Reconciliation Action Plan

Our vision for reconciliation is an Australia where the cultures, histories and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are understood, recognised and respected. We seek to strengthen our commitment to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes through trusted relationships and collaboration with Indigenous communities and continue to create an organisational culture where the value and importance of Indigenous knowledges, expertise and perspectives are respected and core to our work.

We proudly presented our first Reflect RAP in early 2017 as a public commitment to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In November 2018 we launched our second RAP – Innovate, to set the future direction of how GHD and all our people can continue to make a positive difference in a practical way followed by a refreshed Innovate RAP in October 2021 with specific actions around facilitating employment opportunities, improving procurement practices and engagement with the communities impacted by our work. Our Stretch RAP launched in July 2025 reaffirms our longstanding commitment to reconciliation and is our most ambitious yet, we were clear we wanted to embed our RAP commitments as business as usual, and so our new RAP aligns to our six Indigenous Strategy pillars and Indigenous Employment Strategy.

We have committed to Indigenous procurement targets to support the growth of Indigenous business, expanding our cultural learning, targeted initiatives aimed at recruitment, retention and development of Indigenous employees, establishing and growing partnerships with Indigenous organisations, improving our engagement with Indigenous communities, including improving our guiding principles for project engagement and exploration of opportunities with Indigenous communities and key stakeholders around energy and water.

As a Stretch RAP organisation, we are committed to promoting reconciliation through our sphere of influence with clients and the broader community and continuing to work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, businesses, communities and employees. 

About the artist
Merinda Walters is a proud Kamilaroi Yinarr (Aboriginal Woman). After joining GHD in 2019 as an intern through the CareerTrackers program, Merinda went on to become an Environmental Scientist and Stakeholder Engagement Consultant based in our Cairns office until recently where she has joined CareerTrackers as Program Manager for the Young Indigenous Women in STEM Academy. As an artist, Merinda specialises in contemporary Aboriginal art using acrylic paints, reflecting her passion for nature, and conservation, as well as her culture and connection to Country.

About the artwork

The artwork is titled ‘Warruwi Burranbaa’, which translates to ‘new path’ and includes imagery representative of GHD’s five key market sectors: Energy, Environment, Water, Transport and Property & Buildings. The style of these sectors pays homage to our previous RAP artworks and encapsulates the style of previous works Merinda has created for GHD.

The artwork is titled ‘Warruwi Burranbaa’, which translates to ‘new path’ and includes imagery representative of GHD’s five key market sectors: Energy, Environment, Water, Transport and Property & Buildings. The style of these sectors pays homage to our previous RAP artworks and encapsulates the style of previous works Merinda has created for GHD.

The hero graphic is a contemporary styled Australian Indigenous artwork, originally painted in acrylic paint. The handprints speak to the importance of GHD’s outreach programs, such as CareerTrackers that gave Merinda her start in the business, and GHD’s values for promoting positive outcomes for the places we work in.

The colour palette and range of intertwining patterns represent the diversity of career paths available through GHD, the diversity of projects we deliver, and the diversity of all our people. The handprints and the market sectors are all linked through an array of paths to represent the connection between GHD’s values and the work we do. 

GHD acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land, water and sky throughout Australia on which we do business. We recognise their strength, diversity, resilience and deep connections to Country. We pay our respects to Elders of the past, present and future, as they hold the memories, knowledges and spirit of Australia. GHD is committed to learning from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the work we do.