The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has launched a roadmap to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to coincide with NAIDOC Week 2020.
Secretary of the Department, David Fredericks said the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business Support Roadmap represented the Department’s commitment to an inclusive policy and brought together its Indigenous business-related work.
“A resilient and thriving Indigenous business sector is the key to empowering Indigenous Australians — creating jobs and delivering transformative economic outcomes,” Mr Fredericks said.
“Our vision is to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to contribute to, and benefit from, Australia’s economic growth. This vision aligns with our Reconciliation Action Plan.”
He said the Roadmap showed how the Department was changing the way it did business by improving Indigenous business access to programs; improving Indigenous business outcomes through procurement, and building the Indigenous engagement ecosystem.
“The Roadmap is the first step on a journey to ensure that our Department continues to support a positive cycle of economic empowerment for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples,” Mr Fredericks said.
“It will be a live document. We’ll update it annually to ensure we keep growing a strong and vibrant Indigenous business sector.”
He said that while there was still much to be done to address the inequalities faced by Indigenous Australians “our work — focused on building Indigenous business capability — is an important step towards economic transformation”.
The Department’s 11-page Roadmap can be accessed at this PS News link.
