Daniel Briggs never expected his career would lead him into the centre of Australia's energy market. A Yorta Yorta and Wemba Wemba man and a former criminal lawyer, he is now the founder and Managing Director of Yurringa Energy, the nation's first Indigenous-owned retail energy provider. His company is proving that First Nations businesses can succeed in highly regulated industries and take a central role in Australia's clean energy future.

From law to business leadership

Briggs's early career took him from community work in Shepparton to the legal sector. After starting out in trades and working at the Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-op, he became the inaugural Koori Court Officer in Victoria, helping to establish a new system of alternative sentencing. Encouraged by Magistrate Kate Auty, he studied law and went on to practise in Kununurra, Darwin and North East Arnhem Land.

Although he valued the work, frustration with systemic barriers grew.

"I lost the passion for law and decided to get out," he explained. "If we're ever going to get change, it has to come from economic inclusion."

His father, Yorta Yorta leader Paul Briggs AO, had long argued that Indigenous parity with non-Indigenous Australians could only be achieved through economic participation. That perspective inspired Daniel to shift direction. In 2018 he registered Yurringa Energy with the aim of building a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned business in the clean energy sector.

Establishing Yurringa Energy

The company's name means "sun" in Yorta Yorta language, reflecting both culture and its focus on renewables. Briggs initially envisaged building a solar farm but quickly realised the capital requirements were out of reach. For a time Yurringa remained little more than an idea until an energy consultant suggested he consider retailing.

"Energy retail isn't for the faint-hearted," Briggs said, recalling warnings from his advisory board.

The national market was volatile and small retailers were collapsing. But when the Spark Consortium began looking for renewable suppliers for the North East Link project, Yurringa seized the opportunity.

Supplying the North East Link

In 2024, Yurringa Energy won the contract to supply renewable electricity to the tunnel-boring machines on Victoria's largest road project. The deal committed Yurringa to provide 137.5 gigawatt hours of power across the tunnelling phase.

The win established Yurringa as a credible player in the commercial and industrial energy market. It also helped drive turnover to more than $20 million annually, an extraordinary achievement for a company trading for just twelve months.

"Projects like the North East Link ensure First Nations communities take a central role in the development, ownership and delivery of renewable energy solutions," Briggs said.

Support and barriers

Government backing was critical in the early stages. Invest Victoria and the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions provided a grant, while Alinta Energy stepped in as a wholesale partner. Briggs said Alinta was the only major retailer willing to "walk the walk" and support Yurringa to become established.

Yet access to capital remains the greatest challenge. Briggs has spoken about being turned away by banks and about the difficulty of convincing investors to support a start-up without a trading record.

"It's quite simply that you don't meet their lending or investment criteria," Briggs said.

"We don't have any trading record like an AGL or an Origin, so you fall through the gaps."

Yurringa has been trading under exempt retailer provisions but still requires a billing system and licence to scale.

"Once we get that in place, it's game on," Briggs said.

Changing employment models

Another priority is changing the way Indigenous employment is viewed in the industry. Too often, Briggs argues, companies confine Aboriginal staff to liaison roles or short-term traineeships. Yurringa has set a target for 50 per cent Indigenous employment across the business, with staff placed in operational, technical and management roles.

"Anyone we employ is our core staff. We don't pigeonhole people. We want them to grow into executive and management positions."

This approach has already been recognised, with Yurringa receiving Kinaway's Up-And-Coming Business of the Year award in 2024.

Looking ahead

Briggs's ambition is for Yurringa to move beyond retail and into generation. In the Goulburn Murray region, the company has partnered on a proposed bioenergy plant that will convert agricultural waste into electricity, gas and hydrogen. Known as the Goulburn Murray Woka Yurringa Energy Project, it is designed to deliver jobs and revenue back to Yorta Yorta country.

He is also studying models from New Zealand, where Māori groups are securing equity stakes and long-term employment in renewable projects.

"The old model was developers using the land and paying royalties," Briggs said.

"We want to flip that. Indigenous people should be equity partners and decision-makers."

Building generational wealth

For Briggs, the bigger picture is about building an economic base that can support future generations. He argues that wealth creation, not token gestures, will deliver parity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

"We need to stop writing reports about how disadvantaged Aboriginal people are," he said.

"We already know. What we need now is implementation - access to capital, procurement policies that actually work, and real opportunities for Indigenous businesses to get skin in the game."

His vision for Yurringa Energy is not simply to sell electricity but to prove that Indigenous enterprise can drive structural change.

"Wealth creation at this scale is how you build First Nations economic parity within a generation," he explained.

Still in its early years, Yurringa Energy has already reshaped perceptions of what Indigenous businesses can achieve. Its growth shows how policy support, partnerships and determined leadership can open doors into industries where Aboriginal people have historically been excluded.

By supplying renewable power to major infrastructure, employing Indigenous staff in core roles and developing plans for generation projects on Country, Daniel Briggs is demonstrating what is possible when Indigenous ownership and leadership are placed at the centre of the clean energy transition.