We also work with the Brisbane City Council buses. We had an opportunity under their social procurement projects to tender for the works, so we clean 1000-1200 buses per night across seven areas.

We’ve had that contract since March last year. We have over 90 cleaners that work across that project. We also have a big landscaping project, so we do a lot of ground maintenance for NDIS clients. We also work with Tier 1 companies such as John Holland, Hutchinson Builders and St. Hilliers that build a lot of infrastructure, schools and roads in and around South-East Queensland.

Where do you see opportunities on a national scale to be more inclusive and considerate of Indigenous Australians?

I think that to address the past history of Indigenous Australia there are a lot of policies that affect Indigenous people today, especially around youth and the stolen generation. However, you also have issues such as incarceration, mental health, domestic violence and higher unemployment rates. I try to make an inroad into that to support Indigenous people. I know how hard it was on myself to get a job, and being an Indigenous company today is all about the community giving opportunities around employment.

Other companies might give employment opportunities, but our contribution is towards preventing a young 17-year-old from getting into crime by giving them somewhere decent to work.

Through this, they are able to take a step forward and then understand the value of getting up for work, saving money for a car and paying their way with their parents. Being able to be part of society and feel that their self-esteem is lifted because they have got somewhere to go every day for work is our goal.

What are the strengths of the social enterprise or Indigenous business model to create sustainable social change?

I think people don’t realise that when you get your first job opportunity, to buy a nice place you have to save towards a deposit and car to provide a roof over your head. Furthermore, families want to give opportunities for their kids to go away on football or netball carnivals, creating a ripple effect of positives, rather than negatives [such as] drug and alcohol abuse which turn into domestic violence, incarceration and suicide.

We give an opportunity for a family to feed everyone, to make sure that kids can go to school with lunch, et cetera.

They’re the ripple effects from us being a part of Indigenous and social procurement.