Dhawura Ngilan Business & Investor Initiative
The Dhawura Ngilan Business and Investor Initiative brings together First Nations, business & investor communities to create a shared vision for strengthening Australia’s Aboriginal heritage laws and standards for the private sector that uphold the human rights of First Peoples, in line with international agreements and community expectations.
Dhawura Ngilan (Remembering Country) is a vision that embodies the long-held aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for their heritage. It aims to collectively work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to identify, protect, conserve, present and transmit for future generations the unique heritage of Australia.
Led by the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, Responsible Investment Association Australasia, and the UN Global Compact Network Australia, the Initiative acknowledges that protecting cultural heritage is the responsibility of all Australians, inclusive of investor and business communities.
The Initiative aims to build partnerships and deliver resources to enable investors and business to engage with First Nations Peoples more respectfully and effectively in a way that upholds the human rights of First Peoples to self-determination and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).
This initiative is working to adapt the Dhawura Ngilan vision and best practice standards to provide practical guidance to businesses and investors on how to ensure that their actions and policies contribute to the protection of First Nations’ cultural heritage protection instead of its destruction. The initiative has engaged the services of Terri Janke and Company to do this work, including conducting consultations with stakeholders.
Progress
Under stage 1 of the Initiative, Terri Janke and Company have prepared draft guides for investors and businesses as well as a draft set of principles drawn from Dhawura Ngilan. These will be consulted on over March and April 2023.
Stage 2 will involve facilitating uptake and adoption of the finalised guides and piloting a model for their sustainable delivery for the business and investment sectors.
Later in 2023, we anticipate launching the guides at a high-profile event in Sydney.
Governance
The Dhawura Ngilan Business and Investor Initiative is a partnership between the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, Responsible Investment Association Australasia and the Global Compact Network Australia.
The Steering Committee for the project includes:
- First Nations representatives appointed by the Alliance
- RIAA
- Global Compact
- Lendlease (Chair)
- KPMG
- HESTA
- Perpetual
Access the RIAA Investor Toolkit here: Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Cultural Heritage Protection
Access the ACSI research and policy here: Company engagement with First Nations people
