Strengthening Indigenous Procurement: Turning Opportunity Into Lasting Impact

Recent changes to the Australian Government’s Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) are putting a renewed focus on what Indigenous procurement was established to achieve: creating genuine economic opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

Kirra Services was recently featured by Region Canberra in an article exploring these changes and the importance of ensuring government procurement delivers genuine and measurable social value.

For us, that conversation goes to the heart of why Kirra Services exists.

Protecting the integrity of Indigenous procurement

Under strengthened Indigenous Procurement Policy requirements, businesses accessing opportunities through the IPP will need to demonstrate at least 51 per cent First Nations ownership and control, or be registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.

The changes are also intended to address practices such as “black-cladding”, where Indigenous participation can be used to satisfy procurement requirements without delivering the genuine Indigenous ownership, control and economic benefit the policy was designed to create.

As a Supply Nation-certified Indigenous business with majority First Nations ownership, Kirra Services already meets the strengthened ownership requirements.

Kirra Services Director Brad Nagle, a proud Bundjalung man and majority owner of the company, welcomed measures designed to protect the integrity of Indigenous procurement.

“The IPP was designed to help close the gap and address some of the challenges facing the Indigenous business sector. We’ll be watching with interest to see how these changes shape the landscape, but our focus has always been the same — creating genuine employment pathways and reinvesting back into Indigenous communities.”

Procurement can create much more than a commercial outcome

At Kirra Services, we believe the value of Indigenous procurement shouldn’t end when a contract is delivered.

Every organisation needs technology products, services and expertise. The greater opportunity is to use that commercial activity to create something beyond the immediate technology outcome.

That means building careers, developing skills and creating opportunities for Indigenous Australians while reinvesting in communities.

Through Kirra Academy, we operate pathway programs designed to help people establish careers in technology and audiovisual services.

More than 80 people have now progressed through our pathway programs, with graduates moving into professional careers through Kirra Services and our network of industry partners.

Some of those individual journeys demonstrate exactly what meaningful opportunity can achieve.

Two Kirra Academy graduates, for example, completed their traineeships and progressed into project management roles with a Defence prime. One has since been selected as a Cisco ambassador.

The impact can also extend beyond the individual. Inspired by one graduate’s success, her partner joined our audiovisual pathway and is now working as an AV trainee within Kirra Services.

These are the outcomes that matter to us.

Reinvesting back into community

The impact generated through Indigenous procurement also allows us to support communities in ways that extend well beyond employment.

One example is our Boots for Indigenous initiative, through which Kirra Services collects and distributes sporting equipment to Indigenous communities across Australia.

Our team recently travelled from Canberra to Darwin, delivering football boots, jerseys, footballs and other sporting equipment to communities along the journey.

We also donated laptops to students who otherwise did not have access to the technology they needed.

These initiatives are possible because of the commercial relationships we have built with our customers, partners and government agencies.

As Brad explained to Region:

“At the end of the day, you can see the tangible impact when funding reaches the right organisations and ultimately the right communities.”

Technology with purpose

Kirra Services is proud to be an Indigenous-owned technology business, but our ambition has always extended beyond delivering great technology outcomes.

We want commercial success to create a multiplier effect.

When organisations choose to work with genuine Indigenous businesses, procurement can help create sustainable companies, employment opportunities, professional careers, skills development and investment back into communities.

That’s the real potential of Indigenous procurement — and it’s why strengthening the integrity of the IPP matters.

For Kirra Services, our mission remains clear: using business as a vehicle to create opportunities, strengthen communities and deliver lasting social impact.

Read the full Region Canberra feature: How the Indigenous procurement crackdown will deliver real social value.

Original Article Published by Region Canberra on 8th September 2026 and written by Dione David