The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Towards a New Architecture for First Nations Philanthropy
The Inaugural Blak Loungeroom National Philanthropy Conference,
Online Address
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which you are meeting, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, and I pay my respects to Elders past and present.
My thanks to the Barmal Bijiril Foundation, and especially to John Harding and Tara Newen, for bringing this gathering together.
The Blak Loungeroom is a landmark event for the Barmal Bijiril Foundation. It brings together more than 100 participants from, philanthropy, business, the Arts, academia and the student community. A meaningful occasion for the sector and for Indigenous-led philanthropy.
This conference has also been shaped by a clear national conversation. The Productivity Commission’s Future Foundations for Giving report recognised the value of stronger pathways between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the philanthropic sector. It recommended an independent body, controlled by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, to improve access to philanthropic capital and support economic empowerment for First Nations communities.
In this speech, I will refer to that proposed body as the First Nations Philanthropic Collaboration – an independent body working collaboratively with philanthropy and First Nations communities and partnering with government, to drive positive change.
That name fits the spirit of the Productivity Commission’s approach. The report made clear that its original title was provisional, and that the detailed design and form of this body, including the name, should be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and guided by community priorities.
The case for a First Nations Philanthropic Collaboration is strong.
The Productivity Commission set out two core tasks in removing barriers to First Nations people accessing philanthropy.
First, we need to encourage philanthropic organisations to partner with First Nations peoples in order to be more culturally safe and responsive when they work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations.
Second, we need to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, organisations and communities build stronger relationships with philanthropic and volunteering networks, while also supporting the growth of new and existing philanthropic organisations led by First Nations communities.
These are practical reforms.
They will lead to stronger relationships, better cultural capability, and a larger space for First Nations-led institutions to grow their own foundations.
These reforms will also ground philanthropy in First Nations self-determination. The Productivity Commission made that principle central. It heard clearly that governance should reflect self-determination, that representation should be broad and geographically diverse, and that communities should shape the priorities, the structure and the ongoing work of the body.
That matters because philanthropy works best when it listens well, shares power, builds trusting relationships, and backs community leadership and self-determination.
The Productivity Commission also pointed to the importance of supporting what already exists. A First Nations Philanthropic Collaboration should amplify existing and emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander philanthropic models and initiatives. It should help them grow, help them connect, and help them carry their work further.
Australia is a continent of many nations, many histories, many local priorities and many forms of leadership. A body that respects that richness can help philanthropic practice become more thoughtful, more effective, more accountable and more deeply connected to community. The Productivity Commission envisaged exactly that: a new source of accountability within the philanthropic sector, and a stronger platform for shaping better philanthropic practice.
The report also addressed the question of independence. It proposed an organisation that stands independent from government and from the philanthropic sector, but draws on the different kinds of support that each can provide. That independence will be the basis of its authority – so that it can speak with clarity, advocate with confidence and act in the interests of First Nations communities.
That is why we have been working with a range of First Nations experts and philanthropists, including the Indigenous-Led Fund, to play our part in the broader conversation about a new architecture for First Nations Philanthropy.
Over these three days, you will be exploring community self-determination, sustainable resourcing, cultural safety, and the reshaping of philanthropic systems so they reflect the priorities of First Nations communities. Those themes sit at the heart of the national conversation, and they sit at the heart of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations too.
I look forward to the recommendations that emerge from the Blak Loungeroom.
I am keen to hear your ideas on how we build stronger pathways between First Nations communities and the philanthropic sector, and how those ideas can contribute to the wider conversations that are happening around Australia, including with the Indigenous-Led Fund movement.
Thank you again to the Barmal Bijiril Foundation for convening this important conversation.
I hope this conference sparks new partnerships, stronger institutions, and a larger ambition for what First Nations philanthropy can achieve.
May the conversations be candid, the ideas be bold, and the outcomes carry well beyond this room.
Because when communities shape the future on their own terms, philanthropy becomes more than funding. It becomes a vehicle for voice, for power, and for possibility.
And that is a future worth building together.
ENDS