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Beyond Marking the Days: Why Australia’s Workplaces Need Gari Yala
- Reconciliation Queensland
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
It has been six years since the landmark Gari Yala ("Speak the Truth") report first shed a stark light on the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers across Australia. The initial findings were a call to action, prompting organizations nationwide to promise better cultural safety, fairer workloads, and meaningful inclusion.
So, where do we stand today?
The latest data from Gari Yala 2025–2026 has landed, drawing on the lived experiences of 1,158 Indigenous professionals. The message is undeniable: good intentions are no longer enough.
While some progress has been made, the new report reveals a sobering reality about systemic racism, unpaid "cultural load," and the long road ahead for genuine workplace safety.
If your organization is serious about moving beyond symbolic gestures—moving past simply "marking the days"—this is a report you cannot afford to skim.
What You’ll Discover Inside the Full Infographic
Rather than just repeating the numbers, we want you to dig into the visual data yourself and share it with your leadership, HR, and D&I teams. Here is a glimpse of what the download unpacks:
The Reality of Cultural Safety: A critical look at why a staggering majority of Indigenous employees still feel culturally unsafe at work, alongside data on how frequently racial slurs and appearance-based comments occur.
The "Hidden Year" of Unpaid Work: The data breaks down how extra cultural demands add up over a career—revealing how many Indigenous full-time employees end up doing an entire extra year of unpaid work over a lifetime.
The Gap in Anti-Racism Action: Discover why reporting mechanisms are failing, how few employees receive support when incidents occur, and why systemic change is moving at a snail's pace.
A Reaffirmation of the 10 Truths: A clear, actionable framework for employers to shift from passive listening to active truth-telling and truth-acting.
It’s Time for Truth-Listening and Truth-Acting
Building a truly inclusive workplace requires unearthing uncomfortable truths, shifting the focus from "worker readiness" to "workplace readiness," and properly compensating cultural labor.
Download the full Gari Yala 2025–2026 Infographic today to get the complete picture, bring the hard data to your next board or team meeting, and help drive real, sustainable change.