New business register hopes to tackle ‘Blak Cladding’
A new national Indigenous business register has been launched in response to increasing fraudulent business practices known as ‘Blak Cladding’ – where non-Indigenous companies falsely present as Aboriginal-owned and controlled to access Indigenous procurement opportunities.
Indigenous Business Integrity Register (IBIR) is the brainchild of Nyoongar entrepreneur Gerry Matera and was created in response to a shared concern among ethical Aboriginal businesses who claim to be losing procurement opportunities to non-Indigenous imitations.
This occurs amidst a growing frustration among corporates over the unreliable assurances and risks associated with current certification measures.
Strong Indigenous landscape
Mr Matera believes the Supply Nation certification model does not go far enough in giving an accurate picture of a business’s operations. He said many alleged acts of deceit are hidden in plain sight when majority-owned Indigenous entities are created as a facade to their existing operations.
“Authentic Indigenous businesses are compromised when the competition is stacked by a false sense of capabilities or a national footprint established by non-Indigenous businesses. To some degree, black cladding has been normalised among our communities as a way to get ahead, but it comes with significant grouping taxation and legal risks for the participating individuals,” he said.
“IBIR is about building a stronger Indigenous business landscape and ensuring integrity of tendering and procurement processes.”
Mr Matera said the The IBIR model was based on an independent and confidential CPA-controlled verification framework that expands the parameters of the certification undertaken by peak body Supply Nation. It involves a deep assessment of ownership, control, and identity of the businesses claiming to be Indigenous, as well as providing a safe and anonymous channel for reporting unethical conduct, and remediation pathways for businesses wanting to realign with ethical standards.
Custom-built
IBIR has also introduced an Australia-first, culturally informed AI Bot that is custom-built to help Indigenous business owners navigate the complex Indigenous business landscape and resolve common challenges faced by First Nations entrepreneurs.
The securely hosted AI agent gives users immediate access to trusted Indigenous sector resources – including government policies, laws and regulations – with verified links and downloadable documents delivered within an intuitive chat-based interface.
Ken Wyatt, AM, who authored the National Roadmap for Indigenous Skills, Jobs and Wealth Creation while serving as Minister for Indigenous Australians, believes accessible information and heightened verification are critical, and assessments must be undertaken outside the influence of culture, family and financial status. He says this will ensure corporates of their ESG compliance.
Restoring industry confidence
“Blak Cladding practices are extremely sophisticated and involve a complex web of ASIC registrations and overlapping resources that are both labour-intensive to collate and may fall within the ‘legal’ parameters that define an Indigenous business,” Mr Wyatt said.
“However, this is not a question of legalities but ethics, and the risk associated with engaging in or with unethical businesses is having an impact on industry confidence. Verification must be an entirely independent process to level the playing field and restore trust in the industry.
“IBIR is a significant opportunity to provide corporate and government procurers with the information needed to correctly assess procurement opportunities and support positive reform within the Indigenous business environment. IPP is widely considered one of the most important initiatives to ‘Close the Gap’ for Aboriginal pe..ople and create wealth.”
IBIR encourages ethical Indigenous businesses to register for verification and offers subscriptions to government and corporations to track authenticity.
Visit: www.ibir.com.au
