“I joined the Flinders Business Student Association, where I learned about the importance of collaboration, communication, and relationship-building. It also provided me with the incredible opportunity to meet various companies and industry experts.”
“Without this support I wouldn't have been able to be as proactive in my studies, or go the extra mile in my self-development and achieve my new role on graduation.”
Today, Braden is making his mark at Yamagigu Consulting, the largest First Nations consulting firm in Australia. In partnership with international consulting firm Deloitte, Yamagigu Consulting works to support the self-determination of First Nations communities by connecting their Indigenous expertise with Deloitte’s professional services.
Braden is excited about the opportunity to create change, especially on Larrakia land.
He says, “With my connection to Darwin, I plan to support Indigenous businesses up there to thrive. I’m particularly interested in how technology can be leveraged in business and applying this to drive meaningful change.”
Donating $20,000 to create the scholarship, Flinders law graduate Nick Llewellyn-Jones is Principal and Head of the Native Title, Resources and Renewable Energy team at Norman Waterhouse Lawyers. An enthusiastic advocate for Indigenous business advancement, Nick designed the scholarship to address a critical gap in business knowledge that can support self-determination for Indigenous communities.
“I hope that by focusing on the importance of business awareness, more Indigenous students feel comfortable taking a leading role in the business world and spreading financial and commercial literacy more broadly,” says Nick.
In his professional life, Nick has made outstanding contributions to improving access to justice for First Nations groups, particularly the Barngarla People, in commercial negotiation and self-determination.
“About 60 per cent of Australia’s mineral industry and much of our new renewable energy industry operates on native title land, with about 30 new commercial Indigenous Land Use Agreements negotiated each year for large commercial projects,” says Nick.
“Indigenous communities often lack the business knowledge or financial expertise to negotiate effective deals with the large international companies who are reaping the benefits.”
“It’s not a fair playing field and we need to start tackling this issue. The scholarship is one way that will help to do this.”
The scholarship is part of a broader strategy that Nick and his colleagues at Norman Waterhouse are implementing to expand Indigenous business knowledge and acumen.
“Through my law firm, we want to help facilitate a generation of business awareness in Indigenous Australians and, more specifically, native title holders,” says Nick.
This includes re-writing part of the Indigenous Law course within the Flinders Law degree to cover native title negotiations and the real-world issues currently facing native title law. They also have plans to establish a Certificate IV in Registered Native Title Body Corporate Management, and to work with the First Nations Clean Energy Network to run masterclasses on renewable energy negotiations.
“We are also developing a short animation to expand financial literacy for Indigenous business leaders and communities,” says Nick.
With Braden now working towards increasing business capacity for Indigenous communities, it’s evident that these initiatives are already making a positive impact.
“I’m now fortunate to be in a position where, with determination and effort, I believe I can achieve great things,” Braden says confidently.
“I want to be a force for good, using every opportunity to contribute to the betterment of society. It may sound clichéd, but it's truly what drives me.”
Inspired by the life-changing effects of the scholarship and its potential to create long-term change, Nick wants to see the scholarship continue with the support of the broader business community.
“With just 20 businesses contributing $10,000 each, we could create an endowed scholarship that supports an Indigenous commerce student at Flinders each year, in perpetuity,” says Nick.
“It would be great to see the change that comes from this.”
