First Nation innovators shortlisted for award
Two First Nations businesses are finalists in the WA Innovators of the Year Awards 2025 program that showcases and supports local innovative and entrepreneurial individuals, businesses and creative minds.
The Rio Tinto Emerging Innovation category recognises Western Australian innovators who have developed an outstanding innovative product, technology, process or service that is pre-revenue.
Aboriginal-led, technology company Indigivision empowers Traditional Owners to lead land use planning, heritage protection, and sustainable development on their terms.
Aboriginal owned business combining traditional knowledge with advanced drone technology to deliver aerial photography, videography, photogrammetry, LiDAR modelling, thermal inspections, and cultural heritage survey services.
Electric Power Conversions Australia is an Aboriginal-owned.
Led by a culturally grounded strategically aligned team of Aboriginal professionals with deep ancestral ties, technical expertise, and visionary leadership, Indigivision supports heritage protection and land management across Western Australia.
Guided by the Healthy Country Framework’s pillars – Cultural Authority, Innovation and Technology, Sustainable Development, and Caring for Country – our culturally informed, low-impact data collection enables sustainable land management, infrastructure planning, environmental monitoring, and heritage protection in respectful collaboration with communities.
Innovations must demonstrate benefits
Electric Power Conversions Australia is an Aboriginal-owned company electrifying existing mining haul trucks and is the first in Australia to successfully retrofit a 100-tonne mining truck to battery-electric, delivering results no other company has achieved.
Our innovation supports mining companies’ decarbonisation strategies, helping them meet Australian regulations to reduce carbon emissions while significantly lowering operating and maintenance costs.
Indigivision empowers Traditional Owners.
Electrifying haulage operations is one of the most effective ways to meet these targets, with each retrofitted truck removing emissions by around 1,447 tonnes per year.
The innovations must demonstrate that they offer economic, social and/or environmental benefit to Western Australia.
The winner of this award category will be awarded a cash prize of $60,000 and also receive the benefits of a PhD student, through the support of Biodesign Australia. The runner-up will receive a cash prize of $15,000.
This year, there are six finalists for the Rio Tinto Emerging Innovation category.
