 As Australia celebrates Indigenous Business Month, IPS Management Consultants - a majority First Nations-owned business - celebrates a decade of delivering high impact professional services that drive sustainable outcomes. Ten years; a decade delivering thousands of futures Established in 2015, IPS Management Consultants is an award-winning professional services company providing evaluation, advisory, organisational development, and workforce capability services to Federal and State Governments, large corporations, small businesses and community organisations. From its earliest days, IPS aspired to create employment pathways to careers in professional services for First Nations people as well as opportunities for equity ownership in the business. Led by Co-CEO and Executive Director Katina Law, Co-CEO Julie Hillier, and Executive Directors Damien Chalk and Cameron Wood, IPS has grown to a national workforce of more than 60 employees across WA, SA, VIC, NSW, and the ACT, with First Nations people representing approximately 26% of its team – including over half of our Senior Executive / Director and Leadership roles held by First Nations people. IPS’s purpose has always been clear; to Create Better Futures. IPS embraces opportunities to create meaningful pathways for First Nations people, businesses and communities. This mission has seen IPS recognised twice as Supply Nation’s Certified Supplier of the Year (2018 and 2019) – testament to its sustained leadership and advocacy for First Nations economic empowerment.
Programs behind the recognition: · Track to Success – a whole-of-system pathway transitioning people from prison into sustainable jobs in WA’s rail and construction sectors. The program is supporting up to 120 WA prisoners transitioning into jobs in rail infrastructure and maintenance during the last six months of their sentence. · Yaka Dandjoo ‘Ready for Work’ - equipping unemployed and entry-level people with skills for long-term careers in construction. Over its duration, the program supported 191 participants across 13 cohorts, with 132 individuals securing employment either on the Bunbury Outer Ring Road project or within the broader construction sector. A total of 44 graduates went on to take up traineeships on completing the program. · IPS Liminal™: A trailblazing whole of systems program that creates transformative change. The program combines First Nations knowledge, neuroscience and human-centred design to shift culture and re-shape workforce systems. With hundreds of Federal and State Government participants right across Australia, IPS Liminal™ is building a pipeline of empowered First Nations leaders and inclusive leaders. · IPS Thrive™ Life Skills: A trauma-informed program building confidence, communication and work‑readiness for jobseekers in the construction and infrastructure sector. Since 2020, IPS has delivered cohort specific training to more than 200 participants.  Consulting excellence; transforming organisations, empowering communities Beyond its acclaimed programs and across Australia, IPS delivers high‑impact consulting across government, corporate and community sectors – grounded in cultural integrity, while focused on measurable outcomes. Key areas include: · Strategy & Governance: IPS has delivered strategic planning across 1.5 million km² of Aboriginal land and supported over 250 First Nations businesses and organisations to build capability, attract investment, and drive impact in sectors such as tourism, renewable energy, native foods, and construction. Recent projects include working with PKKP Aboriginal Corporation and Trusts, Tjurabalan Native Title Land Aboriginal Corporation, Oak Valley Aboriginal Corporation, and Maralinga Tjarutja Inc. Our approach, grounded in First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing, was recently showcased to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources during Reconciliation Week 2025. · Organisational development and change: We align people, structure and culture to strategy - designing operating models, lifting leadership capability and embedding change so improvements stick. Our recent works includes a major review of a large Aboriginal corporation in Central Australia to strengthen operational and financial sustainability and a multi‑year partnership with the Public Transport Authority to upskill emerging leaders and develop leadership capabilities. · Business Advisory and Economic Development: We build capacity so small businesses and entrepreneurs can turn ideas into investable ventures and scale what works. Our clients receive support in transforming ideas into sustainable ventures, with services including viability assessments, market analysis, risk evaluation, and business planning for both start-ups and growth organisations. Through our partnership with the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) to deliver SBDC Regional, in 2025 alone our team have conducted 5,082 one-on-one advisory sessions to small businesses in regional WA, demonstrating our broad reach and deep impact across the small business sector. · Evaluation, research & policy: IPS operates at the forefront of contemporary evaluation practice in Australia - setting new standards for methodological rigour, ethical integrity, and cultural safety. By centring First Nations governance, respecting data sovereignty, and amplifying community voices, we deliver actionable insights and measurable change. Current and recent evaluations span youth justice diversion, early childhood support, disaster recovery, housing, health, cultural mapping and land management. With innovation, integrity, and empathy at our core, IPS is trusted to provide evidence-informed evaluation that drives meaningful impact for policymakers and communities nationwide. · Leadership, coaching & capability: We build confident, inclusive leaders through evidence‑based coaching, executive programs and cultural capability training. Our programs equip leaders to navigate complexity, drive cultural change and deliver measurable impact across government, corporate and community sectors. For example:
From Procurement to Prosperity IPS is part of Australia’s thriving Indigenous business sector, now comprising almost 14,000 First Nations-owned businesses that contribute more than $16 billion to the Australian economy each year and employ around 117,000 people. Since its founding, IPS has been a powerful advocate for the sector, working alongside governments and the private sector to drive structural reform and create sustainable pathways for economic independence. Founded in the same year as the Federal Government’s Indigenous Procurement Policy, IPS stands as a testament to the policy’s vision: enabling Indigenous entrepreneurship to flourish and strengthen the national economy through procurement, partnerships, and innovation. Under the Commonwealth’s Indigenous Procurement Policy, Indigenous businesses have received more than $9.5 billion in contracting opportunities across more than 64,000 contracts since 2015.
Genuine partnership and cultural safety must underpin every decision, every reform, and every outcome we strive to achieve. Future generations are counting on us to get this right.” Media Contact: For more information, please contact Russell Carling, Executive Lead (Clients & Growth): [email protected] IPS Management Consultants Email: [email protected] Phone: 1300 111 477 Website: www.ipsau.com.au Comments are closed.
|
