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Independent. Impartial. Confidential.—Supporting organisations across Australia and internationally for over 20 years

Cultural audits, inclusive leadership, facilitated practice

Diversity, equity & inclusion

DEI work that survives the board’s questions and regulator’s audit.

For HR, culture and people leaders who need DEI to be more than a statement. Those who have to defend the work to a board that’s increasingly asking for evidence, a regulator now actively monitoring positive duty obligations, and a workforce that can spot performative language a long way off.

EquipMe Coaching & Consulting partners with leaders, HR teams and executives to turn inclusion from intent into a lived practice. The work is built on cultural audits, inclusive leadership coaching and facilitated conversations, not posters, not workshops-in-isolation, not one-off training days that get audited the following year and found to have changed nothing.

The positive duty moment

The positive duty introduced under the Sex Discrimination Act has shifted the ground for HR and boards. Organisations are no longer expected only to respond to complaints, they’re expected to demonstrate, proactively, that they are taking reasonable and proportionate measures to prevent sex discrimination, sexual harassment and related conduct.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has the powers to monitor and enforce. Boards, audit & risk committees and general counsel are now asking HR for assurance evidence, not just policy statements. Cultural audits, leadership readiness reviews and inclusion-capability programs are the instruments that produce that evidence.

EquipMe Coaching & Consulting builds them — and builds them in a way that holds up under scrutiny.

How we work

DEI strategy & consulting

Partnering with executive sponsors and HR teams to assess where the organisation is now and where it needs to go. Produces a roadmap with measurable milestones, accountability lines and an assurance trail. Designed to be read by both your people and your board.

Inclusive leadership training

Tailored programs that help leaders understand the dynamics that quietly exclude: bias, cultural defaults, communication patterns and build the confidence to lead diverse teams with empathy and respect. Designed to lift capability, not to tick a compliance box.

Workshops & facilitated conversations

Safe, guided team sessions on the topics that need talking about including bias, allyship, communication across difference, what inclusion means in this particular workplace. Facilitated by experienced practitioners trained to hold the room when conversations get hard.

Cultural audits

In-depth reviews of your policies, systems, employee experience and everyday practices. Surfaces the gap between stated and lived culture. Anonymised, evidence-based, written for governance audiences as well as HR.

DEI coaching

One-to-one or small-group coaching for leaders working on specific blind spots, building self-awareness, or translating inclusion principles into the way they actually run their team.

Leadership circles & retreats

Dedicated spaces, in person or virtual, for reflection and dialogue that strengthen connection, psychological safety and a shared sense of what leadership looks like in this organisation.

Audience cross links

Where you sit shapes how this looks

If you're in HR or culture leadership

Practical, defensible DEI work that lifts capability and produces the assurance evidence the board and regulator are asking for.

If you're a CEO or executive leader

DEI as part of how the organisation actually runs exec team behaviour, succession choices, language in the room. Not just a workstream.

If you are on the board

Independent cultural audits and assurance reporting that the audit & risk committee can rely on. Written for governance.

Why this matters beyond the policy

Inclusion done well makes organisations measurably better. From attracting and retaining talent, making decisions, staying alert to risk, recovering when something goes wrong. Inclusion done badly, or done performatively, makes them brittle. People can tell the difference.

The work isn’t about adding initiatives. It’s about removing the everyday friction that quietly tells people they don’t belong; in meetings, in promotion decisions, in who gets the development opportunities and who gets the cleanup. When that friction comes down, the workplace people experience starts to match the workplace the leadership team thought they’d built.

Why EquipMe Coaching & Consulting

Why organisations choose EquipMe Coaching & Consulting for DEI work

Roots in ombuds practice and conflict resolution

Meaning the work understands how exclusion actually shows up day-to-day, not just in survey data.

Multicultural perspective

Janet has lived and worked across cultures, which shapes how the work is held in the room and how recommendations are framed.

Evidence-led

Cultural audits use both qualitative depth and quantitative anchors. Reports are written for governance audiences.

Independent

We have no internal politics, no pre-existing relationships to protect. Findings are what they are.

Practical

Every engagement produces actionable next steps, not a 60-page document that sits on a shared drive.

Testimonials

Janet has been an invaluable partner in strengthening organisational culture and resolving complex workplace issues. I’ve seen first-hand her impact as an Organisational Ombuds, guiding individuals and leaders through sensitive, high-stakes issues with care, sound judgement and professional discretion. Janet combines broad HR expertise with the Ombuds principles of independence and confidentiality, remaining objective while consistently demonstrating integrity, fairness and respect. She is a trusted advisor whose considered approach, insight and principled leadership leave a lasting positive impact.

Chris Watts

Execuitve People, Culture & Talent Leader

Janet was my trusted go-to person for tricky issues involving employee and management relations, especially during significant organisation changes. As the Ombudsperson in the APAC region at Chevron, she wasted little time in engaging stakeholders to understand their priorities and experiences. Amidst tension and discomfort in workplace settings, she brings calm and helps to restore safety for honest and respectful conversations to happen. More than that, she can help you grow skills and prepare your leaders to do the same.

Yit Nee Chong

Organisational Development Consultant

I worked with Janet Vantriet during our time at Chevron, where I served as the organisation’s Australasian Decision Making Team Lead for most of our joint tenure. In that capacity, I was closely involved in senior decision processes and leadership communications, and I engaged with Janet in a professional advisory context within a highly complex and sensitive operating environment.

At the time, the organisation was navigating significant systemic issues, requiring judgement, discretion, and an acute understanding of personal conduct, governance, and cultural boundaries.

As part of addressing these concerns, the company initiated an independent external review into reported behaviours. This process ultimately led to the implementation of enhanced behavioural monitoring and targeted training programs across the organisation. Janet’s work sat within this broader framework of reform, supporting individuals and leaders to engage constructively with the issues raised, and to operate in line with strengthened expectations of conduct.

In a professional capacity, Janet advised me on speechwriting for decision-making addresses, framing messages for diverse audiences, and handling difficult interpersonal situations with care and clarity. Her guidance consistently balanced empathy with accountability, and she had a rare ability to de-escalate tension while maintaining professional standards. Her manner is calm and disarming, which allowed people to engage openly without feeling exposed or judged.

Over time, my professional relationship with Janet developed into a genuine friendship. Importantly, however, Janet was always meticulous in maintaining a clear boundary between her professional role and personal support. At every stage, her conduct remained ethical, appropriate, and aligned with best practice for an Ombuds professional.

Outside the workplace, Janet had a positive influence on my personal life during a period of significant transition, including some difficult life moments. While this speaks to her character and empathy, it never compromised her professionalism or blurred roles when we were working together.

Janet Vantriet brings integrity, emotional intelligence, and sound judgement to complex human systems. I would have no hesitation recommending her Ombuds consultancy to organisations seeking trusted, independent support in environments where issues are sensitive, stakes are high, and professionalism is non-negotiable.

Rob Creswell

Commercial Advisor

Janet is a knowledgeable and experienced human resource specialist. We have engaged on a professional basis through her role as an Ombuds Manager at Chevron. I appreciated her direct and targeted approaches to the challenges which arose through my role. She provided strategies and ways to optimise team engagement, influencing upwards from both a management and stakeholder perspective, and developing high performing teams.

I have strongly encouraged colleagues to engage her services, as an objective third party perspective to approaching challenges that arise on a day-to-day basis within a role. She is a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion, with a focus on advocating for equity and empathic leadership through the techniques she provides. I continue to apply the strategies that she has shared with me.

Melissa Grove

SEAA Director

I worked closely with Janet through her role with Chevron on the SRIB committee and as an SME in the organisation’s cultural transformation efforts. I found Janet very effective in partnering with key stakeholders and Senior Leadership in developing training materials, facilitating workshops, and driving initiatives.

Further, in my role as Manager, Commercial Cargo Operations, I personally engaged with Janet though her role as Ombuds Manager, using her extensive skills and knowledge to help guide me as an emerging leader through difficult personnel management and organisational challenges. I found Janet to be supportive, insightful and her advice effective in helping address the specific issues. I was also impressed with Janet’s ability to handle sensitive, high risk conversations with maturity.

Robert Hildebrand

Shippin & Energy Industry Leader, GAICD, Master CI:1

I worked with Janet at Chevron in multiple capacities at Chevron. She brings exceptional communication, DIO and counselling skills. She was instrumental in setting up the Ombuds function in Asia Pacific and EMEA, which was a new function for the region. In her role she has made a lasting impact in how people and functions work together during periods of ongoing change. She has played a critical role on various diversity and inclusion initiatives. Janet brings a unique skill set in being able to work operationally to confidentially guide and acts strategically to drive change.

Anita Baroni

People & Culture Leader & Employee Experience Consultant

Janet is an excellent HR Manager with a thorough and in-depth knowledge of HR issues. Her attention to detail is excellent also she is a fabulous recruitment consultant who really cares about her candidates. I felt she was easy to approach with issues and I could always talk to her if I had concerns/ issues. She was open to listening, goes above and beyond to help and support them through the recruitment process and any HR-related issues that arise. She is an excellent ambassador for the firms she represents and I would highly recommend her

Shane SK

Senior Process & Quality Engineer

Over a persons career, and mine is now over 45 years, you have the opportunity to work with a huge diversity of people from so many backgrounds, experience, knowledge, empathy, humility and integrity.
I was privileged to have worked with Janet for a short period of time and have followed her career path since.
One of the most impressive attributes a person can have is their word and their integrity.
I wish Janet the very best of health and best wishes for her personal and profession aspirations and look forward to seeing Janet advance and achieve in life and work interests. Thanks Janet for being you. The world needs more people like you.

Paul Griffiths

Business & Development Manager

“Janet is an exceptional HR leader and Ombudsman. During the last 14 years, I have had the pleasure of working on a number of partnership opportunities, and she leads by example.
She has always kept highly professional and shared extensive knowledge. I believe she is one of the best HR managers and Ombudsman I ever had, as her people skills are highly developed.
Her ability to deal with large scale and complex HR matters and come up with new ways to achieve results were always an inspiration. I’m delighted I had the chance to learn and partner with Janet over the years.”

Mark May

Global Managing Director & Practice Manager

I worked with Janet when she was working as the HR Business Partner in our WA operations, she is the consummate professional with a strong knowledge in her field, bringing some great initiatives to the operation , her value to the business soon became apparent and we were sorry to lose her to a more senior role at head office, she made a positive impact in this role also, sincerely Chris Grant Technical Manager.

Chris Grant

Technical & Quality Assurance Manager

Ready to lead with advocacy: Three ways to start a conversation

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