Questions have been raised about internal governance and accountability at hardware giant Bunnings after whistleblower allegations from a senior Noongar executive.

Phillip Sillifant, a former Aboriginal affairs manager at Wesfarmers and part-time Indigenous business lead at Bunnings, lodged formal complaints with ASIC, Supply Nation, and Reconciliation Australia, alleging the company failed to uphold integrity after concerns were raised internally.

His concerns involve executive conduct and Indigenous supplier governance.

Mr Sillifant has worked within the Wesfarmers Group since 2011 and held senior roles across Wesfarmers Limited, Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers (WesCEF), and Bunnings, and from 2016 to 2020 was the company's most senior Aboriginal employee.

During that time, Mr Sillifant led the development of Wesfarmers' Reconciliation Action Plans, established the $10 million BOAB Fund to support Aboriginal-owned businesses, and advised the group executive on First Nations inclusion, procurement ethics, and cultural governance — across a workforce of more than 200,000.

At Bunnings, he helped drive the Warlukurlangu pottery range, which is understood to have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties for Yuendemu artists, and several million dollars in product sales.

Mr Sillifant first raised his intention to start an Indigenous-owned business in mid-2024 during a verbal conversation with his Bunnings line manager. The business – an Indigenous owned homewares supplier – remained non-operational until early 2025 and was later disclosed in writing to senior Bunnings executives.

The disclosures by the Noongar professional have triggered an ASIC investigation and prompted Supply Nation to confirm it was reviewing a related governance complaint involving a Wesfarmers-linked supplier Geared Up Culcha (GUC), a hardware supplier 49 per cent owned by one of the corporate giant's subsidiaries, Blackwoods.

As revealed by National Indigenous Times last month, Mr Sillifant – now a formally recognised protected ASIC whistleblower – alleges that after disclosing the business, he was subject to a covert internal investigation, coercive pressure during certified sick leave, and unauthorised disclosure of sensitive medical information, while internal policy protections and cultural safeguards were bypassed.

Documents reviewed by National Indigenous Times suggest Wesfarmers executives offered Mr Sillifant what he was asked to consider "as a secondment, for 3 / 6 months or so" to Geared Up Culcha in May 2023 to act as its general manager of operations – a role implying significant day-to-day control.

The offer sent by a Wesfarmers First Nations affairs executive raises questions about the operational independence of GUC, a Supply Nation-certified entity, and whether Wesfarmers exerts de facto control in breach of the intent of the Indigenous Procurement Policy.

Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network CEO Naomi Anstess said although Wesfarmers had been a strong supporter of the Aboriginal business sector, it needed to use other avenues to empower the industry.

"What we hope to see is corporate giants like them partnering in ways that promote and advance true Aboriginal ownership in business, through their supply chains and employment, rather than ownership," she told National Indigenous Times last month.

GUC is listed as a Supply Nation certified Indigenous business and positioned to participate in federal government contracts under the Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP). While the company meets the requirement of 51 per cent Indigenous ownership, Mr Sillifant questioned whether real control and benefit rests with the company's Aboriginal shareholders.

Mr Sillifant claims GUC could serve as an aggregation vehicle for Bunnings products – allowing Bunnings stock to be purchased wholesale and resold by GUC under an Indigenous banner, potentially meeting government IPP thresholds.

This model could disadvantage Indigenous suppliers seeking independent access to those markets, given Bunnings' market dominance and supply chain contracts.

His concerns included the position of an Indigenous senior executive at Bunnings who was appointed a director of GUC on November 5 last year and held the position while retaining responsibility for Bunnings' Indigenous procurement strategy and supplier relationships.

Mr Sillifant alleges the appointment was not transparently disclosed across the company and that it raised governance concerns. In written material submitted to regulators, he stated the dual role overseeing procurement and sitting on the board of a supplier represented a structural conflict.

Mr Sillifant wrote the arrangement "raised questions that GUC could become an aggregator to sell Bunnings products," and that this scenario "would allow any product from Bunnings to be sold to GUC at wholesale price, as a supplier".

National Indigenous Times does not suggest the executive in question has engaged in any disclosure or governance failures.

Wesfarmers disclosed its significant shareholding in Geared Up Culcha via Blackwoods on the company's website in 2021.

GUC founder and chief executive Paul Dodd, a proud Bundjalung man, told National Indigenous Times last month his company's board comprised four directors, two of whom are First Nations people, but he was the only director with operational responsibilities within the business.

"The remaining board directors have no role in procurement or other operational decisions made by the business," he said.

Mr Sillifant has lodged whistleblower complaints with ASIC, Supply Nation, and Reconciliation Australia.

In his ASIC complaint, Mr Sillifant alleges senior executives failed to act on governance concerns and enabled retaliation against a protected whistleblower. His submission outlines potential breaches of the Corporations Act, Privacy Act, Fair Work Act, and Work Health and Safety legislation.

National Indigenous Times has seen correspondence from Bunnings that states its Indigenous Affairs team was "in the process of formulating its Indigenous Business Commercialisation strategy aimed at developing product ranges sourced from or supported by Indigenous business which can be marketed to organisations with direct or indirect targets under the Australian government's Indigenous Procurement Policy".

In addition to the hardware giant Bunnings, Wesfarmers owns Kmart, Target, Officeworks, Priceline, flybuys, Kleenheat, and many more companies. The Bunnings Group itself comprises 310 stores across Australia, plus other chains including Tool Kit Depot and Beaumont Tiles, bringing in a combined total of almost $19 billion in revenue a year for the ASX-listed Wesfarmers.

Its profit margin of 16.8 per cent far outweighs supermarket giants Woolworths (9.9 per cent) and Coles (8.9 per cent), both the subject of a current ACCC federal inquiry.

Wesfarmers and Bunnings have not responded to questions from National Indigenous Times regarding alleged structural conflicts, internal declarations, or the company's IPP strategy.