Future of NT Aboriginal businesses uncertain under new NTAIC guidelines

The Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network (NTIBN) is deeply concerned about the future of Aboriginal business under the newly release Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation (NTAIC) guidelines.

We have engaged with over 60 Aboriginal businesses to document their concerns about the conduct of NTAIC, which was established in 2022 to administer the former Aboriginal Benefits Account (ABA) funding program, which distributes mining royalties generated on Aboriginal land. This funding is crucial for improved economic development, employment opportunities, and infrastructure for Aboriginal communities.

In just seven months since NTAIC opened its doors, the NTIBN has been inundated with complaints from Aboriginal businesses. Feedback sessions have highlighted major issues, including:

• Inconsistent grant awards, with applicants deemed ineligible for projects similar to those funded
• Repetitive information requests followed by unexplained rejections
• Grant feedback not aligning with guidelines
• Unacceptable delays in approvals
• Poor regional engagement and difficulty accessing NTAIC staff
• Breaches of privacy and unnecessary requests for confidential information
• Unreasonable demands for unsupported letters of support
• Restrictive funding amounts that fail to make a meaningful impact
• Grant applications not reviewed by the Board
• Traditional owners required to seek Section 19s on freehold land
• Culturally unsafe treatment, including statements like, “we will tell you what self-determination looks like”
• Severe lack of understanding of the Territory’s limited business support ecosystem

The recent drastic reduction in funding commitments – from an initial $180 million over three years, to just now $19 million per annum – along with changes to grant thresholds, has sparked outrage within the community. This undermines all creativity and eliminates large-scale capital and infrastructure projects that are essential for Aboriginal business growth and development, particularly on Country in the NT. It also fosters a perception that NTAIC does not trust the Aboriginal business sector with major investments.

NTAIC funding has the potential to drive true innovation, create real wealth and jobs on Country, and foster economic development, fundamentally changing the narrative for Aboriginal people. However, many exciting projects and growth opportunities are now out of scope.

To understand the impact, the NTIBN has supported over 50 grant applications from Aboriginal businesses, with only 5 being successful. Many business owners feel sidelined and frustrated by unrealistic requirements, delays, inadequate communication, stringent caveats and grant conditions, and a glaring lack of cultural sensitivity.

Despite our efforts to engage meaningfully with NTAIC, there have been no improvements. The Commonwealth Ombudsman has only recently acknowledged their role in investigating complaints about NTAIC, providing a new avenue for addressing grievances.

We are particularly alarmed by NTAIC CEO Elly Patira’s confirmation that full-time NTAIC employees are operating from Sydney, using funds meant for exclusive use within the NT. This is unacceptable.

Patira, was also quoted at Senate Estimates in February saying:

“I want to be clear that our game isn’t business development, at the moment we don’t have any business development in place. Ours is about deployment of capital in the Territory and not necessarily working only—or, indeed, at all—with individual businesses”

This shows a blatant disregard for Aboriginal businesses and their unique challenges and ignores the significant barriers they face, such as being locked out of mainstream banking sectors and lacking the wealth accumulation that non-Indigenous people have benefited from over generations.

NTIBN CEO, Naomi Anstess said:

“We represent over 400 Aboriginal businesses in the Territory.

Our businesses are frustrated and disillusioned by the NTAIC’s apparent disregard for the unique challenges facing the Aboriginal business community – which is access to capital.

NTAIC’s failings have pushed some businesses to the brink of closure, with many already losing crucial opportunities due to unacceptable delays in the grant administration process.

Make no mistake – the NTIBN is an Aboriginal Community Controlled organisation. We are owned by the people. Our people. We represent their needs and fight for a self-determined economic future.

Their time for excuses has run out.”

NTAIC’s grant funding has been inaccessible since February 2024, following revisions to the guidelines that NTIBN was not consulted on. The new guidelines shift decision-making authority for business startup and growth grants exclusively to the NTAIC CEO.

NTIBN continues to advocate for representation on the NTAIC Board and Grants Committees. We stand ready to collaborate with the NTAIC Board to find solutions that restore trust and deliver the critical support needed to secure the future of the Aboriginal business sector, ensuring that Aboriginal money, generated on Aboriginal land, stays in the Territory.

MEDIA CONTACT
Naomi Anstess
Big Boss
1300 192 164 | [email protected]