Apology & Correction

This week, the Humanists Australia (HA) Board issued a correction to an organisational announcement confirming the recent appointment of our new CEO, Dr Dave Scott and the prior departure of Dr Heidi Nicholl from that role. The announcement briefly recognised Dr Nicholl for her wonderful work, wishing her every success as she steps into new ventures. However, one version of the organisational announcement inadvertently omitted to include the designation of “Dr” with Dr Nicholl’s name.

The staff member who made the error quickly apologised to Dr Nicholl. We, the Board, now wish to apologise on behalf of the organisation for the accidental omission. One of HA’s key values says, “We value and respect people for their own sake, and treat them ethically, as equals. We believe all should have the same rights and opportunities.” The appearance of not embodying this value in the announcement is regrettable and has been followed with an apology and organisational action.

We accept responsibility for the failure, and we are reviewing the organisation’s policies, including communication processes, to ensure that similar errors do not occur in the future. We understand that sections of the community have been, and are still, subjected to discrimination in employment and other areas. Humanists Australia strongly supports equal pay for equal work and respectful workplaces. 

We have confidence in the motivation and ability of our new CEO and our Board to improve both organisational understanding and operating procedures.

As another of the HA key values states, “Part of being human is making mistakes. When we make a mistake, we apologise and do our best to make amends.”  We record our unqualified apology for the distress caused by the omission and affirm our commitment to positive change.

Humanists Australia Board