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Program supporters

A range of supporters of Aurora have provided funding support for the Internship Program and training and professional development of staff working at NTRBs.  Some of this funding listed may no longer apply. 

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), formerly the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C)

The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) was established on 1 July 2019.
 
Portfolio responsibility in relation to matters previously administered by the Indigenous Affairs Group, formerly part of PM&C, have transferred to the NIAA. This is the Australian Government's main source of advice on social policy and manages about one fifth of the federal budget. NIAA works in partnership with other government and non-government organisations managing a diverse range of programs and services designed to support and improve the lives of Australians.

The Aurora Internship Program is currently funded by Culture and Capability Programme through to the end of June 2021.  Under our Program, the Commonwealth will provide financial support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and graduates via scholarship funded internships as pathways to jobs in Indigenous organisations and other organisations working in the Indigenous sector.  

 

Native Title Unit of the Attorney General’s Department

The Internship Program received funding from the Native Title Unit of the Attorney-General’s Department to support the Program from July 2012 through to June 2015.  This funding allowed the Placements team to expand the Program on a targeted basis to support NTRBs and PBCs in regional and remote Australia, where travel and accommodation costs would normally be out of reach of both individual interns and host organisations. 

 

 

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto, a world leader in mining and minerals processing, has provided funding for:

  • the administration of the Internship Program from mid 2004 through to the end of 2014
  • the annual Australian Government Rio Tinto NTRB Scholarships, administered by Aurora, from 2005 through to the end of 2014
  • other projects including business management training
  • the Charlie Perkins Scholarships, which are administered by the Aurora Education Foundation.

 

Legal firms

Leading legal firms provide support the Internship Program by funding law students and graduates to work in the native title and broader Indigenous sector around the country.

  • Allens, a national law firm, funds up to two internships annually. Candidates are chosen from Allen's summer clerkship program. Find out more about Allens.
  • Gilbert + Tobin, a Sydney-based law firm, funds two internships annually. Candidates are chosen from G+T's summer clerkship program. Find out more about Gilbert + Tobin.

Other partners of the Internship Program

The Program is honored to welcome the opportunity for the John Skipper Kelly (JSK) Fund, a sub-fund of the Sydney Community Foundation, to fund two annual legal scholarship placements, to be undertaken by an Aurora Indigenous intern. Our inaugural scholarship recipient, Bronte Winn, was placed at the Northern Land Council in the summer 2015/16 round; followed by Carla Scafi placed with native title barrister, Susan Phillips in the winter 2016 round; Alexandra Ross placed at Kimberley Community Legal Services (KCLS) in the winter 2017 round; and Mollie O'Connor placed at QSNTS in the summer 2017/18 round.

We are also pleased to announce that we are collaborating with the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) via The Lisa Wright Internship to support remote/regional native title internships (one per round), focusing on native title law, anthropology, archaeology and/or cultural heritage, in memory of Lisa Wright.  Our inaugural recipient of this award was Luis Arturo Aguilar Lopez placed at GLSC in Kalgoorlie in the winter 2016 round; followed by Katie Moore, placed at Yawuru in the summer 2016/17 round; Alexis Schlegel placed at GLSC in Kalgoorlie in the winter 2017 round; and Mikaela French placed at CYLC in the summer 2017/18 round. 

In addition, we would like to express our appreciation to the Melbourne University Law Students Society (MULSS) in conjunction with Gilbert and Tobin, for a generous one-off donation in support of the Program.  These funds were used to help facilitate an interstate and/or remote placement for an Indigenous law student/graduate and an in doing so, provided intern support to the native title or broader Indigenous sector.  The recipient of this grant is Donald Dawson, a mature aged Indigenous final year law student placed at NTSCORP in the winter 2016 round.

Universities

The Aurora Internship Program is grateful for the financial contribution provided by the following universities in support of the administration of the Program in its efforts to support both the native title and broader Indigenous sectors:

  • Australian Catholic University
  • Australian National University
  • Bond University
  • Charles Darwin University
  • Edith Cowan University
  • Flinders University of South Australia
  • Griffith University
  • James Cook University
  • La Trobe University
  • Monash University
  • Murdoch University
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • Southern Cross University
  • University of Adelaide

  • University of Canberra

  • University of Melbourne
  • University of Newcastle
  • University of New England
  • University of New South Wales
  • University of Notre Dame Australia - WA
  • University of Queensland
  • University of South Australia
  • University of Sydney
  • University of Tasmania​
  • University of Technology, Sydney
  • University of Western Australia
  • University of Wollongong
  • Victoria University 
  • Western Sydney University