Institutions pay consultants for the expertise they need, but rarely pay senior leaders on Country for theirs, a new report has found.
Across 35 remote NT and Kimberley communities, Indigenous Connection employed more than 80 people as Cultural Knowledge providers, and another 130 asked to join.
“Every community said yes. The missing piece is a buyer,” Indigenous Connection executive director Brad Martin told First Nations News.
“Institutions have told us that they just don’t know their customers on Country. Cultural Knowledge Providers do.
Willing workforce
“The people are ready; the budget line is missing. Pay for knowledge on Country as you pay for advice in the city, and people on Country become systemically included.
“Research across remote communities in Northern Australia found a willing workforce and a missing buyer.
“More than 300 people from over 100 organisations recognised the value of cultural knowledge, and their lack of it internally; few had a budget or process for it.
“In the city, advice is paid for. On Country, knowledge goes un-budgeted, even exchanged for shop vouchers. That wouldn’t happen in corporate head offices in Sydney or Melbourne.”
More than 50 providers were paid to share their unique knowledge for Country, culture and community. Another 130 remote community members asked to join, and IC paused hiring for want of buyers.
Asked through more than 140 senior leaders whether they wanted IC on Country, every one of 35 communities said yes. “This is exactly what we have been calling for, forever,” leaders told IC.
“We want to share our knowledge with visitors to Country, and we want our voice to be included in decisions that affect us.”
Missing budget line
“People in the communities want to be involved, want to be included and want their voice to be known,” Ian Gumbula, a Senior Yolngu leader and Cultural Knowledge Provider from Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island, said.
The two-and-a-half-year study, funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) and presented by Brad Martin and Mr Gumbula (pictured) at Economic Development Australia’s National Economic Development Conference in Hobart, found that many people living on Country are ready and waiting to work.
Governments and philanthropy invest around $6 billion a year in Indigenous-specific programs, more than $120 billion over 20 years. Yet in 2021 only 43.4 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the NT lived in appropriately sized housing, against a Closing the Gap target of 88 per cent by 2031; on current trends, IC estimates around 53 per cent.
“Institutions have told us that they just don’t know their customers on Country. Cultural Knowledge Providers do,” Mr Martin said.
“The people are ready; the budget line is missing. Pay for knowledge on Country as you pay for advice in the city, and people on Country become systemically included.”
Article by Peter Rowe for First Nations News
Published 14 October 2026: https://firstnationsnews.com.au/cultural-knowledge-deserves-reward-report-says/
Stay connected
Visit the Indigenous Connection CMSD webpage to download the report and register your interest in the research. Indigenous Connection is seeking feedback from readers to understand how the findings are informing decisions, practices and opportunities for change within organisations and communities.
