AV’s workforce.
• In mid-2022, AV engaged an expert to develop a framework to support regular and ongoing reflective practice at a Board and organisational level, to enable reflection on the key drivers of unlawful and harmful workplace conduct in AV, sense-making related to the Commission’s findings and ownership of new ways of working to ensure a safe, fair and inclusive organisation going forward.
• In addition to starting work to deliver the framework, the consultant is preparing to facilitate a number of individual discussions and joint Board workshops to enable reflective practice. Planning will commence once key staff are recruited to enable a broader roll-out of workshops, guided by AV’s forthcoming reflective practice framework.
• Safe Fair Inclusive: Your AV Roadmap 2022-27 includes statements of commitment to create a safe, fair and inclusive organisation from the Board, the CEO and each member of the Executive Committee.