Townsville City Council is supporting local First Nation businesses through new procurement initiatives.
Council is looking to increase spend with Indigenous businesses to align with the State and Federal Government Procurement Policies.
Governance and Finance Committee Chait Cr Verena Coombe said Council's procurement policy would now give Indigenous businesses a better chance to tender for Local Government work packages.
"Council had a commitment as part of our Reconciliation Action Plan to improve spend with our local Indigenous community and we've got a number of initiatives aimed at helping us achieve that," Cr Coombe said.
"We're looking to increase our spend to 3% in the next five years with the help of an Indigenous Panel that will provide opportunities that may not have been presented to these businesses originally.
"Tenders for this panel are open until next week and this is a great way to engage with locals and build capacity within our Indigenous community."
Townsville Cultural Services Business Wulgurukaba Walkabouts expects the panel will significantly contribute to the growth and sustainability of the local Indigenous Business Sector.
Wulgurukaba Walkabouts Manager Ashley Saltner said there has been substantial growth in the number of Townsville Indigenous Businesses in the past 3 years and increased opportunities for the sector to work with Council will help improve capacity for many of these businesses.
"Townsville City Council has been a supporter of Wulgurukaba Walkabouts, and through the panel we hope to see increased opportunities for Traditional Owner businesses to work with Council and the Townsville public," Mr Saltner said.
Council also held an Indigenous Business Fair this year that provided over 30 businesses a networking opportunity and gave them the chance to showcase their services to potential buyers.
The tender to establish a Register of Prequalified Indigenous Suppliers (RPIS) closes on October 2.
Interested businesses can register through: www.tenderlink.com/townsville
