ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Indigenous.gov.au Connecting With First Nations Australians
Back to Stories

Rachel Steffensen Crowned 500th Indigenous Employee

07 June 2017
Jobs, Land and Economy
A young Indigenous woman dressed in black polo neck shirt with a Crown insignia stands in a resort lounge featuring lights, booths and chairs.

Rachel Steffensen and Crown Resorts are both celebrating. Rachel has a new career in Hospitality and Tourism and Crown has their 500th Indigenous employee.

Rachel Steffensen, Crown Resorts 500th Indigenous employee, is excited about her new career.

"I see Crown as an amazing opportunity to build a career within an organisation that supports me - this is especially important for me as an Aboriginal woman, being so far away from home and so used to being surrounded by family and community,” Rachel said.

Rachel grew up in the rural community of Laura, a small town of 120 people on the Cape York Peninsula, where she lived with her Mum, Dad and extended family. At an early age, the family moved to Cairns to ensure that Rachel and her brother could get access to better schooling.

After graduating high school, Rachel undertook a Certificate III in Business Management and moved to Melbourne for more employment opportunities. After 5 months of casual bar tending and not being able to find a full time role in Hospitality and Tourism, Rachel saw an advertisement for Crown Resorts and without hesitation, contacted them.

Rachel quickly gained support from Crown’s Indigenous Employment Program (IEP) where she undertook pre-employment training and interview preparation. Within a month of applying to work at Crown, Rachel found herself with full time work at Crown Melbourne and the beginning of her career in Hospitality and Tourism.

“I wanted to work somewhere that provides me with a future in hospitality and the support I need in order to build that career. After meeting with the Indigenous Employment Team, I knew that I had a great chance to be part of a community and a company that supports Aboriginal people - this made me feel comfortable knowing that I was in the right place.”

Crown Resorts, in partnership with the Australian Government’s Employment Parity Initiative, are well on their way to achieving their target of 2,000 Indigenous Employees by 2021.

(Adapted from article in Crown CHAT |Autumn 2016, Indigenous Employment Program, IEP’s 500th Hire!)

Find out more

The Employment Parity Initiative (EPI) commits Australia’s largest employers to work with the Australian Government to achieve employment parity for First Australians.  Crown Resorts is one of 11 current partners. 

For more information about the Australian Government’s EPI and the partners, visit Employment Parity Initiative.