Humanities and Social Sciences – Economics and Business

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and approaches to economics and business are distinct from  non-Indigenous economic structures and philosophies.. For example, Western concepts of ‘property’ or ‘ownership’ – particularly of land – do not adequately or accurately describe the intricate relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Country/Place . First Nations relationship to Land is often described as deeply personal, cultural and spiritual, rather than being an economic or contractual relationship. Similarly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘trade’ is not limited to the exchange of economically quantifiable goods and services, but also includes the exchange of socially, culturally and spiritually valuable songs, dances, art, stories, rituals and ceremonies. The corresponding trade route is ‘mapped out’ or guided by sacred pathways or Songlines.1 The ‘extra-economic’ nature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business is also reflected in the fact that even the term ‘business’ can refer very widely to not just financial or transactional ‘business,’ but also to culturally informed ‘Sorry Business‘ and ‘Men’s or Women’s Business’.  

It is often assumed that traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander economics and business has exclusively operated as a form of subsistence affluence (being self-sufficient with little cash income) through hunter-gatherer means of production and consumption, and through sharing among kin following gender- and age-based divisions of labour. This assumption in part recognises the significance of cultural and kinship values over monetary value. However, it can problematically underestimate the pre-colonial existence of extensive economies and enumeration/remuneration systems across Australia. The exchange of objects was not motivated by a desire for gathering wealth but instead acted as a social system to build connection between people and groups.  

Even before 1788 there were complex relationships for long-distance trade between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, especially for coastal shells and stone hatchets. When people from different groups met socially to share resources, for ceremonies, or to settle disputes, they brought items to exchange. Items included stones for axes, kangaroo skins, timber for spears, ochre or clay for paint and marine shells for decoration. Archaeological evidence suggests some items travelled hundreds of kilometres from their source. In Queensland, a major trade item was a narcotic known as pituri, which was a hunger and pain suppressant. Communities in northern parts of Australia even traded with people from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. For example, Macassans collected bêche-de-mer (sea cucumbers) and trochus through trade with mainland Aboriginal people. Torres Strait Islander people had trading relationships with the people of both mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea, the latter being crucial as a source of heavy timber for sailing canoes.  

Since colonisation, many unjust policies and practices have either directly or indirectly excluded or marginalised many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from opportunities to fully, equally or equitably participate in the Australian economy. For example, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander labour exploitation and stolen wages in the postcolonial period are yet to be adequately addressed, amended and compensated for. It is important to keep this in mind when acknowledging the positive contributions of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, businesspeople and business events outlined later in this guide.  

These are some of the key dates in recent history for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander economics and business, including some dates that bring economics and business and reconciliation together. 

60,000+ years ago: 

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia maintain economic and business conventions and conceptualisations for tens of thousands of years.
   

1819: 

• In 1819, Colebee and Nurraginy are the first Aboriginal people to be granted a plot of land by the colonial government (see the Colebee and Nurraginy Land Grant). 

• Emergence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander commercial businesses. For example, in the 1830s Mahroot, an Aboriginal man from the Botany Bay area, acquires 10 acres of land at Banksmeadow and starts a commercial fishing business using his own boat.
   

1966: 

• A new $1 banknote is released, featuring a design by Aboriginal artist David Malangi. The artwork, depicting the mortuary feast of the ancestral hunter Guumirringu, is used without Malangi’s permission. 
   

1977: 

• The Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations (now ORIC) is established to support and regulate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations, and to register Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups wanting to become corporations.
   

1990: 

• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commercial Development Corporation (now Indigenous Business Australia) is established to assist and enhance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-management and economic self-sufficiency through a strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander presence in mainstream economic activity. 

• The Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research is established at Australian National University. The centre is a leading research think-tank on First Nations economic policy. 
   

1991: 

• Entrepreneur Paul Newman becomes the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Business graduate from the University of Western Sydney.
   

1992: 

• The Mabo Decision is made by Australia’s High Court on 3 June, recognising the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of their lands. This landmark decision challenges the longstanding colonial declaration of terra nullius, which failed to recognise the complex and highly significant relationship between First Nations peoples and the land as distinct from Western economic concepts of ‘occupation’, ‘ownership’ or ‘property’. 
   

1995: 

• The image of Aboriginal inventor and author David Unaipon first appears on the Australian $50 note.
   

2003: 

• Ninti One is established as a not-for-profit organisation, focused on servicing the business needs of remote Aboriginal Australia.
   

2005: 

• Reconciliation Australia, in partnership with BHP Billiton, launches its inaugural Indigenous Governance Awards (IGAs) to recognise excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance in incorporated and non-incorporated organisations. 
   

2006: 

• The Parliament of Australia releases a key inquiry report, Unfinished business: Indigenous stolen wages. 

• The Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act is introduced. 

• Reconciliation Australia launches its workplace Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program for Australian organisations across industries.
   

2009: 

• The Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council (AIMSC) is established, and is officially launched at the Mural Hall in Australian Parliament House on 15 September. 
   

2013: 

• After successfully completing a 3-year pilot phase, AIMSC is rebranded to become Supply Nation, Australia’s leader in supplier diversity, working to connect Australia’s leading brands and government with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses across the country.
   

2015: 

• The First Australians Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FACCI) is established as the peak body to provide a national and global voice for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business sector. 
   

2016: 

• Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull delivers a speech in Parliament House specifically dedicated to young First Nations businesses and entrepreneurs.  

• Sonya Pearce becomes the first Aboriginal woman to receive a PhD in entrepreneurship. 

• The Queensland Government announces a Stolen Wages Reparations Scheme for those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who suffered direct disadvantage due to racially discriminatory government control over wages and savings throughout the late 19th century and the greater part of the 20th century.  

• The inaugural Indigenous Business Month is launched, driven by alumni of Melbourne Business School’s MURRA Indigenous Business Masterclass.
   

2018:  

• First Nations alliance Bushfoods Sensation conducts a survey of the First Nations bushfood industry in Australia. It finds only 1% to be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned. This sparks a movement for increased support for First Nations businesses in the bushfood industry.  
   

2019: 

• Final Report on the Methods for Estimating the Market Value of Indigenous Knowledge is presented to Intellectual Property Australia. This report specifies how to estimate the market value of Indigenous Knowledge including patents, trademarks, designs and plant breeders rights. 
   

2020:  

• A campaign to #BuyBlackFriday took over social media following the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement was started in the US by Rachael Hawk from Meta. In Australia this movement called for Australians to buy from First Nations businesses with lists of First Nations providers being circulated throughout Instagram and Facebook. 

• First Nations owned business Clothing the Gaps pushes for the Aboriginal flag to be de-privatised in a campaign called Free the Flag campaign. The commonwealth buys the flag. This means that the flag can be used and replicated on merchandise and artwork without fear of legal action or copyright violations. 

• The Commonwealth develops and commits to an Indigenous Procurement Policy which provides a framework for supporting and buying from First Nations businesses. 
   

2021: 

• Afterpay Australian Fashion Week dedicates two runways to First Nations Australian designers and artists.  

• Indigenous Fire and Land Management Workshops Program awards $2 million to First Nations-led fire management enterprises.  
   

2022: 

• Koori Mail responds to the Northern Rivers floods, stops publishing for the first time in 30 years, and pivots to running a Koori Mail Flood Relief Hub. It raises national awareness, funds, food and supplies for flood affected Bunjalung community. It continues to operate a free Opshop and food kitchen for community months after the floods. 

• Australian Rural Business Awards are held for the first time with a category for Indigenous Business of the Year. Fiona Harrison, founder of Chocolate on Purpose is the named the first winner of the category.  

• First Languages Australia launches Gakal, a registry of people engaged in First Nations Language work. 

• Blaklens is launched as an online professional network of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander photographers.