FINGERS are crossed for Brewarrina Local Aboriginal Land Council (Bre LALC) members and staff as they wait for the announcement of the National Indigenous Governance Awards for 2022.

Chairperson David Kirby and director Steve Gordon are travelling today to Sydney to attend the awards ceremony tomorrow (Wednesday 8 June) at the Sydney Convention Centre at Darling Harbour.

The Bre LALC is one of just nine major finalists across three categories with the nominees representing the cream of Indigenous organisations right across the country.

Since their inception in 2005, the Indigenous Governance Awards have been delivered through a partnership between Reconciliation Australia and the BHP Foundation.

In 2018 they were joined by the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute who now co-hosts the awards to recognise and celebrate the best of First Nations governance and achievement.

Brewarrina's nomination is as an outstanding example of governance in Indigenous-led small to medium incorporated organisations.

Their fellow nominees are the Mudjar Aboriginal Corporation from Esperance WA and the Naru Goori Groms, Coffs Harbour NSW.

Bre LALC CEO John Reidy says that the organisation has worked hard on their governance and structure over the past five or six years.

"Brewarrina has twice been identified as the state's most disadvantaged community and there had been many organisations over the years that had failed and gone into administration," Mr Reidy said. "Governance was a big part of that historical failure so the Lands Council put a strong emphasis on governance in 2016/17 when we were beginning to transition out of administration to an Indigenous-led organisation."

"We've done pretty well in that space so we threw our hat in the ring for the awards," he said.

Since shifting their focus, the Brewarrina LALC has grown from a small operation with one paid staff member to a team of six.

"In April we employed five new people and are looking at advertising more opportunities and we're working on developing more partnerships and relationships to get more opportunities within our community," said Mr Reidy.

Having more people at the table has been key for Brewarrina LALC. Their Women's Group hold a discussion above. SOURCE: BLALC facebook

The organisation is already having an impact and even offers auspice services for other local organisations who may not have the administrative skills they need.

As well as their award nomination, the Bre LALC has acquired land near Gongolgon to use as the site for a series of commercial projects and are in the final stages of Land Claim 1043, which has been outstanding since the 1980s.

Brewarrina Shire Mayor Vivian Slack-Smith says that the nomination is well deserved.

"In Brewarrina they have rebuilt their representation. The Board have a great vision and they have an excellent team of staff," she said.

"It's only onwards and upwards for them. It's great for the community, great for the organisation and for the people themselves."

The six staff are guided by a six person Board of Directors who meet every two to three weeks.

The Bre LALC have a membership base of more than 270 people with around 20 who actively participate in regular meetings.

They are supported in maintaining their professional standards by a state body and staff in a regional office based out of Dubbo.

"The pivotal moment was in 2017, when we had multiple heads coming to the table and the new board was elected to focus on governance and structure," Mr Reidy said.

"We are absolutely committed to compliance and its working well for us."

"Hopefully tomorrow night we'll hear some good news but its already a big win for us no matter what," he said.