Indigenous businesses have been building commercial capability in resources and energy long before the sector started to pay attention. As part of the the launch of our new website, AEMEE is publishing the first look at our membership to show the scale of what has been built.
For decades, Indigenous businesses in resources and energy have been talked about as if they are still start-ups finding their feet, rather than the established commercial operations many of them are. That framing has never matched what is actually happening on the ground, and Indigenous businesses in this sector have known it and said so consistently.
The AEMEE Business Network represents more than 120 Indigenous businesses and Traditional Owner enterprises generating over $1.3 billion in combined annual revenue and supporting more than 2,800 jobs nationally across every Australian state and territory. These businesses are operating in the Pilbara, the Kimberley, Central Queensland, the Northern Territory and beyond.
This is not a projection or an aspiration. It is what our membership is already delivering, in the regions where Australia's most significant resources projects are located.
The Next Era is not something Indigenous businesses are waiting for, and it is not something AEMEE is announcing. It is a shift that has been underway for years, built by Indigenous businesses and Traditional Owner enterprises that have been doing the work long before the sector's frameworks caught up. The shift from participation to ownership, from consultation to leadership, is not coming. It is here, in the businesses that make up this network, on the Country where this work happens every day.
If you lead an Indigenous business operating in this sector and you are not yet part of the AEMEE network, now is the time to register. Membership is free and open to Indigenous businesses, Traditional Owner enterprises and PBC entities.
You can register here.
Big thanks to Empower Digital [-O-] , supported through Indigenous Business Australia , for building a website that properly reflects where AEMEE stands in 2026, and to Maddi Moser from Chlo and Co Creatives, whose artwork sits at the heart of the AEMEE brand and throughout the site.