As NAIDOC Week celebrates 50 Years of Deadly, one Indigenous technology entrepreneur is focused on what the next half a century should look like.

Key points:

• Indigenous tech company Gadali eyes on-Country jobs

• Launches new mentoring program Mura Yerra

• Indigenous employment in IT still very low

Gadali founder and proud Ngunnawal man Dustin McClung wants First Nations people not only participating in Australia's digital future but leading it.

He founded the Indigenous-led technology business in 2024 with a belief Australia's next generation of digital leaders could come from Country, not Silicon Valley. A little more than a year later, the Gadali vision is slowly becoming reality.

The business has created culturally safe pathways to technology, employing Indigenous IT professionals and building long-term opportunities for First Nations people in one of Australia's fastest-growing industries.

"We've always believed there is incredible talent in our communities," Mr McClung said.

"The challenge isn't capability... it is making sure people have access to the networks, opportunities and support they need to succeed."

Gadali has just developed a mentoring initiative - Mura Yerra - that connects emerging Indigenous talent with senior technology leaders, including retired Microsoft alumni and experienced industry professionals. The program was deliberately built from the mentor side first, creating a network of support before recruiting participants.

Gadali is also working with South Australian aged care provider ECH, using AI technology to help manage workforce scheduling and ensure continuity of care for thousands of older Australians.

For Mr McClung, the story is not so much about technology, but self-determination, economic participation and creating opportunities that remain in community.

"We want to see tech careers begin in Country," he said.

"We want to see skills, governance and value stay in community. This is about building pathways that create opportunities for generations to come."

Beyond Indigenous procurement targets

The Gadali story highlighted broader challenges Indigenous businesses face.

Despite growing recognition of Indigenous procurement, Mr McClung believed too many businesses continued to engage First Nations organisations on short-term contracts rather than long-term partnerships.

"Real impact happens when people are prepared to invest in relationships and capability, not just procurement targets," he said.

Mr McClung - a UNSW Sydney electrical engineering graduate before his career in telecommunications and the music industry - found his purpose in 2024 with the establishment of Gadali.

"I feel very fortunate. Coming from a country town, we didn't have a lot of people who went to university back then," he said.

After his 25-year career at Sony Music, the seismic shift from physical media to digital streaming was a pivotal one for him.

"Between 2000 and 2007, the global music industry revenues halved. That just annihilated everyone," Mr McClung said.

So he pursued a masters in business technology during those tumultuous times, while balancing a demanding career and young family with his studies.

"I did that when we started having our kids. My wife and I would tag-team it. I'd study through until about midnight, give the kids their last bottle feed... it actually worked quite well," he said.

IT bridge to Indigenous community

In 2023, Mr McClung stepped away as Sony's vice-president of global technologies in Australia and New Zealand, taking a break to reflect on his career and future.

A year later he founded Gadali, initially imagining it as a general IT consulting firm, before he soon recognised the importance of focusing the company's identity on First Nations entrepreneurship.

"There weren't a lot of companies [focused on Indigenous jobs] from an IT perspective," he said.

So Mr McClung designed a business model centred on partnerships and meaningful employment.

"Our main mission is bolstering Indigenous representation in tech," he said.

He contrasted Gadali's genuine intent with "black cladding," the practice of a business superficially claiming Indigenous status by being 51 per cent Indigenous owned, while the remaining 49 per cent is controlled by non-Indigenous entities.

Such arrangements divert contracts intended for Indigenous quotas, ultimately benefiting external companies rather than Indigenous communities, he said.

Franchise model for rural communities

Gadali's approach involved strategic partnerships where First Nations people could gain vital skills through mentoring and practical experience.

"If we can get a tender, we will find Indigenous employees who get on-the-job training... they're Gadali employees, and we invest in them," he said.

Mr McClung's vision includes a franchise-like model that provides tech opportunities within rural Aboriginal communities in NSW and across Australia, allowing residents to remain close to their heritage and family networks.

"I don't want to pull them out of the community and bring them into the city. We want regional jobs so they can stay in the community," he said.