In Sydney today the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator the Hon Nigel Scullion, officially launched a new service, Independentdirectory, designed to boost the governance and effectiveness of Indigenous corporations.

Independentdirectory is a joint initiative of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations and the Business Council of Australia.

“Independentdirectory is a website that allows skilled individuals to register an interest in being an independent director at an Indigenous corporation. Indigenous corporations can also advertise board vacancies. It works by matching candidates with corporations, inviting them to contact each other,” Registrar for Indigenous Corporations Anthony Beven said.

“Last year Business Council member companies contributed over 100,000 hours of pro-bono work to Indigenous organisations and communities,” Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“This is double the amount contributed in 2012, telling us there’s a growing awareness among business of the two way benefits of business-Indigenous engagement. Independentdirectory is a terrific vehicle for this engagement,” Ms Westacott said.

“Independent directors can bring a range of benefits to corporations such as filling a specific skills gap on a board, promoting skills transfer and developing stronger external relationships,” Mr Beven said.
 
Over 2700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations are registered with the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations and provide a wide range of services to their members and communities. More than 60 per cent of the corporations are located in remote or very remote parts of Australia.

Independentdirectory can be accessed at: http://director.oric.gov.au/