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WINNER: EXCELLENCE IN ABORIGINAL HEALTH & WELLBEING

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 22:39:00 GMT

Tribal Warrior celebrated for Excellence in Primary Health Care at CESPHNs Awards Night 2025

Tribal Warrior Aboriginal Corporation is proud to announce that we have been named the winner of the Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Achievement award at the 2025 CESPHN Primary Health Awards.

The awards ceremony, hosted by the Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network (CESPHN) on Thursday, 23 October, celebrated professionals and organisations making a profound impact on primary health care across the region. This year’s event was particularly significant as it also marked CESPHN’s 10-year anniversary.

Recognising Our Women’s Health Program

This prestigious award recognises the outstanding impact of Tribal Warrior’s Women’s Health & Wellbeing Program .

Designed to offer culturally safe fitness and empowerment activities for Aboriginal women, the program operates on a holistic, trauma-informed model. By fostering strong community partnerships, the initiative promotes healing, resilience, and connection among participants.

The judges acknowledged Tribal Warrior’s success in strengthening emotional wellbeing and building sustainable pathways to better health for our community.

A Win for the Community

Receiving this award is a testament to the hard work of our mentors, staff, and the women who participate in the program every week.

"Our work continues to strengthen emotional wellbeing and build pathways to better health," the team noted. "This recognition helps shine a light on the importance of culturally safe spaces for healing."

As part of the award, Tribal Warrior received $2,000 to further our work in the community, alongside regional promotion of our health initiatives.

We would like to thank CESPHN for this honour and for acknowledging the vital role of Aboriginal community-controlled health initiatives.

WORK WITH PURPOSE

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 01:29:59 GMT

Partnerships built on Respect, Value & Shared Expertise

Consultancy & Partnerships Charter

At Tribal Warrior, our consultancy and partnerships charter is built on one clear purpose — to create lasting social and cultural impact through genuine collaboration.

We work alongside corporate partners, government agencies, and community organisations to co-design strategies that embed First Nations cultural intelligence , social responsibility , and inclusive leadership into everyday practice.

Our approach centres on Cultural Integrity , Community Empowerment , and Sustainable Outcomes — ensuring that every engagement delivers measurable value for both business and community.

Read below to understand how we build respectful partnerships grounded in trust, reciprocity, and shared responsibility — and what we expect from those who walk with us.

Purpose

This Charter guides how Tribal Warrior engages with corporate, government, and community partners. It ensures that all consultancy, training, and partnership activity upholds the principles of Aboriginal self-determination, cultural integrity, fiscal respect, and community benefit .

Our work is grounded in Truth-telling, cultural connection, and strengths-based leadership — creating pathways for learning, employment, and reconciliation that are led by Aboriginal voices and guided by community.

1. Guiding Principles

1.1 Respect for Culture and Community

We recognise Elders, cultural leaders, and community members as central to our work.
All engagements must:

Uphold Aboriginal Cultural and Intellectual Property rights
Respect cultural protocols, ceremonies, and community processes
Reflect community priorities, not external agendas

1.2 Self-Determination

Partnerships must support the capacity of Aboriginal communities to lead their own solutions.
We collaborate, but do not compromise cultural authority or decision-making.

1.3 Shared Benefit

All partnerships must produce tangible outcomes for community — such as employment, training, wellbeing, or cultural revitalisation — not just reputational gain for others.

2. Scope of Consultancy and Partnerships

We deliver programs, training, mentoring, and advisory services across:

Cultural education and awareness
Leadership and mentoring programs
Employment and pathways initiatives
Community events, cultural experiences, and workshops
Co-design and RAP consulting for corporate partners

All services are delivered in line with Tribal Warrior’s Mission, Vision and Values of empowerment, respect for Country, and excellence in client focus.

3. Governance and Cultural Oversight

All engagements are guided by community input and approved by organisational leadership.
Elders, cultural advisors, and community mentors provide cultural guidance as appropriate, with respect for their time and knowledge.
Our facilitators and emerging leaders are supported through culturally safe practice, supervision, and debriefing.

4. Partnership Conduct Expectations

We ask all partners to:

Engage respectfully , listening with openness and cultural humility.
Value Aboriginal expertise as equal to technical or academic knowledge.
Acknowledge cultural authority and take guidance on appropriate protocols.
Act ethically , delivering on commitments, and providing feedback transparently.
Recognise cultural timeframes — building flexibility into projects where community needs or ceremonies may arise.

5. Fiscal Integrity and Payment Standards

Respect for fiscal commitments is respect for culture.
As a community-led social enterprise, our financial systems are designed to safeguard both cultural and organisational integrity.

5.1 Deposits and Payment Terms

A non-refundable 30% deposit is required to confirm all agreements.
The balance is payable according to the agreed payment schedule (typically 14–30 days from invoice).
Deposits may be transferred to the same project only within the same financial year; they are not refundable or transferrable to another program or year.

5.2 Financial Year Policy

Funds received must be expended and acquitted within the same financial year they are paid.
This ensures compliance, transparency, and accurate reporting for all parties.

5.3 Scope and Variation

Any changes to the agreed scope, deliverables, or dates must be requested in writing .
Additional costs or delays resulting from scope changes will be quoted and invoiced separately.

5.4 Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP)

All cultural content, materials, and recordings remain the property of Tribal Warrior and the communities or individuals represented. Re-use, adaptation, or reproduction requires written consent and may attract a separate licensing or usage fee.

5.5 Fiscal Respect

Partnerships rely on mutual respect and timely financial commitment.
Late or withheld payments undermine community outcomes and may result in suspension of services.
Partners acknowledge that fair and timely payment is a matter of respect for First Nations expertise and self-determination .

6. Transparency and Accountability

We are a social enterprise and registered charity, operating with integrity, consistency, and accountability:

All funds received are reinvested into community-led training, mentoring, and cultural initiatives.
Regular financial and impact reporting is available to major partners and funders.
We actively seek feedback from participants, partners, and community to improve continuously.

7. Community Impact and Value

We deliver value by:

Empowering people through culture, wellbeing, employment opportunity, and education.
Building strong relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
Providing tangible, measurable outcomes in skills, confidence, and cultural connection.
Ensuring all work contributes to healing, belonging, and sustainable community leadership .

8. Mutual Commitment

This Charter forms the foundation of ethical and effective partnership.

By engaging with Tribal Warrior, partners commit to:

Upholding cultural safety and fiscal responsibility
Respecting Aboriginal-led decision-making
Valuing lived experience and Truth-telling as essential components of leadership and reconciliation

CAPTAINS OF CHANGE

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 23:18:15 GMT

Things appeared broken but thanks to a boat and some sage advice, Uncle Shane Phillips charted a new course.

Story credit to Stephanie Nuzzo + Photography by Nigel Lough

Tribal Warrior was founded to create real opportunities for First Nations Australians through maritime training, youth programs, and community outreach. At the helm is CEO Uncle Shane Phillips, a passionate advocate for his people, dedicated to breaking the cycle of disadvantage and fostering resilience. Here, Shane shares the story of Tribal Warrior's impact, the challenges they tackle and how partnerships like Jawun's secondment program are helping amplify their work.

EARLY DAYS

Tribal Warrior was set in motion in 1998, during a complicated time for Aboriginal Australians, says Shane. "It started on The Block, in Redfern, which was imploding", he says, referring to the social housing hub that became synonymous with poverty, drugs and violence. "There were lots of good people in the community, but we were going downhill". So, a couple of older men in the community gathered a group from Redfern, as well as Sydney's La Perouse and Mount Druitt, and invited them to be trained up as skippers on their boat, the Tribal Warrior.

"We had an Aboriginal flag up and we'd drive around Sydney Harbour", he says. "During that time, there were no Aboriginal boats on the harbour so we would get boarded by police and they would ask, "What's going on? Is this a protest? They'd search the boat - that sort of thing".

Shane says that when the group told the boat owners about these visits, they offered advice. "They said, 'Look, you're doing nothing wrong. When they come onboard next, invite them for a cuppa'".

He had reservations at first, but Shane says the move changed their relationship with the police. "They connected with us", he says. "I was a kid who probably had a poor attitude. I carried resentment and anger, and this experience helped me think differently about how we deal with people. One thing I've worked out is rather than kicking the door down to someone's perception, if we enlighten each other through simple actions, we can learn to appreciate each other".

New connections

When the group's maritime training eventually ended, many of the men moved into government jobs. But a handful, including Shane, decided to stay with Tribal Warrior.

They launched a cultural cruise and charter service. "It wasn't making a lot of money, but it made us understand how we could work and what we wanted to represent".

In 2009, the team shifted its attention to troubled young men in the local community. At the time, 15 First Nations men were caught committing robberies around the Redfern area. Rather than arrest them, local police asked Tribal Warrior if they could intervene.

"We decided we were going to start boxing in the mornings", says Shane. "We said, 'We're going to teach these young fellas routine and discipline. They're going to learn about the strength of our people'. These young men gained a sense of worth and belonging. Three months in, robberies in the area had dropped by 82 per cent". In turn, those same men became leaders in the program, they grew from the work they had put in".

"That program is called Clean Slate Without Prejudice, and it still runs now. You see anywhere from 60 to 100 people training in the mornings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - all year round. No holidays. It's bigger than just training. It's about community and how we support each other and hold each other to account".

Through a suite of tailored programs - such as Clean Slate Without Prejudice, H.O.M.E Family Mentoring, Never Going Back (for former inmates) and Maritime Training - Tribal Warrior provides multiple touchpoints for support, making a genuine impact on the local First Nations community.

Lessons learnt

It hasn't all been smooth sailing. During the global financial crisis, some poor advice almost put Tribal Warrior into bankruptcy. So, it formed a partnership with Jawun, a not-for-profit organisation that creates secondments from corporations and the public sector to First Nations businesses. "They helped us with a secondee in Finance", recalls Shane. "He looked at our systems and made sure the people who were inheriting that work knew what they were doing". The secondees who have worked alongside Tribal Warrior have passed on valuable skills, he adds, and their support has helped the organisation push forward for 27 years.

"We were a bunch of people who had come from all sorts of difficulties, but we don't let those define us", says Shane. "We didn't inherit something that someone else did. We've built and grown it and are sustaining it ourselves - which is really important to us. Young ones in the community have come through our programs and they're now doctors or pilots. They're doing amazing things. We're seeing success in this patch of dirt that we live in. We're seeing people grow and heal and that's all we wanted to do".