Brisbane North PHN is all in for reconciliation

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands across our region that we gather and work upon – the Turrbal and Jagera people of Brisbane, the Gubbi Gubbi people of Caboolture and Bribie Island, the Waka Waka people of Kilcoy, the Ningy Ningy people of Redcliffe and the Pitcairn Islanders and their ancestors of Norfolk Island.

National Reconciliation Week (27 May–3 June 2026) invites all Australians to consider how we can contribute to a more just, equitable and reconciled nation.

This year’s theme—All in for reconciliation: committing wholeheartedly to reconciliation every single day—reflects Brisbane North PHN’s approach to reconciliation through our strategic priorities and our everyday actions to further reconciliation in Australia.

As outlined in our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2025-2026, our vision for reconciliation is to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within our region experience high quality, culturally informed primary care services that are respectful, responsive, and designed to achieve the best possible health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals and their families.

We understand our responsibility to build authentic partnerships with, and guide the cultural understanding of, service providers.

First Nations-focused services

Through working with community and for community, we aim to close the gap in life expectancy, improve the mortality rates for children and improve access to culturally appropriate and high-quality healthcare.

Brisbane North PHN commissions a range of programs delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations across the region, including:

• health and wellbeing programs and initiatives for individuals
• healthy ageing services
• culturally appropriate allied health services for children
• a targeted suicide prevention program.

Central to our renewed Strategic Plan for 2024-27 is enabling self-determination by First Nations people and addressing the health gaps and inequities that exist for First Nations people in our community. Brisbane North PHN’s CEO actively participates in the South East Queensland First Nations Equity Governance Committee, which has the aim to reform the South East Queensland health system to close the health gap between First Nations people and other Queenslanders by 2031.

By partnering with stakeholders and community, the PHN’s commitment sees us bringing to life important initiatives including:

• an innovative First Nations focused headspace service in Moreton Bay, officially opened in March 2026

• our School Readiness program to target developmental delay in First Nations children

• extended and after hours services at four Aboriginal Medical Service clinics across our region, as well as the MobLink telehealth service.

Brisbane North PHN also supports cultural initiatives in our region including the Wunya (Welcome) Baby and Child to Country Ceremony held on Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi Country (Deception Bay). The ceremony is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies and children living in the Moreton Bay region and their families, where each child is welcomed to Country and receives a commemorative certificate, gifts and photographs with Traditional Owners.

Learn more about our work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare on our website.

First Nations place naming

Amplifying First Nations voices is a core element of our reconciliation approach. This includes the deliberate gesture to recognise First Nations peoples through the naming of our office spaces.

The PHN is currently working with Turrbal and Jagera peoples to incorporate words in language into the naming of meeting rooms. For staff to know the meaning behind the words and to speak them daily is both a gesture of respect and a reminder of Country.

Commissioned art

Visitors to Brisbane North PHN’s new office in Chermside are greeted with the artwork ‘Flowing Knowledge, Healing Country’ by First Nations artist Riki Salam from We Are 27 Creative. This was commissioned to represent the PHN’s vision for reconciliation, with the central symbol representing Brisbane North PHN and the two symbols either side represent both Aboriginal (R) and Torres Strait Islander (L) cultures and knowledges, where the traditional meets with contemporary, two ways of living and learning.

The artwork is firmly embedded in our organisation’s identity, not only hanging in our office but is used day-to-day digitally including as a Microsoft Teams background.

Read the full story of the artwork, as told by Riki Salam, on our website.

Spirit of Reconciliation Working Group

At the heart of Brisbane North PHN’s reconciliation work is the Spirit of Reconciliation Working Group, which is celebrating 15 years of operations since its establishment in 2011.

The group champions reconciliation across the organisation by:

• engaging staff in cultural learning and reflection
• supporting the development and implementation of our RAP
• hosting events and learning opportunities
• publishing the internal newsletter Kuluwin RISE.

Kuluwin RISE is named after the Kabi Kabi word kuluwin, a species of pigeon, with the acronym RISE denoting the four levels of Reconciliation Action Plans – Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate. The newsletter includes information for staff to reflect on and learn from, including education items about culture, First Nations recommended reading, upcoming events and days of significance and more.

An Acknowledgement of Country is embedded in our organisational practice, said at the beginning of meetings. The Working Group provides coaching to ensure acknowledgements are meaningful, personal and grounded in respect for Traditional Owners.

The Spirit of Reconciliation Working Group has also organised cultural learning tours, including an on Country tour where PHN staff visited the Nudgee Waterholes (a place of long-standing cultural and ecological significance) and were taken on a bush tucker exploration, as well as cultural workshops for staff with Aunties from Deception Bay.

Looking forward

We recognise reconciliation is an ongoing journey that requires dedication and work. As an organisation, the PHN has an unwavering commitment to increasing the cultural understanding of our team. We commit to further promote reconciliation through our sphere of influence and will continue to grow our partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and stakeholders. That’s our commitment to being all in this National Reconciliation Week and every week.

Learn more about our reconciliation commitments in our Reflect RAP.