Celebrating its 12th year in 2026, Indigenous Business Month has become a national movement recognising the contribution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses make to communities and the Australian economy.

This year's theme, Local and Connected, is a reminder that the strongest businesses are those grounded in community, built on relationships and committed to creating opportunities which flow to Indigenous people.

The month-long celebration of Blak business was recently highlighted at the annual Indigenous Business Month awards.

Celebrated through the awards are examples of exceptional leadership, ingenuity, and collaborative spirit across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprises.

The Indigenous Digital Inventiveness Award was awarded to Wayne Quilliam Photography for outstanding cultural creativity and business acumen powered by technology.

For more than three decades, Mr Quilliam has dedicated his life to recording stories of rural remote and urban communities through photography and videography.

"Winning this award reminds me, every image I create, every story I honour, and every moment shared with community carries a resonance deeply embedded within all our spirits," he said.

"This is affirmation of the decades I've spent walking Country, listening deeply, and shaping culture through art and how it connects me to the ancestors and the people I walk with.

"How selfish, yet altruistic is it for me to see, feel and celebrate the enduring strength, beauty and spirit of Indigenous storytelling through lived experience."

The Indigenous Ingenuity Award was awarded to DCC Group to celebrate a businesses tackling community challenges through innovative models.

DCC Group offers residential care, foster and kinship care, disability support, allied health, youth justice, community programs and workforce solutions.

The organisation employs more than 800 people and operates across more than 50 metropolitan, regional and remote Queensland locations.

"Winning the Indigenous Ingenuity Award is recognition that, when Aboriginal-led purpose, lived experience and bold business thinking come together, DCC can create real pathways of safety, healing and opportunity; because no vulnerable person should ever be left behind," DCC Group CEO Deejay Egan said.

The Regional Indigenous Business Award was jointly awarded to AMY Nominees and Yurra Pty Ltd.

AMY Nominees - a wholly owned subsidiary of the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal

Corporation (AMYAC) - provide meaningful employment opportunities, support local businesses and contribute to the ongoing success of one of the region's most important economic hubs.

"What we've achieved is a reflection of the hard work, commitment and resilience of our people," AMY Nominees human resources and administration manager Darcy Kneebone said.

"As a regional Indigenous business, we are proud to create opportunities for people to grow, build meaningful careers and make a positive contribution to our communities."

Established in 2013, Yurra is a proudly majority Yindjibarndi-owned business based in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Yurra has grown into a diversified regional business employing more than 400 people and delivering services across construction and maintenance, project management and technology.

Yurra's success is built on strong local knowledge, trusted relationships, cultural understanding and a workforce that is connected to the communities in which they operate.

33 Creative co-founder and director, Mayrah Sonter, said the Indigenous business sector has experienced significant growth in the 12 year of Indigenous Business Month.

"I am especially excited to see the amazing innovations coming out of the sector," Ms Sonter said.

Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership director, Indigenous Business Month co-founder and award judging panel member, Dr Michelle Evans, said this year's judges "were deeply impressed with the diverse ways the nominees".

"Especially Yurra and AMY Nominees demonstrated their contributions to local economic development and support for regional communities," she said.

This year's awards were held in Brisbane.

"As a business owner based in Meanjin, I know how vibrant the Indigenous business scene is here and I am excited to have the opportunity to connect our local ecosystem with these amazing winners," IM Social Impact Agency co-founder and managing director, Leesa Watego, said.

IBM 2026 was supported by platinum sponsor ANZ.

ANZ is proud to support Indigenous Business Month 2026 and celebrate the innovation, leadership and economic contribution of First Nations businesses across Australia," ANZ director First Nations business banking, Simone Kenmore said.

"We are pleased to stand alongside Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities driving growth, opportunity and lasting impact."