Why mutual respect, recognising talent and providing education will promote better outcomes for businesses and boards integrating First Nations people and perspectives.
First Nations governance is ingrained in culture, community consensus and a broad-scope approach. Central to this is the promotion of First Nations people, organisations and communities to bring about self-determination.
Emma Garlett MAICD, director of the 100 per cent First Nations and female-owned Garlett Group believes that understanding First Nations governance enhances shared ambitions and fosters cultural capability.
First Nations governance is essential to the recognition and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples now and in the future, she says.
Closing the gap
Employment is critical to the health and prosperity of First Nations people. It offers social and economic benefits that flow to individuals, families, communities and the economy, and impacts all Closing the Gap socioeconomic targets.
Filling jobs within communities by employing local residents supports an increased sense of contribution for those employed, and improved social identity, social cohesion and living standards within communities.
The target is to increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-64 who are employed to 62 per cent within six years.
Source: Commonwealth Closing the Gap 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Implementation Plan
While Indigenous governance is increasingly integrated into the mainstream corporate landscape, she says further progress needs to be made.
“There are still barriers to be overcome, such as systematic discrimination, lack of cultural awareness in mainstream corporations and dispossession from land and culture, which has led to socio-economic disadvantages,” she says.
“First Nations governance will create a more culturally relevant and empowering space for Indigenous peoples to thrive in the modern corporate world and generate sustainable wealth.”
Respect for talent
Thinking differently, with consideration for Country, community and care brings greater perspective to decision-making in the boardroom. But asking First Nations people to join a board just to hit a diversity target isn’t going to help, argues Claire Beattie, executive general manager for Small Business Digital at NAB, during a recent AICD webinar on reconciliation hosted by AICD First Nations Lead Justin Agale MAICD.
“I’ve taken phone calls over the years where people have said, ‘Hey, I heard you’re Aboriginal. Would you like to be on a board?’ You’d never ring up white Bob and say, ‘Hey, I heard you’re white, I’d like you to be on a board’,” says Beattie.
“I’m not a diversity target to collect. You are ringing me because you have a board that’s interesting. Perhaps you’ve seen my history and you understand I’m professionally accredited to be on that board. We’re all professional people, so it should be taken as a professional choice.”
Any chair wanting a First Nations perspective on their board should, use a board skills matrix and ask what the person will bring to the table and how their experience will plug any competency gaps.
“Like with everything else, you’re not just looking for a First Nations person, you’re looking for a First Nations person with governance experience, risk experience, asset experience,” says Beattie. “They’re not just the answer to all things black.”
Different perspectives
“I think differently to you because of my experiences,” she continued. “We bring that to the table and that makes for a really good discussion. What disturbs me is when people do diversity for diversity’s sake.”
The risk is, if you bring someone in just to hit a target and they don’t have an AICD course behind them, they don’t understand risk, solvency or what their legal obligations are, says Beattie.
“If you don’t give them the education and support, there is a danger to both the organisation, to the reputation of that organisation, but also to that person professionally.”
Education and support
Structured programs like those offered by the AICD help provide the fundamentals that might make the difference between a business that fails or just cruises along, and one that becomes really successful, says William Lancaster, managing director of FAT Comms and previously CEO at Kinaway, the Victorian Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce.
Progress report
Despite significant progress over the past decades toward First Nations employment parity, a 22 per cent gap remains (Productivity Commission).
In 2021, 56 per cent of First Nations Peoples aged 25-64 were employed, compared to 78 per cent of non-First Nations people.
The Alliance First Nations Employment Index 2025 reported:
- 38% of organisations had First Nations employment KPIs for executive leaders
- 28% had First Nations KPIs for senior leaders
- 21% had First Nations KPIs for mid-level managers
Source: The National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance, Murawin and the Social Research Centre, First Nations Employment Index 2025
“What they enable First Nations business leaders to do is step away from having to work in the business per se, to step up and work more at that strategy level. They’ve got to step up and be able to hand over responsibility to other people who answer to them. They’ve got to be able to delegate, but to do that, they’ve got to understand what sort of frameworks you need in place and what are the risks involved.”
Incorporating First Nations governance practices into education services will help them become more widespread in the corporate world, says Garlett.
“Two-way governance will lead to better outcomes for Indigenous organisations as they seek to become leaders and mainstream companies learn of the benefit of mutually constructive corporate governance.”
Sitting down, having that yarn and making sure you’re on the same page with respect to your values and morals is really important, Lancaster says. But doing business on a handshake is in the past.
“We operate within legal and governance frameworks, and it’s up to us to come up to speed on that. I don’t think it’s incumbent upon the corporate world to operate on that informal basis.”
Bring others along
The webinar panel highlighted how First Nations people have networks from community and offer support to others to accelerate intergenerational change.
“It’s incumbent upon us as business leaders to find the opportunities, not just for ourselves, but for everyone else out there,” says Lancaster. “Helping the individual is absolutely essential, but the outcome of that is you’re lifting up everyone else along with it.”
Directors and organisations play a vital role in driving genuine, sustainable economic empowerment, he adds.
“Economic reconciliation is not a side conversation – it must be embedded in the core of corporate governance, leadership and strategy.”
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