Empowered Communities is led by Indigenous people, for Indigenous people in ten regions across Australia.

Empowered Communities is a new way of working. Empowered Communities is a transformational reform that aims to empower communities by empowering people. It is led by Indigenous people, as it is Indigenous people themselves, those whose lives are directly affected, that should be empowered to have greater influence and control over the decisions that impact on their lives. You can read more about our reforms here and our work on implementation here.

‘Empowered Communities seeks to create a genuine and balanced partnership between Indigenous organisations, government and corporate Australia, where everybody is working together on a level playing field and towards a shared strategy.’ — Andrea Mason, CEO, NPY Lands Women’s Council

‘If you want to have things you have never had before, you must be prepared to do things you have never done before. For us, this will mean getting more of our people educated and into a job in order to break the cycle of poverty for our people.’ – — Ian Trust, Executive Chair, Wunan

‘Really this is our best shot to chart a future not just for our eight regions—we really have to be a beacon for the rest of Indigenous Australia. If we’re going to make progress in Indigenous affairs, then the empowerment of Indigenous people is at the heart of it.’ — Noel Pearson, Founder, Cape York Partnership

DISCOVER OUR REGIONS

Our ten regions span the entire country and include urban, regional and remote communities.

• Cape York, Queensland
• Central Coast, New South Wales
• East Kimberley, Western Australia
• Goulburn-Murray, Victoria
• Inner Sydney, New South Wales
• Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Lands, Central Australia
• North East Arnhem Land (NEAL), Northern Territory
• West Kimberley, Western Australia
• Lower River Murray, Lakes and Coorong, SA
• Far West Coast, SA

Image credits: Cape York Partnership, NPY Women’s Council and Jawun