Gippsland Lakes Complete Health proudly supports the Change It Ourselves initiative by giving our team the opportunity to #changethedate they celebrate Australia.

Staff can choose if they want to take January 26 as a public holiday or if they want to work that day and substitute it for another day of leave.

To find out more about the Change it Ourselves initiative, visit www.changeitourselves.com.au

Our Position

The Board and leadership team at GLCH understand there are many opinions surrounding the celebration of Australia Day on January 26 as a public holiday.

As a community health service, we work in partnership to address inequity and improve the social, health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We recognise that celebrating on January 26 is deeply distressing for many.

We have thought deeply about our commitment to reconciliation and the importance of truth-telling. This year we are offering our team the option to substitute the January 26 public holiday for another day.

We realise this will not undo centuries of marginalisation and disadvantage, nor will it solve the ongoing impacts of colonialism. Still, it is something we can do now, and we believe it is a step in the right direction towards reconciliation.

We will continue to advocate to change the date until it is moved to one that unites us all in an inclusive national celebration of this wonderful country, Australia.