With the end of Indigenous Business Month 2021, celebrated annually in October, we reflect on this year’s theme: Powering the Indigenous Economy. The theme shone a light on the power Indigenous economies generate and recognised how Indigenous businesses value add  to the Australian economy over and above the provision of goods and services.

Advocacy and support  for the Indigenous business sector through regular and consistent everyday business empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take control of their economic future with  positive long-term outcomes including job creation for families, financial security for communities and the growth of local economies.

The Australian Government supports a strong and prosperous Indigenous business sector through our Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP). Administered by the NIAA, the IPP was created to help Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs win more Commonwealth contracts with Government agencies.

Since the inception of the policy in 2015, the Commonwealth has awarded over $5.3 billion in contracts to 2,603 Indigenous businesses, averaging $850 million per year over the last six years, compared to just $6.2 million in the year prior to the IPP (2014-15).

These contracts span across industries including IT, recruitment, healthcare, consulting, education and telecommunications and sectors only continue to grow. In 2015, the Government only had 19 contracts with Indigenous business in the IT sector worth $4.2 million but by 2020-21, this grew to 402 contracts worth $54 million.

These kinds of results reflect  a whole-of-Government effort with all portfolios exceeding their procurement targets each financial year since 2015-16 to 2020-21.

The Indigenous Procurement Policy has created significant opportunities for Indigenous business owners and employees and strengthens the ongoing entrepreneurial and innovative power that comes from Indigenous business, every day of the year.

For more information on the IPP, visit Indigenous Procurement Policy.

For more information on Indigenous Business Month, visit Indigenous Business Month