Create a culture of authenticity and creativity. Build capability and diversity. Connect meaningfully to build authentic relationships. Generate value by meeting our tenants' evolving needs.
Contributing to our communities
Throughout the year, Cromwell remained committed to achieving progress on gender equality through the CEO’s membership to the Property Champions of Change Coalition.
In partnership with the Property Coalition, Cromwell participated in a coalition-wide reflection and consultation initiative. Based on the Champions of Change principles of listening, learning, and leading, the objective of this initiative was to enable reflections on diversity leadership capability, and to inform improvement actions. This included facilitating two separate but complementary consultation activities.
A series of listening and learning focus groups were conducted to gain insights on the policies and culture around gender diversity of Cromwell. These focus groups were designed to prompt informal conversations about gender equality at both Cromwell and in the property industry generally. We responded to feedback with some positive adjustments in the way we work.
Further, Cromwell’s Australian Executive Leadership Team participated in the Champions of Change Leadership Shadow exercise, where a diverse range of female employees were asked to provide anonymous feedback on each of our executive leaders and their diversity leadership capability. Each executive was debriefed on their results and a personal leadership action plan for advancing gender equality was then developed.
After losing their daughter Daniela to Glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumours in 2021, Kevin Dwyer, Senior Property Manager in Canberra and his family started the Daniela Dwyer foundation. The foundation’s goal is to change the current approach to diagnoses and fund early intervention through routine blood testing without the need for invasive biopsies. Cromwell supported this positive legacy through a donation of $5,700 in FY23. The funding goes towards the QIMR Rao research lab which is working closely with oncologists to accelerate the progress of new blood tests and drug screening platforms. This will enable them to become a routine part of clinical practice for brain cancer patients.
Early in FY24, Cromwell was named the principal sponsor of the Moriarty Foundation’s ‘Indigenous footballers call time on inequality’ campaign. To coincide with the kick-off of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, Cromwell made a $20,000 donation to the Indigenous not-for-profit’s fundraising drive for their John Moriarty Football (JMF) program. JMF is Australia’s longest running, and most successful, Indigenous football initiative, with more than 2,000 Indigenous girls and boys across 23 public schools in 19 remote and regional communities in New South Wales, the
Northern Territory, and Queensland participating in the program.
Executive Management Team member Michelle Dance attended the campaign launch event and joined Socceroos legend and human rights activist Craig Foster AM and others to watch young Indigenous footballers run through a series of training drills.
“To see where our donation is going, and the impact it can have on young lives, is truly inspiring,” Michelle said.
“As a business, Cromwell is on our own reconciliation journey and is seeking to make tangible steps to help improve the lives of Indigenous Australians and communities. We are thrilled to have been able to partner with an organisation that has improved the lives of Indigenous kids in remote and regional communities for more than 10 years.
In 2023, we implemented a range of improved time-off benefits and committed to continually reviewing these to ensure they are best practice. After consultation with our people through various reflection and consultation initiatives, we recognised that, in
some circumstances, these improvements had the unindented effect of reinforcing gender-norms, particularly around care and parenting.
In response to this feedback, we revised and improved our Paid Parental Leave Policy in 2024 by removing any gender reference and the delineation between primary and secondary carers. The improvements ensured any parent welcoming a child to their family via birth, surrogacy, or adoption is eligible for 16 weeks Cromwell paid parental leave, regardless of gender or carer status. There has been a significant increase in the number of men accessing our paid parental leave benefit and an increase in the duration of leave taken because of this initiative.
