Corporate sector engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: an analysis of stakeholder submissions

Abstract

The commercial determinants of health are an emerging area of inquiry; however, a comprehensive understanding of commercial activities impacting Indigenous peoples remains elusive. In 2021, an Australian parliamentary inquiry was initiated to examine how the corporate sector can better engage with Indigenous consumers. This study examined the commercial determinants of Indigenous health and social wellbeing by analysing submissions to the Inquiry. Twenty-five submissions were analysed: seven from Indigenous actors, five supplementary submissions, and the Inquiry’s interim report. Findings revealed exclusion of Indigenous leadership from the commercial sector, supply of harmful products, misleading branding, and predatory lending. This meant increased stress and reduced access to essential services for Indigenous consumers, despite affirmative corporate social responsibility strategies towards Indigenous peoples. Government policy should prioritise ongoing collaboration with Indigenous peoples in the development of regulatory mechanisms to mitigate the negative impact of commercial practices on health and social wellbeing.