INTHEBLACK July/August 2023 - Magazine - Page 17
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE
On securing a board role with an ASX-listed company:
“You have to put yourself out there. You need to show
up and talk to people. You have to build relationships
with men, basically, because ultimately, it’s men who
control most of these opportunities. It is harder to do
as a woman, but it can be done.”
IMPACT AT HOME
Law is of Indigenous and Greek background,
and she says she has long wanted to improve
First Nations people’s pathways into
professional services.
Law co-founded IPS Management
Consultants for this reason. IPS has
become one of Australia’s largest
independent majority First Nations-owned
management consultancies, Law says.
The company works with the federal
government, state governments and
large corporates on five different service
lines, some of which focus on boosting
Indigenous employment opportunities.
“There’s very few Indigenous people in
consulting, yet Aboriginal people are the
most consulted people in Australia,” says
Law. “Everyone wants to ask them about
what’s going on. My idea was to create an
environment where we could help Indigenous
people become professional consultants.”
“The biggest challenge is that there are
hardly any Indigenous accountants, so
younger people are not really seeing role
models in the community,” Law says.
The adage of “You can’t be what you
can’t see can become self-fulfilling.
“For Indigenous accountants themselves,
it’s about creating connections and
building a career when you don’t
necessarily have anyone around you who
has trodden the same path,” she says.
TRANSFORMATIVE EMPLOYMENT
One aspect of the work of IPS is to operate
large-scale employment programs that guide
unemployed people towards full-time work
on infrastructure projects.
“There are some amazing stories about
people’s lives being transformed by these
programs. It is something that I’m proud
of,” Law says.
IPS also offers a First Nations cultural
advisory service on issues such as unconscious
bias and working with Indigenous people.
In addition to projects that have an
Indigenous focus, IPS runs more mainstream
projects, such as the women’s leadership
program with Tennis Australia.
“There are lots of women in tennis clubs, but
mostly they’re not on the ‘executive’ side, or
they might be the secretary, but they’re not the
president,” says Law. “It is about getting more
women into those more senior leadership roles
in tennis clubs around Australia.”
IPS also provides senior leadership training
for the Australian Taxation Office and
business advice for small businesses, which is a
partnership with the Western Australia Small
Business Development Commission.
Law is also a co-founder and director of
Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils, which makes
sandalwood oil that is sold into international
perfume markets. The oil is sourced from First
Nations harvesters and the state government,
which generates employment opportunities.
SELF-DETERMINATION
Throughout her career, Law has mentored
many First Nations people, and she
derives great personal satisfaction from
seeing them develop their businesses.
“I’m a strong believer in entrepreneurship
as a part of self-determination,” she
says. “Being an entrepreneur is hard,
but it gives you more control over
your life on a day-to-day basis. It suits
many people for that reason.”
In 2017, Law made history when she
became the first Indigenous woman to
chair an ASX-listed company, Ardea
Resources. She was the chair for the
next three years, during which time she
became the chair of another ASX-listed
company, Yandal Resources.
“To me, being the chair isn’t about
being the leader and telling everyone
what’s going to happen,” she says. “It’s
more about bringing people together and
coming to a consensus, and then helping
everyone to go in that direction.”
READ
an INTHEBLACK
article on the future
of the mining sector
READ
an INTHEBLACK
article on how
accountants can
“show up” for
Indigenous
communities
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 17
