Investment in First Nations leadership is paramount to Australia realising the full value of its clean energy potential. That's the key message of a submission from the First Nations Clean Energy Network to the Federal Treasurer's economic reform roundtable in Canberra this week.

First Nations businesses currently generate more than $16 billion annually, employ in excess of 116,000 people, and are up to 100 times more likely to hire Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.

With the right investment, their economic contribution could reach $50 billion a year by 2035.

Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, speaking at the Supply Nation Connect conference in Sydney this week, said it was a "privilege to hear directly from First Nations businesses and organisations" at the various roundtables around the country.

"It is an important opportunity for them to be part of the national conversation to help shape the discussions to come," she said.

The First Nations Clean Energy Network submission to the Treasurer's roundtable said the transition of Australia's energy system was an ideal opportunity to design and deliver mutually beneficial outcomes for years to come. It urged for inefficiencies in the prevailing system that burden unnecessary costs, like First Nations economic exclusion and inequality, to be addressed.

More support for First Nations clean energy leadership and projects, and improving productivity, equity and economic efficiency by investing in Indigenous communities and outcomes, were other key areas of focus.

Network co-chair Karrina Nolan said communities wanted to own, co-own, and actively participate in the economic opportunities the clean energy transition offered.

"Industry is beginning to recognise the strengths and increased certainty that First Nations ownership and co-ownership can bring to these projects," she said.

"It's clear that now is the time to invest in First Nations communities and support access to capital and the resources needed.

"There are many barriers to our people's participation in the clean energy revolution, from policy constraints to limited financing options for First Nations-led projects... but this moment offers an opportunity to reset our relationship with industry and rethink economic development on country."

A soon-to-be-released FNCEN report will highlight commercial benefits of First Nations ownership and participation for investors would bring trust, long-term stability and improve delivery of projects, mitigating conflict and reputational risk.

Associated economic transformation that necessarily accompany the energy transition would provide an historical opportunity for an inclusive economy that recognised the economic value of First Nations leadership, participation and benefit.

The submission noted local projects created durable jobs and unlocked system benefits if they were properly supported, while targeted investment and inclusion would increase productivity, and improved participation and skills would lead to gains in household incomes.

With First Nations holding significant rights and interests over land and waters required for future clean energy industries – areas rich in renewable energy resources, critical minerals, and regions that would support green metals extraction and production – properly embedding First Nations rights in law and process, and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), would reduce project delays, lower risk, and unlock resources.

Equity-enhancing policies, such as the merit criteria in the Federal Government's 'Capacity Investment Scheme' and the community benefit principles in the Future Made in Australia Act, were examples of emerging productivity-enhancing policies that needed to be strengthened and scaled throughout Australia's policy and fiscal frameworks, the submission noted.

The FNCEN's submission proposed a First Nations Clean Energy Tax Credit, which would provide refundable or transferable tax credits for eligible clean energy projects with verified First Nations ownership or participation.

Clean Energy Bonus Tax Credits stackable with other tax credits should be available to projects that serve remote and energy-insecure First Nations communities, deliver measurable household energy savings or embed First Nations outcomes in their design.

The submission also highlighted a need for a First Nations 'Clean Energy Investment Fund', delivered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Backed by government guarantees for First Nations equity investment in large-scale energy infrastructure, this package of initiatives would directly improve economic efficiency by treating First Nations as partners, co-investors and co-developers, rather than passive stakeholders or barriers.