The Department for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships has announced that the value of First Nations procurements and sales to the Government has increased by $118 million, or 36 per cent, in just one financial year.
According to the Department, nearly 150 First Nations enterprises out of a total 535 Indigenous suppliers, did business with the Government for the first time.
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Craig Crawford said the Queensland Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Procurement Policy (QIPP) was about a level playing field for First Nations businesses.
“The policy began in 2017 and was aimed at supporting First Nations businesses to successfully navigate the Government tender process,” Mr Crawford said.
“The value of a dollar goes far beyond the products or services that we buy — it’s an investment in local jobs, in local communities, in better services, and in strengthening business capacity.”
He said the Government wanted to make sure that every eligible Queensland business had the opportunity to work with it “and we know there are many First Nations businesses who have the capacity to successfully supply the goods and services our State needs”.
“That is why the QIPP exists, to make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses not only have the opportunity and the know-how to go through the procurement process, but can share that knowledge with other First Nations businesses,” Mr Crawford said.
Minister for Employment and Small Business, Di Farmer said that over the past year, the QIPP had seen a huge increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses supplying to the Government for the first time.
“Increasing the capacity and capability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses to supply to the Government also strengthens First Nations businesses’ capacity to supply to the private sector, which increases opportunities for economic participation,” Ms Farmer said.
