By Maria Raciti

Indigenous businesses in Australia are a powerful force—close to 14,000 strong, contributing $16 billion annually to the economy and creating meaningful employment for over 116,000 people. This growth reflects strength, innovation, and deep cultural foundations.

Yet mainstream definitions of occupational wellbeing have not kept pace. Too often, wellbeing is measured through Western lenses—focusing on individual performance, job satisfaction, and safety—without recognising the rich, interconnected understandings of wellbeing held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

For many Indigenous people, wellbeing is inseparable from culture, community, and connection to Country. These relationships are central—not secondary—to how success is lived and experienced.

In our peer-reviewed article in the Medical Journal of Australia, my co-author Chontel Gibson (Gamilaraay) and I (Kalkadoon–Thaniquith–Bwgcolman) propose a more grounded and culturally congruent approach. To Indigenise occupational wellbeing is to honour and embed cultural identity, collective values, and kinship responsibilities into how we think about work and wellbeing.

This isn’t just a conceptual shift—it’s a practical one. It means creating co-designed career pathways, enabling on-Country work opportunities, acknowledging cultural/colonial workloads, and fostering culturally safe workplaces. It means building systems that support both individual and community thrivance.

Indigenous peoples bring unique strengths and worldviews to every sector. By Indigenising occupational wellbeing, we create space for those strengths to shape the future of work.

Read the full open access article here: https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52668