Wiradjuri man Hayden Charles is one of Australia's rising Indigenous business leaders, overseeing a national commercial services group that spans cleaning, construction, maintenance and security.

As managing director and co-founder of Indigenous Commercial Cleaning (ICC) and PSG Holdings, Mr Charles has built a network of over 500 employees operating across all states and territories.

Around 12 per cent of the workforce identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

ICC launched in 2018 after Mr Charles saw first-hand the limitations of helping people individually through church and community work.

He told the Indigenous Business Review (a National Indigenous Times publication) he wanted to create a business that could offer hundreds of people meaningful, long-term employment.

"If I could only help 30 people each year, why not start a company and help 300 people find jobs and give them a healthy income," he said.

"So they could go to doctors without having that barrier of having no income."

From small cleaning contracts in hostels and retail outlets, ICC has grown into a national company, later acquiring PSG Holdings to expand opportunities.

PSG now services a broad range of clients, including government departments, tourist sites and remote infrastructure projects.

The structure of the business is deliberately interconnected.

Cleaning, maintenance and security services are integrated to allow employees to move between roles and access additional training.

"It's a massive business sector because we are in a service industry, so cleaning works with maintenance, maintenance works with security and it all works together," he said.

"If we can employ people to do one job and train them up to do another job, that would be great, so that they can have two things."

PSG's client list includes major facilities such as the Australian Taxation Office in Queensland, Reef HQ Aquarium, and the Department of Human Services in WA and NT.

Its cleaning division is part of a larger network delivering construction and fit-out projects, including recent work for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Art Gallery of NSW.

Becoming a business owner at 19 gave Mr Charles early insight into the challenges of being young, Indigenous and ambitious in a space that wasn't always welcoming. Though, over time, he's seen a shift.

"It's become important for other people to start listening to Aboriginal ownership and the whole culture behind it," he said.

"Indigenous business owners usually want to help their community and change their community."

That sense of responsibility drives the company's employment model, which prioritises culturally safe workplaces and long-term development.

Mr Charles said the goal is not just to offer jobs, but to create career pathways.

"It's been very interesting trying to find Indigenous people to work in a cleaning job," he said.

"A lot of people see it as a dead-end job where you either go to uni, do four hours of cleaning each week and get paid.

"Or you and you retire or you're the single mum who has eight hours of the day when the kids are home cleaning."

To shift this perception, ICC and PSG offer routes into other areas, including cadetships in heritage construction and events security.

Current placements include cadets working at Parliament House and Old Parliament House in Canberra, gaining hands-on experience while completing university.

Mr Charles said the focus is on creating a new cycle of opportunity driven by education, employment and health.

"It feels good to see that ripple effect - passing down knowledge to knowledge and hoping it works out with everyone."

For service quotes or employment enquiries, visit the Indigenous Commercial Cleaning or PSG Holdings websites.