Indigenous owned and operated cleaning company, Killara Services, has added two more trophies to its cabinet after the Supplier Diversity Awards 2024 gala dinner held in Brisbane as part of Supply Nation's Connect 2024.
Killara Services was named the Certified Supplier of the Year and its managing director and co-founder, Jasmine Newman, awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Australia's largest Aboriginal cleaning company, Killara, started in 2017 after Ms Newman and her husband won a tender, just five days after giving birth to their daughter.
Killara now employs almost 600 people and operates across Australia with 48 per cent of its workforce identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
"We clean everything from defence bases and war ships to commercial buildings and everything in between," Ms Newman said.
Ms Newman said the award wins are validation of Killara's work.
"Being recognised by the indigenous business sector for being the certified supplier of the year is an incredible feeling and it means so much because it is not just about the work we do, but about who we are and where we come from," said the 32-year-old mother of four.
"It is about the journey we have taken, the values we hold, and the communities we represent, it recognises our commitment to excellence and our ability to meet and exceed the expectations of our everyone that's been a part of our journey."
The foundation of Killara Services is based on three principles, engage, employ and empower.
"I was really excited with this year's theme at Connect being 'legacy' because I started the businesses to continue my great-grandfather's legacy Bert Groves who was an Aboriginal activist in the sixties and seventies and played a crucial role in the 1967 referendum," she said.
"For me it was about, Pop advocated the rights for our people and for me, it's about creating the opportunity for our people that Pop was fighting for."
Ms Newman said the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award is a personal achievement and she often feels like the young pup within the indigenous business sector.
"When I started this business, I knew that if I just worked really hard and stayed true to my vision of being the largest employer of Aboriginal people in my industry, that no matter what comes my way, we would be ok, and look at us now," she said.
Its corporate client list includes some of the biggest organisations in the country including Coles, CBRE, Honeywell and Canva along with government organisation including NSW Government Departments such as Education, Communities and Justice, and Family and Community Services and the Australian Federal Police.
Killara Services is developing the blueprint of Indigenous participation in a commercial setting.
"It's not one or two Aboriginal people in a building, but entire workforces," Ms Newman said.
"Every milestone we achieve is a collective success, and I am grateful … it could not have been achieved without the unwavering support, love and guidance from my husband, Max."
The Supplier Diversity Awards 2024 gala dinner was held in Meanjin/Brisbane as part of the 15th Connect trade show, Supply Nation's annual flagship event for the Indigenous business sector.
Supply Nation is a non-profit organisation that aims to grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business sector through the promotion of supplier diversity and maintains the leading database of verified Indigenous businesses.
In 2022/2023, Supply Nation enabled over $4.1 billion to the Indigenous economy.