‘Once Indigenous people have developed representative structures and governance processes that make cultural sense to them, governments and other stakeholders can make a major contribution to their sustained legitimacy and effectiveness….’ – Indigenous Community Governance Project: Summary of Year Two Research Findings, p.10, 2007, Reconciliation Australia (external website, new window).

Indigenous communities around Australia are increasingly embracing contemporary corporate governance structures for their representative organisations. With strong financial and administrative frameworks in place, these representative organisations are better placed to leverage business and investment alliances with government and industry to generate ongoing revenue, training and employment opportunities for their communities.

Balancing the expectations and interests of their community – which includes acknowledging traditional cultural and social governing structures – with mainstream corporate governance systems and state legislation requirements can pose big challenges for Indigenous communities. In South Australia, however, the Ngarrindjeri nation - which is comprised of 18 clans and some 4000 members - have implemented a corporate governance model for both their peak body and subsidiary investment company that is so far striking the right chord with all stakeholders.

The Ngarrindjeri are the traditional owners of the lower Murray River and Coorong areas of South Australia. In 2008 they entered into an innovative and strategic regional partnership agreement with state and federal government agencies, including IBA. A key aim of that agreement was to identify and develop sustainable income, training and employment opportunities for Ngarrindjeri people, with an early activity being the establishment of the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority (NRA) to represent the interests and concerns of the clans.

The governing board of the NRA has been appointed using representatives from existing Ngarrindjeri community organisations, each of which manages and promotes a particular cultural or social issue. This structure allows clans to express their views and concerns, and address broader community issues of native title, land management and cultural heritage.

Peter Marin, a senior consultant with MLCS Corporate Pty Ltd (MLCS) in Adelaide has worked closely with the Ngarrindjeri throughout the agreement process and said: ‘The Ngarrindjeri are a very proactive community, and they have been preparing themselves for this sort of structure for around ten years. They  have their own very strong cultural governance system called the Tendi (or Parliament) where representatives are nominated to act on behalf of the clans. This assisted in the formation of the NRA’.

Reporting to the NRA, a separate subsidiary company Ngarrindjeri Enterprises Pty Ltd (NEPL) has now been established to focus on identifying and pursuing business opportunities and developing regional tourism.

The board of this subsidiary company was intended to be small (6-8 members) and strategic, include youth representation to allow for succession planning, with board appointments based on business acumen, skills and experience.

Peter Marin said: ‘That kind of structure was a challenge for a community that usually appoints such positions on family lines, age or standing in the community, but because they were willing to embrace something new, they now have a really good mix of young people and more experienced, older people. That is going to be a key strength for them going forward’.

NEPL Business Manager Lynton Keen agrees: ‘The Ngarrindjeri have the right perspective on things. They are not doing this for themselves, but for their kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. It’s really exciting to be a part of because the Ngarrindjeri are so forward thinking. They are well respected and have a voice, but can now show that they have a strong structure underneath as well’.

Over its first few months of operations, NEPL board members received mentoring and training from MLCS. Peter Marin said: ‘Good corporate governance involves directors knowing their rights and responsibilities. It means communicating back to the community, operating with transparency and openness, and maintaining clear policies and procedures. And IBA are very supportive of that level of mentoring and business planning’.