One of six children raised in an Aboriginal Housing Commission home in Tamworth on Gomeroi country, Wiradjuri man and First Nations Foundation chief executive, Phil Usher, witnessed his parents live from pay cheque to pay cheque.

At the age of 10, his parents were able to buy a small hobby farm, and as equity in the property grew, his parents accessed it to buy cars and consumer goods.

"Like many Aboriginal people, they were never taught how to manage money, probably because they didn't have money, a story that goes back generations with 'stolen wages'," Mr Usher said.

"My father always wanted more for us, he knew there was a better life, but he didn't have the financial education, and he didn't know how to access it."

His father worked in a mill while his mother stayed home to raise the children.

"My sister bought me a business book for my 16th birthday, and it was the most interesting thing I'd read – it covered things like inflation and how tax was calculated," Mr Usher said.

"I thought to myself, one day I'm going to work in business so I might as well understand it."

After completing Year 12, Mr Usher secured a Centrelink cadetship with the Australian public service, which covered his HECS fees for a Bachelor of Business at the University of Newcastle. After nine years at the APS in various roles including HR, Indigenous community development and financial services, he became business adviser at The Business Centre.

In 2017, Mr Usher joined the board of First Nations Foundation as treasurer and was appointed chief executive three years later.

Founded in 1999 in partnership with First Nations Credit Union, FNF was established to provide culturally appropriate banking services to Indigenous customers. From a team of three in 2020, it has now grown to 16 staff.

With a mission to achieve financial literacy and prosperity for First Nations people, FNF provides individual and group financial training and train-the-trainer for an On Country program, a point of pride for Mr Usher.

"Our On Country program is very effective – the local community delivers our content in a way that works for them, they know their people, their challenges and nuances, it's far more effective than flying our team in and out of regional areas," he said.

"All training sessions start with an hour of truth telling including Aboriginal policies from the '60s and '70s, how Aboriginal people were paid in rations, tea, blankets, and paid money that was held in trust, but they never saw.

"As Aboriginal people, we've never had an opportunity to manage money up until now – our people are getting bigger roles, earning good money and are able to save, however many are still not engaged with the financial services sector."

FNF runs several programs that focus on superannuation, investing, home ownership, and others tailored to women as well as initiatives such as Financial Wellness Week.

In 2023, FNF reconnected Indigenous communities with $1.2m in superannuation, adding the overall total of super it has located to $25.2m.

"We have a clear purpose at FNF and that's to financially empower all First Nations Australians," Mr Usher says.