Consultancy giant Deloitte has signalled a focus on governance was essential to the success of the 49 per cent stake it acquired in Yamagigu Consulting, from big four consultancy firm PwC Australia.
Formerly known as PwC Indigenous Consulting (PIC), which was 51 per cent majority owned by Indigenous co-owners Gavin Brown and Selwyn Button, the rebranded Yamagigu Consulting will continue to receive government contracts under its new ownership structure with Deloitte.
PwC Australia decided to offload its stake in PIC to fellow big four consultancy Deloitte amid a Department of Finance ethical soundness probe, and questions over whether it was sufficiently fit to take on government contracts, after a series of inquiries and investigations after its tax leaks scandal in 2023.
Yamagigu would retain its First Nations-owned corporate and governance structures and continue receiving consulting service contracts from the government, private sector and community-based clients to improve outcomes for Indigenous communities.
'Yamagigu' is a Wiradyuri word meaning "our purpose is to go with you".
Yamagigu CEO Gavin Brown, a Wiradjuri man who is the sole 51 per cent Indigenous owner of the new rebranded company, said the Deloitte deal would allow the business to "grow our impact while continuing to support the self-determination of First Nations communities".
"We thank the wisdom and generosity of Wiradyuri Elders who worked with us to reflect the essence of our business, and our commitment to First Nations peoples and communities, through language," he said.
"We are very proud of the work we have done over the last 10 years of operation, with more than 1,300 projects completed across more than 800 communities around Australia.
"We look forward to continuing to offer our First Nations expertise that has made us a valued partner of governments, the private sector, and First Nations organisations."
PwC sold its public sector consulting arm to Allegro Funds last year for $1 after it was cut off from winning new federal government work.
It also sold PIC - one of its last operations still winning federal contracts - for an undisclosed sum to Deloitte in July after shopping the profitable business around.
Former PIC co-owner, Selwyn Button sold his 16 per cent stake to Mr Brown around the time of Deloitte's 49 per cent acquisition from PwC in the Indigenous consultancy arm.
Mr Button, a Gungarri man from Southwest Queensland was in June appointed for a five-year term as full time Productivity Commissioner, in the role of Indigenous Policy Evaluation Commissioner.
National Indigenous Agency Australia, which was established in 2019 under the Morrison government's Indigenous Advancement Strategy, was the first federal agency to award contracts to PwC's Indigenous Consulting division after an 'effective ban' was reportedly replaced on such dealings by the Albanese government after PwC's tax scandal emerged.
The National Indigenous Australians Agency, which in 2022 had its its federal funding increased to $4.5b to manage First Nations policy development and service delivery on behalf of the government, is the biggest federal funder of PwC's Indigenous Consulting, now Yamagigu.
The Indigenous consultancy received $44.67m in Federal contracts, including $10.2m in April 2022 to deliver a First Nations Tourism Mentoring Program, and two further contracts since May 2023, when the federal government effectively blacklisted PwC Australia over its tax leaks.
"NIAA has been assured that none of the PwC Indigenous Consulting staff were involved in the PwC Australia tax scandal," a NIAA spokesperson told National Indigenous Times at the time.
Deloitte chief executive officer Adam Powick said his firm would provide "deep professional capabilities" to support the "invaluable ongoing work of the largest First Nations consulting business in Australia".
"We're really excited to be entering into this new venture with the Yamagigu team as they continue to effect meaningful change. to create greater prosperity and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, organisations, and communities," Mr Powick said.
The announcement coincided with the one-year anniversary of Scyne Advisory, the government-only consulting practice spun off from PwC Australia, which has maintained influence on federal and state government procurement panels.
This was after being assessed by the Department of Finance in Canberra for its suitability to receive federal government work and agreeing to undergo regular governance checks.
