Queensland Reconciliation Awards 2026

Bamaga Dreamtime Pty Ltd is a well-established Torres Strait Islander-owned enterprise, operating for nearly 38 years. Originally a local Bamaga shop, it has expanded its reach into the broader community and mainstream markets. The initiative was created to address practical community needs while ensuring Torres Strait Islander culture remains visible, accessible and respected through business activities. Today, Bamaga Dreamtime delivers culturally responsive retail services, supports families in fulfilling cultural obligations, provides local employment, and sustains Torres Strait Islander culture both within the community and nationally.

The Diamond Spirit Educate (DSE) program fosters reconciliation across Queensland by connecting First Nations culture, education, and leadership with netball. Leading up to the annual DSE Leadership Camp and the Queensland Firebirds’ First Nations Round (24–25 May), 20 students participated in an eight-week cultural workshop with DSE consultant Sarima Chong, a proud Mulinjarli, Walkaman, Wangarbarra, and Yidinji woman. This unique program brought First Nations and non-First Nations people together through netball, creating meaningful opportunities to learn, share, and strengthen cultural understanding.

At Queensland Rail, ‘safe for everyone’ is a core priority, including physical, psychosocial and cultural safety. Cultural safety is defined by the recipient, not the organisation, and in recognition of this, Queensland Rail has sought the voices and guidance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to shape its approach to cultural safety. In November 2024, Queensland Rail undertook a Cultural Learning Survey, where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees shared insights about their lived experiences. Through listening and acting, Queensland Rail delivered its first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Cultural Safety Plan in October 2025, strengthening cultural safety so Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees feel supported, respected and empowered at work.

Riley Callie Resources is a 100% Aboriginal-owned business delivering culturally grounded educational resources, professional learning programs, and engagement experiences designed that deepen understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. Established to address a significant gap in the education and community sectors, Riley Callie Resources supports organisations to build cultural capability and advance reconciliation through educational resources, professional development workshops, and community engagement programs.

Breaking Barriers is Aspire Cairns Community Limited’s integrated, community-led initiative that uses sport as a vehicle to advance reconciliation, strengthen cultural identity, and build social cohesion across Far North Queensland, including Cairns, Cape York and the Torres Strait. Developed in response to community-identified needs, the initiative supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, particularly young women and girls, to overcome systemic barriers to participation, education and wellbeing. The initiative brings together a suite of interconnected programs, including Aspire to be Deadly, Aspire Deadly 5’s, Community Hub, Getting Kids Places, Bridging Horizons (Sport Leader Training), School to Club and Multi-sport Programs, alongside culturally embedded initiatives such as Embracing Culture. These programs are co-designed and delivered with schools, local organisations and community leaders to ensure cultural integrity, accessibility and local relevance.

Fastest on Sand is a community initiative that celebrates culture and connection, bringing together a showcase of surf lifesaving sport with club and community members. It highlights athletic talent and celebrates First Nations culture, promotes community engagement and strengthens relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities. Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) led the design and delivery through consultation with First Nations led businesses, encompassing clubs along Queensland's coastline, from Port Douglas in north-Eastern Kuku Yulanji Country to Hervey Bay—home of the Butchulla People. It is accessible, culturally appropriate and engages members and First Nations communities, traditionally underrepresented in surf lifesaving, connecting club and community members to encourage friendship, understanding and participation in a fun environment. Beyond SLSQ’s coastal safety operations, the initiative delivers social impact, increased first-time participation, stronger engagement with First Nations youth, families and meaningful connections leading to ongoing involvement.

A key initiative led by COOEE Elders is the coordination of the Redland Indigenous Service Provider Network, which has been facilitated for over 10 years. This long-standing initiative has been pivotal in closing gaps for First Nations peoples by fostering collaboration and communication between organisations, individuals, and government and non-government agencies. More than 70 organisations actively participate across sectors including community services, health, education, justice, and housing. The network has been instrumental in breaking down silos and strengthening coordinated responses to community needs. It has built meaningful connections between agencies and ensured services are more connected, culturally responsive, and accessible to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. COOEE provides a holistic, wrap-around service in a culturally safe and authentic environment. The centre offers educational programs, support services, and a welcoming space for individuals and families, enhancing community resilience and understanding of the systemic and historical barriers impacting equality.

St Patrick’s College Townsville delivers a collaborative, community-led NAIDOC Celebration, welcoming approximately 600 – 700 attendees each year. The event is shaped through months of planning by a dedicated parent and guardian NAIDOC Committee, working in partnership with college staff to ensure families and students are genuinely empowered in decision-making and leadership. The celebration follows a purposeful structure, beginning with a whole college assembly and liturgy aligned to the annual NAIDOC theme. Students hear from guest speakers before participating in a range of cultural workshops, leading into a highly anticipated evening community event. Elders are invited to guide the day, alongside participation from neighbouring schools. The celebration also draws attendees from across North Queensland, reflecting its strong reputation and broad community impact. St Patrick’s annual NAIDOC Celebration is a defining event within both the college and the wider Townsville community, reflecting an ongoing commitment to cultural respect, partnership and truth-telling.

In 2025, the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP) partnered with 11 of its members, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents across the state to co-design the Cultural Parenting Framework, designed to strengthen culturally safe parenting support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Through extensive yarning circles and surveys, this development process centred on First Nations knowledge and community voice. By co-designing with community and collaborating with mainstream providers, QATSICPP’s Cultural Parenting Framework initiative goes well beyond business-as-usual to forge new partnerships and deliver an educational tool that is driving better support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.

The Gunya Meta – Gunya to the Bunyas First Nations Cultural Immersion Camp is an innovative, on‑Country educational initiative led by Traditional Owners and delivered at the Bunya Mountains, and within the Cherbourg community. The program goes beyond awareness‑raising to champion reconciliation through structured cultural education, capability‑building and knowledge sharing. Delivered over three days, the initiative draws upon Indigenous knowledge as an evidence‑based framework reflecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and understanding. Cultural learning is embedded through Indigenous methodologies, including yarning circles, ceremony, cultural songs and dance, storytelling and engagement with cultural artefacts.

Envirotech Education is a multi-award-winning registered training organisation operating across Queensland and New South Wales coastal and island communities. Led by founding Chief Executive Officer Shelly Bengiat, Envirotech is responsible for the research, co-design, co-development and co-delivery of Australia's accredited Marine Habitat Conservation and Restoration qualifications, sustainable development and ecosystem management, and creating Australia’s most extensive network of Indigenous led VET-environmental partnerships.

Growing Indigenous Knowledge Centres (GIKCs) initiative is a flagship education and reconciliation program within the State Library of Queensland’s, Digital Inclusion program (DIP). GIKCs advances reconciliation by strengthening cultural capability, knowledge sharing, and digital inclusion through 29 Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs), supporting First Nations peoples in discrete remote communities. IKCs operate through partnerships between the State Library and First Nations councils. GIKCs is responding to persistent digital exclusion experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly in remote regions. First Nations digital inclusion is a key Closing the Gap priority, ensuring access to information, services and opportunities to participate in the digital economy.

Manngoor Dja – Aboriginal Health Services delivers the Mob Pod, a community-led mobile health initiative designed to improve access to culturally safe healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Gympie and surrounding outer regional areas. The initiative was developed through extensive community consultation from 2021–2024, which consistently identified access barriers, service gaps, high hospitalisation numbers and the need for culturally appropriate, locally delivered care. Launched in October 2024, the Mob Pod brings multidisciplinary healthcare directly to communities including Tin Can Bay, Rainbow Beach, Pomona, Cooroy and surrounding regions. The initiative has already reached over 300 community members across four rural zones, with over 90% community interest in ongoing services, demonstrating strong demand and early impact.

Two Worlds, One Healthcare System: Eliminating Racism Together, is a system-wide cultural transformation initiative developed by the Indigenous Health Service Division Project Team at the Townsville Hospital and Health Service to actively eliminate racial discrimination and institutional racism across the organisation. This initiative recognises that racism in healthcare is not only structural, but experienced in everyday interactions, decisions, and behaviours. It also acknowledges a critical truth – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and communities cannot be expected to be courageous in environments that are not yet culturally safe. Creating that safety is the responsibility of the system, not the individual. This work transforms the conversation from awareness to action, and intention to accountability, ensuring cultural safety is experienced in practice, not just described in policy.

Aboriginal Family Legal Services Queensland (AFLSQ) developed the Bamba Mari program to respond to the need for culturally safe, early-intervention support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men involved in, or at risk of entering, the justice and child protection systems. Grounded in community-led approaches, the initiative recognises the importance of strengthening men’s roles within family and community to improve long-term social and emotional wellbeing. The initiative was introduced to address intergenerational challenges, including family violence, disconnection, and overrepresentation in the justice system. It has been in practice as an ongoing program, evolving to meet community needs. Its purpose is to create a safe space for men aged 16 and over—fathers, uncles, carers, and young men—to reflect on behaviour, strengthen relationships, and build positive parenting skills.

The North Stradbroke Island Aboriginal and Islander Housing Co-operative (NSI Aboriginal Housing) has partnered with St Vincent’s Care Services since 2012, to deliver culturally appropriate aged care and community services on Minjerribah. This partnership is grounded in shared values, mutual respect, and a commitment to improving outcomes for older and vulnerable community members. Established in the early 1970s, NSI Aboriginal Housing has a long history of supporting the Aboriginal and wider Quandamooka community. Its focus is on affordable housing and aged care, delivered through Nareeba Moopi Moopi Pa and the Minjerribah Respite Centre. St Vincent’s is Australia’s largest not-for-profit provider of health and aged care services. Despite challenges, the partnership remains resilient, demonstrating that reconciliation requires sustained commitment, trust, and shared responsibility to create lasting, community-led change.

The Munamudanamy Working Group (MWG) is a place-based reconciliation partnership established in 2021 to transform the management and experience of Munamudanamy (Hinchinbrook Island). The initiative was created to embed culturally informed, shared decision making and strengthen the role of Traditional Owners in managing and presenting their Country. The MWG brings together Bandjin and Girramay Traditional Owner representatives, Girringun Aboriginal Corporation (representing nine Traditional Owner groups), Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Governance is shared, with all partners contributing to agenda setting, planning and on-Country delivery, supported by an Indigenous Identified Project Officer.

The 2025 Festival of Outback Skies partnered with Artistic Director Lydia Miller to bring the story of Moonda Nurra to life against the backdrop of the Hughenden Recreational Lake. This marked the first performance of the Yirendali creation story since colonisation, representing a profound cultural milestone for both the Yirendali people and the wider region. The production became a powerful convergence of light, culture, storytelling, and history, celebrating the Flinders region’s ancient heritage, vibrant present, and sustainable future. Central to the performance were the Lantern Parade and the dramatic emergence of a rainbow serpent ancestor sculpture from the lake. Dance, language, music, and immersive audiovisual elements wove together to honour Country, culture, and community aspirations. Funded through Festivals Australia, the Moonda Nurra production was performed on Sunday, 4 May 2025, as the finale of the Hughenden Festival of Outback Skies.