Certified UK birth and migration records obtained by the National Indigenous Times raise serious doubts about a South Australian business leader's public claim to Aboriginal identity. Despite receiving a formal complaint from his family, Indigenous business certifier Supply Nation has upheld his company's registration.

Daren Camm, known publicly as John Camm, is chief executive and 51 per cent owner of UAB Pty Ltd, trading as Rainy Day Recruitment. The company appears on Supply Nation's Indigenous business directory, making it eligible to bid for targeted federal contracts under the Commonwealth's Indigenous Procurement Policy.

AusTender data shows the company has been involved in around $21 million worth of Commonwealth contracts since 2021, many in categories reserved for certified Indigenous suppliers.

On 1 August, Mr Camm's siblings lodged a complaint with Supply Nation, providing certified copies of birth certificates, immigration records, and other official documents they say prove that both of their mother's parents were born in the United Kingdom.

The records sighted by NIT include a birth certificate for Judith Ann Cheetham dated 1 March 1954 in Manchester listing both parents as English-born, and passenger records showing Judith migrated to Australia in March 1969 under the "Ten Pound Pom" scheme. The records indicate she was 15 at the time, travelling with her parents and eight siblings, all born in the UK.

Mr Camm's siblings have also referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police, alleging potential breaches of the Criminal Code Act 1995, including obtaining a financial advantage by deception, dishonesty involving Commonwealth entities, and making false or misleading statements to a federal agency. Mr Camm's sibling also sent South Australian MP Frank Pangallo MLC correspondence on the matter.

NIT does not suggest that Mr Camm has breached the Criminal Code Act 1995 or engaged in any criminal conduct.

On 11 August, Supply Nation told the complainants it had completed a review, reassessing the company's ownership, re-verifying the certificate of Aboriginality on file, confirming details with Aboriginal referees, and conducting another audit interview with Mr Camm. It concluded that Rainy Day Recruitment "continues to meet registration and certification requirements."

Supply Nation said it relies on documents issued by Aboriginal organisations with their own governance processes, and that only those organisations can determine community acceptance. If it suspected documents were obtained under false pretences, it would refer the matter to the appropriate authority. The complaint was deemed closed.

The family's evidence challenges Mr Camm's repeated public claims — made in interviews, speeches, and business profiles — that his mother was an Mirriwoong-Yorta Yorta woman removed from her family in Kununurra and placed in state care at the Forrest River Mission as part of the Stolen Generations.

Archival reporting tells a very different story. A Canberra Times feature from July 1989 detailed Judith's reunion with her three eldest children at Adelaide Airport after a 14-year separation. According to the article, Judith was born in England, migrated to Australia in 1969 as a teenager, and lost her children following a custody dispute that ended when their father failed to return them from an access visit and took them overseas.

According to the article, Judith searched for years across Australia and abroad before locating her children in Adelaide. The article makes no mention of government removal or Stolen Generations policies.

Given the length of time since it was published, NIT is unable verify the statements made in the 1989 article.

Mr Camm's father, John Camm, who says he only learned this year of his son's Indigenous claim, dismissed it outright.

"He's not Aboriginal. That's a joke … he was conceived here in Australia by me and Judith," he said.

According to one of Mr Camm's siblings: "The claim that Judith (their mother) was adopted as an Indigenous child from the Forrest River Mission in the 1950s while her British family remained in the UK with eight other children is not only unsubstantiated but implausible. Judith is the ninth child of Annette and Henry Cheetham and was 15 when she travelled to Australia."

The NIT investigation also uncovered inconsistencies in Mr Camm's academic record. Until recently, his LinkedIn profile listed a Bachelor of Business (Administrative Management) from 1994 to 1997, and a Master of Business Administration and Human Resource Management from 1997 to 1999, both from the University of South Australia. The university's verification system shows no record of conferring either degree.

Mr Camm told NIT the qualifications were never formally conferred due to an unresolved debt.

"At the time, I believed the costs were covered — but I've since learned otherwise," he said.

"While it was never my intention to misrepresent my qualifications, I won't be using the post-nominals until the University's Council formally confirms the awards. I am actively engaged with the University and the Ombudsman to resolve this."

The university declined to comment on the case.

Mr Camm refused to provide genealogical records, citing privacy, and would not confirm his history before launching Rainy Day Recruitment.

"I have identified as Aboriginal since 1989 when I met my mum, and am accepted by Aboriginal organisations and recognised as Aboriginal by State and Federal government departments," Mr Camm said.

"Supply Nation has verified this in accordance with their processes. I will not be providing my genealogical records publicly as they contain sensitive personal and family information. I will not comment on irrelevant personal history beyond what is necessary for this enquiry."

The NIT asked Supply Nation which Local Aboriginal Land Council issued Mr Camm's certificate of Aboriginality. Supply Nation declined, instead rebuking NIT for the question.

"It is frankly concerning that NIT, an Indigenous organisation, would ask Supply Nation to compromise personal information," a spokesperson said.

Naomi Anstess, chief executive of the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network, takes a different view.

"NTIBN upholds that Indigeneity is a proud connection shared between the individual and their community, grounded in the three-part definition: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, self-identification, and community acceptance," she said.

"We honour this by transparently when asked about a member's Indigeneity, verifying details such as issuing body, signatory, date, board resolution, and heritage confirmation. We do this without releasing the documents themselves. In short, claiming Aboriginality is a powerful statement of identity. If you claim Aboriginality, you must be prepared to stand by it openly with the community."

The Australian Federal Police have confirmed receipt of the complaint by Mr Camm's sibling but declined to comment further on the matters raised.