Indigenous and Social Procurement

With a portfolio of Vicinity’s scale and reach, we acknowledge our role as a large employer of service providers across Australia, generating significant economic activity through the operation of our centres.

Partnering with social enterprises gives us the opportunity to make a positive impact in local communities through our day-to-day operations. Where possible, we partner with social enterprises working to alleviate social issues that are aligned with our own community investment or diversity and inclusion focus areas.

During FY21, we continued to support social and Indigenous Enterprises to meet our procurement needs, bringing our cumulative total to approximately $6.2 million spent since 2018.

We also encourage our suppliers to engage social enterprises, disadvantaged youth, and Indigenous businesses in their operations and supply chains.

To support our Reconciliation efforts and Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) commitments we’ve expanded our Indigenous procurement program. In FY21 we brought our cumulative spend to approximately $1.4 million since FY18.

We also began work on a social and Indigenous Procurement roadmap in FY21, with the aim of increasing our spending in both of these areas over the next five years.

We believe this inclusive approach strengthens our communities and increases the local community’s connection with our centres, further driving the success of our business.

During FY21, Vicinity became a member of Supply Nation; an Australian leader in supplier diversity which connects the biggest national database of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses with Australia’s leading organisations. This helps us build a vibrant and prosperous Indigenous business sector and procure from businesses where our spending will have a positive impact. For every $1 of revenue, Certified Suppliers generate “$4.41 of social return” (Supply Nation), showing the ongoing impact that our work in this area can have.

Through becoming a member of Supply Nation, Vicinity has access to exclusive tools and tailored one-on-one support to ensure we can develop a sustainable and effective supplier diversity program. Vicinity is joined by over 500 paid corporate, government, and not-for-profit members across Australia, which connects us with more than 3,000 verified Indigenous businesses.

Joining Supply Nation is directly in line with numerous procurement deliverables in our Innovate RAP, which aims to engage with more Indigenous Suppliers and provide support to First Nations Communities around Australia.

We are proud of our growing relationship with Wilco Electrical, a Supply Nation certified Indigenous-owned business.

Approximately four years ago, Vicinity started working with Wilco Electrical who now provides electrical maintenance for all our centres in Western Australia, as well as completing project work such as energy efficiency upgrades and ongoing repairs and maintenance.

Not only are Wilco proudly Indigenous-owned, but they provide training and apprenticeships to young Aboriginal People in Western Australia with three 4-year in-house electrical apprenticeships as a direct result of working with Vicinity.

The expansion of Ellenbrook Central which was completed in FY21, saw more than 500 new solar generating car park shades installed and new complimentary electric vehicle charging stations connected to the centre’s expansive rooftop solar system. Wilco Electrical was engaged to undertake electrical work for the solar car park shades.

Frank Mitchell, Director of Wilco Electrical said,

“A big thank you to Vicinity, your support has been a major contributor to our success and our ability to provide training, skills and work experience to local Aboriginals in WA. Together with Vicinity, we’re looking forward to developing even more pathways for Aboriginal people. We encourage other businesses to follow Vicinity’s lead and try Supply Nation suppliers like Wilco to help create more employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians”.