Last updated: October 2026
$814 million and counting: what Queensland's record says about Indigenous procurement
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The headline figure from Queensland this month is a record: $814 million in state government spending with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses in 2025-26, shared across 619 businesses.
For years, Indigenous procurement has been measured mainly by how much money flows through it. By that measure it's doing well. Supply Nation, which runs the national directory of verified Indigenous businesses, reports its members spent $5.83 billion with those businesses in 2024-25, up from $4.6 billion the year before and the highest figure on record. Western Australia, driven by mining, accounted for $2.1 billion of that. Indigenous businesses there won more contracts over $1 million than anywhere else in the country.
But the more meaningful change over the past year or two isn't the size of the spend. It's that the system is starting to take seriously whether that spend reaches the businesses it was meant for.
The integrity push
Spending targets have done the heavy lifting so far. The Commonwealth's target has been rising each year, and Queensland has now built a 3 per cent goal into its new Queensland Procurement Policy. Large Queensland tenders also carry weightings of 10 to 20 per cent for broader outcomes, which can include Indigenous participation. Targets like these change Buyer behaviour. When an agency has to report a number, it goes looking for Suppliers.
Targets also created an incentive to game the system. An ABC investigation in June reported that close to $15 billion has flowed through the federal Indigenous Procurement Policy over a decade. It cited Australian National University research that found less than a third of those contracts went to majority Indigenous-owned businesses. "Black cladding", where a non-Indigenous firm presents as Indigenous-controlled to win set-aside work, moved from an industry complaint to a mainstream news story.
That pressure is now producing reform. Since 1 July, businesses must be at least 51 per cent Indigenous-owned and controlled to qualify under the federal policy, not simply majority owned on paper. The National Indigenous Australians Agency is also tendering for a new national verification service. In the meantime, Supply Nation's contract to run the existing Indigenous Business Direct directory has been extended for only 12 months.
The changes haven't been smooth. The newly formed National Indigenous Business Chambers Alliance criticised the lack of consultation on the extension. Still, the direction is clear: the focus is shifting from how much is spent to who actually benefits.
The infrastructure is maturing
The second reason things are improving is less visible: the tools that connect buyers with Indigenous suppliers are growing.
Indigenous Business Direct now lists more than 6,400 verified businesses. Supply Nation says the number has grown by about 20 per cent a year. In Queensland, the state-commissioned Black Business Finder register gives project owners a free, searchable list of local Indigenous suppliers. They range from civil contractors in Mount Isa and Mareeba to IT consultancies in Brisbane and fabricators in Maryborough.
A Buyer who once struggled to find a qualified Indigenous electrician in Central Queensland now has somewhere to look. That makes targets easier to meet honestly.
The gaps that remain
None of this means the job is done. Supply Nation's own data shows buyers clearly prefer Indigenous suppliers with revenues above $10 million. Smaller and younger businesses still struggle to break into high-value contracts. The money is growing, but it isn't yet spreading evenly.
There's also a pipeline coming that will test whether the reforms hold. Brisbane 2032 alone has more than $2.5 billion in contracts on offer, and the Queensland Government has made clear it wants Indigenous businesses involved. Large, fast-moving procurement programs are where shortcuts tend to creep in.
Indigenous Business Month events across Queensland
Policy sets the conditions, but contracts are still won through relationships. That's what makes October's Indigenous Business Month worth watching. The Queensland Government is backing events across the state that bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses together with government and industry buyers:
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14 October: Thursday Island Blak Coffee Networking
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16 October: Indigenous Business Month Celebration, Rockhampton
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21 October: Indigenous Business Month Expo, Townsville
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21 October: Get Seen, Get Connected, Meet the Buyer, Brisbane
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22 October: Indigenous Small Business Connect, Cairns
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22 October: Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday First Nations Business Expo
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28 October: Darling Downs First Nations Business Expo, Toowoomba
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28 October: Mapoon Start Up Business Workshop
The spread is notable. Events run from the Torres Strait and Cape York to the Darling Downs, which reflects how much Queensland's Indigenous business sector sits outside the south-east. The Brisbane Meet the Buyer session is the most direct line to state procurement teams. The regional expos may matter more for the smaller businesses that the national data says are still being left behind.
Record spending is a good headline. Whether those dollars build durable, Indigenous-controlled businesses, rather than just meeting a target, will be the real measure over the next few years. On current signs, things are heading in the right direction.
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Further reading
- Queensland Government media statement, 1 October 2026
- Supply Nation, State of Indigenous Business WA Insights media release, 12 March 2026
- ABC News, 15 June 2026
- National Indigenous Times, 15 July 2026
- Black Business Finder
- Queensland Procurement Policy 2026
- Queensland Government: Olympics procurement for First Nations businesses
Australian Tenders monitors procurement opportunities from government agencies across Australia, including federal, state and territory departments, authorities and government-owned organisations. By bringing opportunities together in one place, we help businesses navigate the procurement landscape, identify relevant tenders and stay informed about the policies and spending priorities shaping future contract opportunities.
