The Indigenous Business Integrity Register has closed less than 11 months after launch.

Former Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt announced the closure on Monday as chair of the Indigenous Business Council. He blamed "relentless attacks" from within the sector and "institutional inaction" by the Commonwealth.

"The attacks continued, culminating in irreparable damage to the credibility and integrity of IBIR, IBC and its founder, Gerry Matera," Mr Wyatt said.

The statement announcing the closure of the IBIR did not say how many businesses paid for verification or whether any will be refunded.

Mr Matera, a Noongar entrepreneur, launched the fee-for-service register in October 2025 to "combat Black cladding".

Mr Wyatt said it "gave procurers an independent way to verify who actually owns, controls and benefits from the businesses they engage with".

He said the status of businesses that paid for verification "still stands" and "procurement teams should treat it that way".

The National Indigenous Australians Agency told National Indigenous Times in November 2025 that the Commonwealth did not recognise IBIR verification under the Indigenous Procurement Policy. Asked whether the register was acknowledged as a legitimate verification for the policy, the agency answered: "No."

"Supply Nation is contracted by the National Indigenous Australians Agency to maintain a register of businesses that meet the requirements of the Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy. Supply Nation provides that registration service to businesses free of charge," the agency said.

Mr Wyatt's statement says IBIR "was gifted to IBC" in June 2026, "cementing it as a community-owned initiative".

ASIC records show the register began as Indigenous Business Integrity Register Pty Ltd, registered on 7 October 2025 with Mr Matera as sole director and secretary. In mid-June 2026 that company changed its name to Weitj Air Services Pty Ltd.

On 26 June, "Indigenous Business Integrity Register" was registered as a business name by Emu Nest Foundation Pty Ltd, a registered charity. The Australian Business Register shows "Indigenous Business Council" is a business name of the same company.

Mr Matera is a director and the secretary of Emu Nest Foundation. Mr Wyatt is also a director. The IBC website lists Mr Wyatt as chairman and Mr Matera as vice chairman of a six-member First Nations board.

In a statement in July, Mr Matera said the move followed "a defamatory notice published about myself and the IBIR register".

"It was considered appropriate that the register be managed under the umbrella of a charity, making clear that any income generated by the register would go back to the charity, with oversight and governance by a First Nations led board of directors," he said.

Mr Wyatt's statement on Monday noted IBIR secured partnerships with Aboriginal Business Directory WA and Monash University's Master of Indigenous Business Leadership program.

ABDWA told its members later that day the partnership began last month as "a pilot program exclusively for Western Australian businesses, before any broader rollout". The register closed about a month into the pilot.

"We respect their decision and will continue to operate ABDWA as we have been in the past," ICNWA head Ray Loh said. "If your business has been verified by IBIR during the pilot period, that will stand."

Monash University told National Indigenous Times in July it signed a memorandum of understanding with IBIR on 9 June 2026.

"No initiatives under the Memorandum of Understanding have commenced at this time," a spokesperson said. At the time, the Indigenous Business Integrity Register was not yet under the management of the Emu Nest Foundation.

Aboriginal business chambers opposed the register's model from its first day. "The goal is right, but the governance model is wrong," National Indigenous Business Chambers Alliance chair Naomi Anstess said at the time of its launch.

Mr Wyatt's statement on Monday cited a national advisory warning businesses against engaging with IBIR as one of the efforts to undermine it. In July, Mr Matera applied to the Supreme Court of Western Australia for pre-action discovery against the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network and the Noongar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, seeking documents about that advisory. No claims have been determined by the court as yet.

The former federal minister said the NIAA "did not dispute the substance" of complaints IBIR raised about those efforts. The agency told National Indigenous Times in July it "does not comment on individual complainants or the specific details of the content of complaints".

Mr Wyatt also called on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to act on "capability washing", which he described as majority-Indigenous businesses competing for contracts "on loaned-in capability".

The closure comes as the Commonwealth tenders its Indigenous business verification contract for the first time. Submissions closed on Friday. From 1 July, businesses seeking access to the Indigenous Procurement Policy must be at least 51 per cent First Nations owned and controlled, or registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations.

National Indigenous Times has asked Mr Wyatt how many businesses were verified and whether fees will be refunded.