Indigenous Leadership Summit Sydney 2026

Pre-Conference Workshop

09:00 First Nations Leadership Masterclass

This one-day masterclass is designed specifically for Indigenous staff and future leaders to rise to greater levels of influence, responsibility, and decision-making. It will challenge your assumptions, and expand and develop your mindset, skillset and toolsets to become a more effective leader whilst navigating some of the challenges Indigenous professionals can face in the workplace.

Throughout the day, you will explore frameworks and tools, emotional intelligence, develop your unique leadership style, navigate workplace cultural challenges, learn powerful verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and exert your personal influence and build a foundation for positive influence and success.

Key Course Takeaways:

• Understand the value and importance of leadership for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Confidence you need to navigate your role and engage with multiple stakeholders
• Internalise leadership styles, qualities, and behaviours
• Develop strategic leadership skills that are effective & informed by both Indigenous culture & Western best practice
• Deepen cultural awareness & identity in the context of business leadership
• Take Away practical skills such as negotiating, problem-solving and above-the-line thinking
• Develop your unique, authentic leadership style
• Influence and engage with others with more impact and presence
• Deepen & broaden your worldview and ability to coordinate different perspectives
• Contribute to the development of Indigenous leaders and staff within your organisation

Conference Day 1

08:45 Opening Remarks from the Chair & Acknowledgment of Country

09:05 Traditional Welcome to Country

09:10 AM: Welcome Dance and Smoking Ceremony

SESSION 1
9:40 AM: The Inside Job: Leading Cultural Reform in Australia's Most Scrutinised Institution

Most institutions respond to crisis with a press release. When the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker exposed systemic racism inside the Northern Territory Police, Leanne Liddle chose a different response — she got to work. As an Arrernte woman and Executive Director of Cultural Reform within the very force under scrutiny, she has spent years doing the uncomfortable, methodical, politically dangerous work of changing a culture from within. Not with symbolic gestures. Not with PR. With strategy, accountability and unflinching honesty about what racism in institutions actually looks like — and why surface-level change is often worse than doing nothing at all.

NT Australian of the Year 2022 and Flinders University Deputy Chancellor, Leanne opens this summit with a frank examination of what genuine institutional reform requires: the courage to name what's broken, the frameworks to fix it, and the resilience to keep going when the system pushes back. This is the keynote that sets the standard for every conversation that follows.

10:40 AM: IT’S TIME….FOR NETWORKING!

11:20 AM MORNING TEA

SESSION 2
11:20 AM: From the Courtroom to Country: Building an Economy That Belongs to Us

Nigel Browne spent years inside Australia's legal system as a Crown Prosecutor in the Northern Territory. Then he asked a different question: what if the most powerful thing he could do for his mob wasn't inside the courtroom, but building something far outside it? As a Larrakia and Wulna man, Nigel's journey from law to economic sovereignty is the story of an entire generation of First Nations leaders who stopped waiting for the system to deliver — and started building their own.

Now CEO of Aboriginal Investment NT — the body backing Aboriginal-led development through innovative investment across the Territory — Nigel brings legal precision, economic vision and deep cultural grounding to this session. This is a frank, no-shortcuts conversation about what genuine economic self-determination requires: the strategy, the structures, and the courage to back Country with more than words.

SESSION 3
12:30 PM: Built to Last: What It Actually Takes to Build First Nations Futures Inside Corporate Australia

There's a difference between a company with a First Nations employment program and one where First Nations people actually build careers. The gap between those two things is enormous — and most organisations are still standing on the wrong side of it. As a Kabi Kabi woman holding two roles simultaneously —
National Indigenous Engagement Manager and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Officer — Anja Bonnard knows exactly what it takes to cross it.

Anja is the architect of Veolia's Future Forward Employment Program, a live and operational 3-month vocational training pipeline bringing First Nations people into real careers in diesel mechanics, logistics, finance and beyond. As both the program's architect and Veolia's First Nations mental health officer, she brings a rare lens: what does genuine career development look like when wellbeing is built into the foundation, not bolted on as an afterthought? This session delivers the blueprint.

1:20 PM Lunch

2:20 PM: From Insights to Action

SESSION 4
2:40 PM: Built In, Not Built On: What Real Reconciliation Looks Like When the Easy Path is Walking Away

When the Voice referendum failed, a quiet retreat began. Boards got cautious. Reconciliation commitments that once filled annual reports were suddenly deprioritised. Di Ellis, a proud Wiradjuri woman and Senior Indigenous Affairs Manager at the NRMA, watched it happen — and then did the opposite. While others stepped back, she and the NRMA stepped forward, publicly reaffirming their commitment and doubling down on a Stretch RAP embedded into the core of the business. Not as artwork on a wall. Not as a sticker on a tow truck. As strategy.

With over 20 years in Indigenous Affairs, Di brings a practitioner's precision and a cultural leader's warmth to this session. Her approach is disarmingly direct — she speaks to corporate leaders the same way she speaks to Elders on Country: asking what their blockers are, naming their fears, and building from there. This is reconciliation built in, not built on.

3:30 PM Afternoon Tea

SESSION 5

3:50 PM: The Raging Bull on Leadership, Legacy and What It Takes

Gorden Tallis didn't just play rugby league. He dominated it. Three NRL premierships with the Brisbane Broncos. Queensland State of Origin captain. Australian Kangaroos captain. Clive Churchill Medal winner. At his peak, considered the best second-row forward in the world. In 2018, he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame.

Off the field, Gorden is one of Australia's most recognised and respected voices in sport — now as a Fox Sports and Triple M commentator, and as a proud man of Indigenous Australian heritage named in the Indigenous Australian rugby league team of the century. He brings to this stage a lifetime of leading under pressure, making decisions that matter, and building a legacy others can stand on.

In this closing keynote for Day One — before we head to networking drinks — Gorden reflects on what real leadership costs, what it builds, and why the lessons of elite sport translate to every boardroom, community and career. He will talk about resilience in the face of setback, the weight of representation, and what it means to back yourself when everything is on the line. A session that will leave the room fired up, inspired and ready for the night ahead.

4:30 PM Closing Reflections and Insights to Action

4:40 PM Close of Day one & Networking Drinks

Conference Day 2

9:00 AM: Opening Remarks from Chair

SESSION 1 
9:10 AM: From Year 12 to the Prime Minister's Table: What First Nations Leadership Actually Builds

His grandmother wasn't allowed to finish primary school. His mother made it to Year 8. His goal as a teenager was simply to finish Year 12 — because none of the older boys in his family had. University wasn't on the radar.

Now Professor Reuben Bolt is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Australia's oldest university, sits on the National Science and Technology Council advising the Prime Minister and Cabinet — and is the first person of Aboriginal heritage ever to hold that position.

This session is about what gets built when First Nations people refuse to accept the ceiling others set for them. Drawing on his journey from the first in his family to complete Year 12, to becoming the first Aboriginal PhD graduate from Sydney University's Faculty of Medicine and Health, Reuben reflects on what it takes to lead institutional transformation from the inside — in an institution with 170 years of colonial history to reckon with. Bold, personal, and grounded in the kind of legacy that starts one generation and changes the next.

SESSION 2 
10:00 AM: Follow the Money: How First Nations Procurement Becomes First Nations Power

Every large organisation in Australia has a procurement policy. Far fewer have one that actually redirects economic power back into First Nations communities. The difference isn't a document — it's a decision about what business is actually for. As a Nunukul woman of Quandamooka Country and former Supply Nation insider, Courtney Paulsen has spent her career on the sharp end of that decision: building the frameworks, partnerships and supply chains that turn corporate spending into community wealth.
Now First Nations Engagement Manager at AGL Energy, Courtney brings coalface experience designing community benefit frameworks that deliver real economic outcomes — not just supplier diversity targets. This session unpacks what genuine First Nations procurement requires, how to build it into an organisation's DNA, and why the supply chain might be the most powerful tool for economic self-determination we're not talking about enough.

10:50 AM: From Insights to Action #2

You've had a full day to sit with yesterday's conversations — and now Day Two is already building on them. The microphone goes around the room so delegates can share what's shifted, what's sticking, and what questions are getting louder. Twenty minutes of real talk before we keep going.

11:10 AM: Morning Tea

SESSION 3: Deadly Futures & The Dreaming Path
11:40 AM: What 60,000 Years of Leadership Can Teach the Future

For more than 60,000 years, First Nations people have led through change, cared for Country and made decisions with future generations in mind. Long before leadership became a corporate competency, it was a cultural responsibility.

In this exclusive 75-minute Keynote Yarn, acclaimed author, business leader and Worimi man Paul Callaghan draws on the powerful ideas from his best-selling book The Dreaming Path to explore what modern leaders can learn from the world's oldest living culture.

Through storytelling, lived experience and practical insight, Paul challenges conventional thinking about leadership, revealing how Indigenous knowledge offers timeless lessons in purpose, responsibility, relationships and legacy. He explores how First Nations and Western perspectives can work together to build stronger organisations, more connected communities and a better future for all Australians.

This is more than a keynote. It's an opportunity to step back, think differently and reflect on the kind of leader you want to become. The session concludes with an extended audience Q&A, giving delegates the rare opportunity to yarn directly with one of Australia's most respected voices on Indigenous leadership and the future we are building together.

1:00 PM Lunch

SESSION 4 
2:00 PM: Culture Without Compromise: Leading with Cultural Integrity

Cultural integrity isn't a policy. It's not a RAP document or a Welcome to Country. It's the gap between what your organisation says it values and how it actually behaves when no one's watching — and First Nations people in your workplace can feel that gap immediately.

Jenni Walke has spent nearly a decade helping leaders and organisations close it. Drawing on her expertise in Indigenous business strategy, cultural awareness and leadership development, this session challenges delegates to move beyond symbolism and into genuine practice. What does it mean to lead with cultural integrity — not just in your organisation's strategy, but in the everyday decisions, conversations, and systems that define your culture? Jenni delivers the uncomfortable truths and the practical tools to help you answer that honestly.

2:30 PM From Insights to Action
Two days. Ten sessions. One room full of people who came ready to lead differently. This final yarn is your chance to land on the one thing you are taking back with you — the commitment, the conversation, the decision you are actually going to make. Because Deadly Futures don't build themselves.

SESSION 5 
2:50 PM: The Legacy You Leave

Legacy isn't something you plan for at the end of your career. It's the pathway you built that someone else is already walking. This closing session turns the lens forward — beyond individual achievement — to ask the harder question: what are you actually leaving behind for the mob coming through after you?

Rachelle Towart OAM has spent a decade answering that in practice. From founding Australia's only Aboriginal-owned executive recruitment firm to launching Dreamjobz — a national platform built for Indigenous career progression — she has created infrastructure for First Nations leadership where none existed before. Rachelle shares the lessons and mindset shifts behind building something that outlasts you, and challenges every delegate to start thinking less like a leader, and more like a legacy.

3:40 PM Afternoon Tea

SESSION 6
4:00 PM: Earning the Right to Be Heard: Leading with Influence When the System Wasn't Built for You

Nobody handed Sherrie Anderson a seat at the table. As a First Nations woman working inside a large organisation in regional NSW, she built her influence the hard way — through relationships, persistence, and the kind of cultural authority that can't be faked and won't be ignored. It's a form of leadership that First Nations professionals across every sector know intimately: you don't get to lead from the top. You lead from where you are, and you make the room listen.

This session is the unfiltered reality of what it takes to advocate for your community from inside an institution — to hold cultural ground without losing your career, to challenge systems without burning bridges, and to turn a role into a platform. For every First Nations leader who has ever had to earn what should have been theirs to begin with.

4:50 PM Conference Close

Post-Conference Workshop

09:00: Achieving Cultural Capability and Competency Throughout Your Organisation

Strong relationships, cultural understanding and meaningful engagement are increasingly important for organisations working across Australia.

This practical half day workshop explores how organisations can build stronger relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities, businesses and stakeholders through informed leadership, organisational commitment and everyday workplace practice.

Facilitated by Indigenous business leader Jenni Walke, the session draws on real world experience across government, resources, energy, infrastructure and community sectors. Participants will explore how culture, leadership, communication and organisational systems influence engagement and outcomes.

Through discussion, reflection and practical examples, attendees will gain insights that can be applied immediately within their teams, workplaces and communities.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Develop a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in contemporary workplaces and organisations

• Strengthen confidence when engaging with Indigenous stakeholders, communities and businesses

• Explore practical approaches to building culturally informed and respectful workplace practices

• Understand the role leaders play in creating inclusive and supportive organisational environments

• Identify opportunities to improve communication, engagement and relationship building across diverse groups

• Leave with practical ideas that can be applied within your own workplace and leadership context

13:30 Post-conference Workshop 2. Writing and developing an effective Reconciliation Action Plan

Reconciliation Action Plans make a massive difference across all sectors in Australian workplaces. RAPs are a powerful tool for advancing reconciliation in Australia. RAP frameworks assist organisations to foster relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities, organisations, and the broader Australian community, all the while embedding respect for the world’s longest surviving culture. By developing a nationally recognised, tried and tested model for workplaces to formalisecommitments to reconciliation, RAPs help to foster a community of shared value, goals and a common language when it comes to reconciliation. This half day workshop is for organisations at any stage of RAP development, implementation or refinement. It will cover initial development of ideas, activities or programs which align with your particular business or brand and work to support Indigenous communities and people. It will provide advice on all aspects of RAP development around the three pillars of Respect, Relationships and Opportunities including Indigenous employment, recruitment and retention, cultural protocols, developing partnerships and sponsorships, establishing networks and engaging with Indigenous communities in your organisation’s region and more broadly.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• Implement a tried and tested framework that is proven to drive reconciliation through practical actions
• Turn your organisation’s good intentions into action by formalising your organisation’s commitment to reconciliation
• Reaffirm institutional integrity by embedding an engaging framework contributingtowards good governance practices
• Join a dynamic, supportive and fast growing network of RAP organisations
• Gain greater esteem as an employer of choice and build a more dynamic and diverse workforce
• Enable your staff to develop greater cultural awareness and professional development practices that will strengthen relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders
• Ensure more effective and relevant service delivery to Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander peoples and communities