The policy defines building a workplace free of discrimination, with equal opportunity and respect as the company’s joint enterprise. Guided by the vision “Real Wellbeing starts here,” calls on employees to work toward this goal. Specific terms such as “Welcoming Difference,” “Whole Self,” “Protected Attributes” serve as shared language and internal jargon, which signal membership and shared understanding within the community. Moreover, it outlines the behaviours expected of members, “merit-based selection,” “monitoring pay parity,” “reporting incidents,” translates invisible values into concrete practices, shaping the community’s unique cultural patterns. Although the policy includes disciplinary measures, the core focus is on prevention not punishment. Employees can engage in difficult conversations about diversity, without fear of being excluded or ignored, thereby fostering deeper learning and full cultural integration.

The Welcoming Difference Policy shows this balance by carefully protecting employee dignity while also reinforcing organizational authority. The phrases such as “bring your whole self to work” and ““everyone has something unique to offer”” protects a positive face, making employees feel valued regardless of background. Besides, the policy strongly emphasises obligation, repeating “you must not discriminate” and requiring “objective reasoning” to ensure fairness but also control behaviour. This reflects rapport management in the workplace, where harmony is promoted alongside compliance. Additionally, by recognising diversity across “geographical location” and “educational background”, Australian Unity positions itself as progressive to enhance its brand image. However, the monitoring role of the People & Culture team and warnings of its disciplinary action suggest the company power is still centralized and rapport remains top-down under surveillance.

In this text, Australian unity positions themselves as the authority and rule-setter. Its duties are creating policies and allocating responsibilities. The managers are positioned as the assignment agents, their duty is to supervise the workplace culture that the company aims for and implement the inclusive corporate culture into daily management strategies. The employees are positioned as the protected groups and accountable actors to follow policy rules and practice inclusive behaviour. For power dynamics, Australian unity empowered themselves as the policy maker and allocation, and also uphold the rights to consequences of violation. Managers are empowered as both enforcers (guardians of the policy) guardian and protectors , while employees are subject to evaluation as they have responsibility to sustain the policy. 

Australian Unity. (2025). Careers at Australian Unity. Retrieved 17th September 2025 from https://www.australianunity.com.au/careers

Davis, P. J., Frolova, Y., & Callahan, W. (2016). Workplace diversity management in Australia: What do managers think and what are organisations doing? Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 35(2), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2015-0020 

Fletcher, J. (2017). Rapport Management. In B. Vine (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Language in the Workplace (pp. 77–88). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315690001-8/rapport-management-jeannie-fletcher 

Glassdoor. (2025). Australian Unity Reviews. Retrieved 17th September, 2025 from https://www.glassdoor.com.au/Reviews/Australian-Unity-Reviews-E317912.htm 

Harré, R. (2012). Positioning theory: Moral dimensions of social-cultural psychology. In J. Valsiner (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Culture and Psychology. Oxford Academic. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195396430.013.0010  

Spencer-Oatey, H. (2008). Culturally Speaking Second Edition Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Syed, J., & Kramar, R. (2009). What is the Australian model for managing cultural diversity? Personnel Review, 39(1), 96–115. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483481011007887

Eckert, P. (2000). Linguistic variation as social practice: The linguistic construction of identity in Belten High. Blackwell.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice. Cambridge University Press.

Despite the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation and diversity management policies in recent decades, Syed and Kramar (2009) contend that these have been inadequate. As an example, in their 2016 study of Australian managers’ perceptions of workplace diversity management, Davis et al. found that workplace diversity continued to be underappreciated and poorly understood.