Celebrating choice and voice

Applications for the 2021 Indigenous Governance Awards are now open!

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Hosted by Reconciliation Australia and the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, and supported by the BHP Foundation, the Awards celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who demonstrate strong leadership, good management, effective partnerships and brave, creative thinking.

Indigenous governance is critical to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities to make informed choices about their own futures.

It also ensures they have a greater voice in decisions affecting them.

Like in south-east Queensland where the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) pioneered a new regional health ‘ecosystem’ that was underpinned by strong cultural foundations. 

With the largest and fastest growing Indigenous population in the country but the biggest health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, IUIH achieved the biggest single health impact of any Indigenous organisation in Australia, in the shortest time period, and with a national best practice standard of care.  

Their work was recognised with an Indigenous Governance Award in 2018.

In Western Australia, Broome’s Nyamba Buru Yawuru invests and manages the tangible and non-tangible assets of the Yawuru community.

Their approach to business development, growth, investment and leadership is designed around transparency and ‘owning their own risk’ by creating an economic foundation for the cultural and social growth and sustainability of the Yawuru people.

Nyamba Buru Yawuru were also recognised in 2018’s Awards.

In 2021, the Awards will again celebrate good governance in Indigenous-led organisations in three categories:

·         projects or unincorporated initiatives or projects

·         small to medium incorporated organisations

·         large incorporated organisations

Applications close 31 March 2021.

Learn more about the Awards, visit Indigenous Governance Awards.