Aboriginal Procurement Policy results in 22 per cent increase in contracts awarded to Pilbara businesses

There has been a 22 per cent increase in the number of contracts awarded to Pilbara Aboriginal Businesses as part of the State Government’s Aboriginal Procurement Policy this financial year. The APP was established in 2018 and mandates targets for government contracts to be awarded to WA Aboriginal Businesses. The results, which were published on Tuesday, showed contracts awarded to Kimberley businesses increased by more than 56 per cent compared to last year. A Department of Finance spokesperson said the contracts helped the businesses deliver their services across the region. “Thirty three contracts valued at $9,542,347, were awarded to 16 Pilbara-based Aboriginal businesses to deliver services locally or across multiple WA regions. These services included plumbing, horticulture, routine maintenance, and engineering services,” they said. “Twenty of these contracts were for works and 13 were goods and services contracts. “Main Roads awarded the most contracts with Pilbara-based Aboriginal businesses (12), with the Department of Communities awarding five, and the departments of Finance, Transport, and Training, and Workforce Development awarding three each.” More than $130 million was awarded to businesses in regional locations and 210 total contracts were awarded to regional businesses. Finance minister Sue Ellery said the results showed a strong contribution to regional Aboriginal businesses. “This policy has provided significant outcomes for Aboriginal businesses, especially those based in our regions,” she said. “A fantastic example of this is Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation, which has increased employee numbers from 80 to 215 and expanded its services to support Aboriginal economic growth in the Kimberley – as a result of working with the State Government.” Some of the Pilbara businesses awarded contracts included Jigalong Community, Gebro Contracting and Pindari WA. In total 356 contracts were awarded across WA.