Indigenous Engagement
Winya is an Indigenous-owned profit-for-purpose business, committed to supporting Indigenous training, employment, and enterprise development. As a certified member of the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce in each state of Australia and as a Supply Nation Certified business, we channel our work toward strengthening Indigenous participation in the commercial furniture industry.
Our business programs create sustained eco-social benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in cities, regional, and remote areas across Australia. We focus on encouraging access to opportunities in skilled trades, design, and business operations that may otherwise be difficult to reach.
Our approach to Indigenous engagement goes beyond short-term employment. We aim to encourage long-term economic independence by creating opportunities for collaboration with Indigenous businesses, artists, and training organisations. These partnerships are designed to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples contribute meaningfully to the commercial sector, develop industry-recognised skills, and build self-sustaining careers.
We believe true Indigenous engagement requires ongoing collaboration, investment, and supply-chain integration. By fostering opportunities that support the Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) and client Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs), we help ensure that participation grows steadily over time rather than being limited to one-off initiatives.
Through strategic partnerships and innovative programs, Winya demonstrates that commercial success and social responsibility can progress hand in hand. Our initiatives are not simply about creating jobs; they are about opening doors to career pathways, encouraging Indigenous entrepreneurship, and embedding Indigenous culture in modern commercial design and procurement.
Our Indigenous Engagement Programs
Winya’s programs are designed to create structured opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, encouraging long-term participation in trades, design, business, and enterprise.
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This program creates opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults to gain skills and experience in trades that have traditionally had low Indigenous participation. By partnering with our manufacturing companies across Australia, Winya works to make training and employment pathways in skilled trades more accessible. The program supports both people entering the workforce for the first time and those retraining for a new career direction.
Opportunities to learn hands-on trade skills such as carpentry, upholstery, warehousing, joinery, and furniture assembly.
Links with training institutions that support participants toward recognised trade qualifications.
Pathways that may lead to long-term employment, industry-recognised credentials, and progression into senior roles.
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The House Artist Program connects Indigenous artists with commercial design opportunities, embedding cultural stories into workplaces and helping ensure diverse language groups are represented in modern commercial spaces. This initiative is more than just design input — it provides a platform for artists to be celebrated, compensated, and recognised in settings that reach thousands of people every day.
Artists are invited to contribute textile and upholstery designs used in Winya’s furniture collections.
Royalties are provided on fabric sold, alongside promotional support that builds the artist’s profile.
Artists retain ownership of their artwork and grant Winya a licence for furniture use, while remaining free to use their designs for any other purpose.
Designs are often incorporated into corporate, government, and institutional spaces across Australia.
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This program provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with structured opportunities to gain real-world experience while completing their studies. Designed to bridge the gap between education and employment, it encourages young people to apply their learning in live projects and grow their confidence in professional environments.
Structured placements may be offered in fields such as design, business administration, marketing, and logistics.
Students are encouraged to learn from industry experts through mentoring and on-the-job exposure.
Where possible, student work is integrated into live projects, building career readiness and professional networks.
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The Justice Pathways Program focuses on creating second-chance opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are currently in the justice system. Winya will work with the Justice institution to manufacture furniture products for our corporate clients. This creates a demand for skilled labour including upholstery and joinery trades, creating potential employment pathways, the program encourages reintegration and reduces barriers to work that often exist after incarceration.
Training opportunities may be offered in trades such as upholstery, carpentry, and furniture production.
Programs are run in partnership with correctional facilities and reintegration services to ensure skills are transferable.
Graduates are encouraged to take part in mentoring and workforce transition support, helping them move into stable employment.
Lucinda Johnson-Cornes, sitting on our Yanada Modular Lounge with the fabric she created during her Indigenous Student Work Placement, located in Melbourne Central. Today Lucinda is one of our House Artists.
Additional Indigenous Engagement Initiatives
Alongside our structured programs, Winya also undertakes a range of ongoing initiatives and actions that extend our impact beyond traditional employment pathways.
Indigenous Supplier & Partnership Initiatives
Winya actively directs spend and collaboration toward Indigenous-owned enterprises, particularly women-led businesses, strengthening supply chain diversity and community impact. Our partnerships extend beyond transactional relationships — they are well-established, long-term collaborations built on trust and shared values.
Priority is given to sourcing from Indigenous suppliers including timber producers, textile manufacturers, logistics providers, Installation teams and sustainable material specialists.
We engage with enterprises such as Marara Designs (Wiradjuri woman, Shelby Kschenka) for specialist wood engraving, embedding Indigenous design in our products.
We collaborate with Elephant in the Room Consulting (Bundjalung woman, Jenni Walke), sharing our Sydney and Brisbane showrooms as venues for RAP workshops and co-presenting at industry events.
We have well-established partnerships with Indigenous Tier 2 builders such as MJ Builders, TVN On-Country, DDR Indigenous Contractors, Intract Larrakia Wurrba, DLG Shape, and Barpa, along with many other local Indigenous construction companies across Australia.
Collaborations with creatives such as Salty One (Nyul Nyul Saltwater Man, Lowell Hunter) on projects show how procurement choices can encourage sustainable design and cultural storytelling.
Cultural Awareness & Education Initiatives
Winya also invests in raising awareness and understanding of Indigenous culture through branding, storytelling, and education. These initiatives encourage workplaces to embed reconciliation into their culture, not just their procurement.
Our branding and communications consistently highlight Indigenous culture, education, and awareness.
Licensed Aboriginal artworks incorporated into our products carry cultural stories into corporate and government workplaces.
Through partnerships with groups such as Elephant in the Room Consulting, we help deliver RAP workshops, CPD training, and cultural awareness sessions in our showrooms.
By embedding culture into everyday commercial furniture, we create spaces that facilitate learning, reconciliation, and respect.
Partner with Winya for a Sustainable & Inclusive Future
Winya works to set the benchmark for ethical, sustainable, and inclusive practices in the commercial furniture industry. By choosing Winya, businesses are contributing to Indigenous economic empowerment and environmental sustainability.
Our impact is broad and far-reaching: we encourage employment opportunities, foster Indigenous enterprise, and integrate sustainability into procurement processes. We believe that Indigenous participation should be an integral part of Australia’s business landscape, not an afterthought.
Our sustainability commitments are also deeply connected to our Indigenous engagement. For example, our Take-Back and Furniture Repurposing Programs help minimise landfill waste by repurposing furniture for Indigenous organisations and enterprises, extending the social and environmental value of every project.
We are also committed to cultural preservation through commerce. Through initiatives like our House Artist Program and Indigenous Supplier & Partnership Initiatives, we support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture to be celebrated and represented in ways that deliver both cultural and economic benefit.
By partnering with Winya, organisations are aligning with Reconciliation Action Plans, Indigenous Procurement Policy goals, and broader ESG commitments. Together, we can continue shaping a future where Indigenous businesses, employees, and creatives thrive.