Acknowledgement of Country
SprintSuite acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work, live and operate — and the Traditional Owners of every mine site, workshop and community our customers operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to Indigenous peoples worldwide.
Quick Answer
The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is held every year on 9 August, declared by the United Nations in 1994. For Australian mining and heavy industry contractors, it's the annual marker to review the four things Tier-1 miners now audit: Free, Prior and Informed Consent, heritage protection, Indigenous employment and Supply Nation procurement spend.
What is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples?
9 August marks the first meeting of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in 1982. In 1994 the UN General Assembly declared it an annual international day to recognise the rights, cultures and contributions of the world's Indigenous peoples — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.
It sits alongside the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which Australia endorsed in 2009 and which now shapes heritage law, land-use consent and Tier-1 miner social-performance standards. Where NAIDOC Week is a domestic celebration, 9 August is the global compliance and rights lens — and it's the one that shows up in ESG reporting.
Why it matters in Australian mining and heavy industry
Mining in Australia happens on Country. Pilbara iron ore, Bowen Basin coal, Kalgoorlie gold, Olympic Dam copper-uranium, McArthur River zinc — every haul road, ROM pad and accommodation camp sits on land with Traditional Owners who have cared for it for tens of thousands of years.
Since the 2020 destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters, the operating environment has changed hard. Heritage due diligence, Traditional Owner consultation and FPIC now flow all the way down the supply chain — including to civil crews, drill & blast, HME maintenance, labour hire and transport contractors.
BHP, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, BMA, FMG and Newmont all publish Reconciliation Action Plans, Indigenous employment targets and Supply Nation spend targets. They push those expectations down through prequalification and monthly contractor reporting. 9 August is a natural checkpoint to make sure the numbers behind your commitments are real.
The four things the UN framework asks of industry
UNDRIP & FPIC
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Free, Prior and Informed Consent set the global baseline — and now sit inside Australian heritage law and Tier-1 miner standards.
Country & heritage
Every Australian mine sits on the Country of Traditional Owners. Post-Juukan, heritage protection is a contractor-level obligation, not just a corporate one.
Employment & training
Indigenous participation targets flow through prequalification. Contractors are expected to hire, retain and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers — and to prove it.
Procurement
Supply Nation–verified spend is now a KPI on most Tier-1 contracts. Contractors who can't report it lose access to the next scope of work.
What mining and heavy industry contractors can actually do
On site — 9 August
- Open every prestart with an Acknowledgement of Country and name the Traditional Owners of the site
- Share the year's UN theme on crew comms, noticeboards and the pre-shift muster
- Fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the company flag
- Confirm heritage exclusion zones and no-go areas are still current on today's job cards
In your workforce
- Report Indigenous employment as a % of headcount, apprentices and supervisors — not just a raw number
- Pay cultural and ceremonial leave correctly through payroll, with the right award interpretation
- Book cultural awareness training into site inductions before FIFO crews mobilise
- Build traineeship pathways with local land councils and Registered Training Organisations
In your supply chain
- Tag Supply Nation–verified suppliers in procurement so spend rolls up automatically
- Set an Indigenous spend target per contract and review it monthly with the principal contractor
- Pay Indigenous subcontractors on 7–14 day terms to protect cash flow
- Include Indigenous business criteria in your own subcontractor selection scorecard
In the community
- Sponsor a local event on or near 9 August in the towns you mobilise from
- Support youth, sport and education programs in regional and remote mining communities
- Publish your Reconciliation Action Plan progress annually — Reflect, Innovate, Stretch or Elevate
- Include Traditional Owners in project consultation early — before scope, not after mobilisation
Indigenous procurement: where to start
The fastest, most measurable thing a contractor can do is shift spend. Australia has more than 4,500 verified Indigenous-owned businesses across labour hire, civil, transport, PPE, catering, IT and professional services — and Tier-1 miners want to see that spend flowing.
- Supply Nation — Australia's national directory of verified Indigenous businesses.
- Black Business Finder (WA) and Kinaway (VIC) — state-based Indigenous business directories.
- Native Title PBCs and local Traditional Owner corporations — many operate commercial arms already working on nearby mine sites.
How SprintSuite supports the work
Good intentions don't move the numbers — systems do. SprintSuite gives Australian mining and heavy industry contractors the tools to actually report on Indigenous engagement, not just talk about it on 9 August.
Tag Indigenous suppliers
Flag Supply Nation–verified vendors in procurement and roll spend up by job, region or principal contractor for monthly Tier-1 reporting.
Track cultural leave
Award-interpreted payroll handles ceremonial and cultural leave correctly across multi-site FIFO and residential crews.
Site inductions & cultural awareness
Build cultural awareness training into your induction and training matrix so no worker mobilises without it.
Contractor compliance evidence
Store heritage briefings, RAP progress and Indigenous employment reporting in one place — ready for audit.
Frequently asked questions
Keep reading
Turn 9 August into 365 days of evidence
One day of the year is not a strategy. SprintSuite helps Australian mining and heavy industry contractors track Indigenous employment, procurement and training so the commitments you make today show up in your Tier-1 reporting next month.
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