Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and innovators to develop and commercialise native food products.

Objectives of the Indigenous Native Food Program

Native foods, the staple of Indigenous people’s diets for more than 80,000 years, are gaining popularity in the commercial food sector, nationally and globally.

The Indigenous Native Food Program (INFP) is a partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) to explore commercial opportunities for scalable Indigenous native food businesses.

New opportunities will be created, allowing innovative businesses to be led and managed by Indigenous people.

The program is a pilot project that aims to:

– support growth in the native food industry in Queensland
– help diversify the Queensland economy
– engage and benefit regional Queensland
– create new jobs or career pathways for Indigenous people and communities
– create marketable outcomes for Queensland Indigenous businesses.

It’s designed to help successful applicants:

– progress the development of their innovative products
– achieve a milestone that represents a significant progression in the development of their product
– increase their capability to develop successful products and to either take the product to market, or work with partners to secure follow-on funding from other sources.

Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for the program, organisations must:

– be an Indigenous business*
– have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
– be registered for GST (at time of application)
– be headquartered in Queensland
– have no more than 50 full-time equivalent staff
– have a product-development project which is supported by a business plan and is capable of being completed within 12 months
– include native food with the intention to rapidly scale.

*For the purposes of this program, an Indigenous business is defined as a business that is at least 50% or more owned by an Aboriginal person and/or a Torres Strait Islander person. It may be a company, incorporated association or trust. A social enterprise or registered charity may also be an Indigenous business if it is operating aa a business. This definition is in accordance with the Queensland Indigenous Procurement Policy.