Indigenous procurement strategy

Federation University (Federation) is strongly committed to reconciliation and Indigenous matters through our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Our RAP is currently being developed and will engage across all areas of the university including divisional portfolios of Academic, Global and Community Engagement, Federation TAFE, Learner Experience, Operations, and Research and Innovation.

The Federation Indigenous Procurement Strategy has been developed with these key objectives:

• To engage with key areas of Indigenous entrepreneurship, employment opportunities and economic participation.
• To increase opportunities at Federation for Indigenous suppliers, and Indigenous goods and services.
• To expand supplier diversity, equity, and inclusion in Federation’s supply chain.

Supplier diversity has significant and measurable long-term business benefits – data clearly indicates that diverse supply chains are more sustainable, flexible and innovative. Supplier diversity is designed to harness planned and budgeted procurement spend and redirect it to traditionally under-represented businesses where it can create greater social good.

Federation University is a member of Supply Nation and we work with Supply Nation to identify, and where possible, buy from and support verified Indigenous businesses.  Supply Nation works to connect over 2,100 verified Indigenous businesses on Indigenous Business Direct with more than 450 paid corporate, government and not-for-profit members in every state and territory.

Kinaway Chamber of Commerce is the leading Victorian organisation dedicated to supporting Victorian Indigenous business owners.  Kinaway’s focus is on changing Indigenous people’s lives through a strength-based model of business ownership and participation in the Victorian economy.

Kinaway Chamber of Commerce works closely with businesses by providing support, networking, advocacy and partnerships. These services provide an essential framework to promote and support the ongoing operation of Aboriginal businesses.  Kinaway Chamber of Commerce fosters and develops partnerships with government, corporates, and academia to build procurement opportunities and facilitate support to Indigenous businesses.

Federation staff are encouraged and supported to use Supply Nation and Kinaway panels in VendorPanel in the first instance of procuring goods or services to identify any suitable businesses.