The Department of Defence has been awarded Supply Nation Government Member of the Year for 2025. 

The event recognises outstanding contributions to supplier diversity and the growth of the Indigenous business sector.

Deputy Secretary Security and Estate and Defence Indigenous Champion Celia Perkins said this was a major win for Indigenous businesses and local companies.

Defence received the awared for a series of Indigenous roundtables and co-design workshops held across all capital cities of Australia with former Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite. 

This series was developed to improve Indigenous procurement performance and increase participation. 

These events were attended by a cross-section of Government officials and enabled engagement with more than 80 Indigenous businesses, groups and land councils.

“I am proud to be recognised for our success here, which is directly linked to Indigenous businesses who generously gave their time, experience and recommendations to Defence,” Ms Perkins said.

The roundtables and co-design workshops identified a number of issues and actions that Defence has now implemented to enhance its engagement and procurement processes with Indigenous businesses across the Defence Estate.

'Defence is proud of the journey we have undertaken to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities, particularly with Indigenous businesses.'

Defence has most notably changed its approach to Indigenous participation as a critical performance measure within procurement activities, and now actively mandates the identification of increased opportunities at every stage of a project’s lifecycle. 

These more structured approaches will help establish pathways for Indigenous Business Enterprises into project delivery, increasing their chances of participating in high-value contracts and developing long-term partnerships with Defence and Defence contractors.

“Defence is proud of the journey we have undertaken to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities, particularly with Indigenous businesses, as the largest Commonwealth procurer of Indigenous goods and services,” Ms Perkins said.

“To date, Defence has awarded over $6.3 billion in contract value to Indigenous businesses since the Indigenous Procurement Policy was introduced in 2015. This is around half of the Government’s overall contribution to the Indigenous business sector.”

First Assistant Secretary Commercial Division, Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group Racheal Kuczma said Defence’s engagement with Indigenous stakeholders across the nation identified a range of tangible outcomes that form part of Defence’s ongoing procurement reform.

“As one of Australia’s largest employers, I am pleased that Defence is able to demonstrate its commitment to supporting business opportunities through the Indigenous Procurement Policy to generate and grow Indigenous economic empowerment,” Ms Kuczma said.

“Defence continues to lead the way in providing opportunities for Indigenous businesses while also enhancing Defence industry capability.”