Monash University has received a major boost to further advance Indigenous business leadership.
The University’s award-winning Master of Indigenous Business Leadership (MoIBL) has attracted major funding support for Indigenous business leaders through two significant partnerships, acknowledging excellence and addressing a major barrier to higher education for Indigenous Peoples.
A gift from major philanthropic funder Cybec Foundation will provide a total of 40 full tuition contributions for Indigenous business leaders, starting in 2026 with 20 participants and a further 20 in 2027.
It will fully cover the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) contribution and student amenities fees for each student.
MoIBL has also entered into a three-year Collaboration Agreement with the Australian Government’s Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) to provide funding support for students.
The agreement significantly expands the partnership with IBA, which is already a long-standing MoIBL program partner and sponsor. IBA has previously supported students with travel support, providing vital access to education for those facing financial barriers.
Together, the two partnerships represent the largest level of financial investment offered by partners to MoIBL since its inception in 2021.
Professor Tristan Kennedy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) and Senior Vice-President, and a proud Noongar man, said the contributions were a wonderful example of reconcili-action - organisations taking concrete steps with Indigenous Peoples, grounded in relationship, shared values and community priorities for Indigenous self-determination.
“The incredibly generous gift from the Cybec Foundation, coupled with the long-standing support from IBA, recognises the achievement of the MoIBL course, students and graduates alongside meaningful action to address systemic barriers to education.
“Generating access by reducing financial barriers means Indigenous Australians are more likely to enter and graduate from higher education. It allows students to fully focus on their studies and their professional and personal development, acknowledging that their workloads and responsibilities extend not only to themselves, but often to their extended families and the wider community”, Professor Kennedy said.
“Financial difficulty is the most commonly reported reason among Indigenous Australians for why they don’t apply for higher education courses in the first instance, and then why they leave university before graduating. These two collaborations effectively eliminate this barrier.”
Mrs Katrina Johnson, MoIBL co-director and a proud Gooreng Gooreng woman, said the stellar performance of both the course and participants had led to a shift in public opinion about Indigenous people in business leadership from a deficit to an investment mindset.
“Our MoIBL students and graduates are demonstrating through the application of their studies in the workplace, business sector and wider community, the unique value they bring.
“Finally, our people are being acknowledged as assets; highly skilled and qualified business leaders with unparalleled intelligence to solve complex problems.”
MoIBL attracts students from across Australia, with more than two-thirds of each cohort coming from outside Victoria, demonstrating both the critical national need for this program and its distinctive appeal to Indigenous leaders nationwide.
Mrs Johnson said MoIBL offered crucial opportunities such as exposure to global learning, diverse governance models, fast-tracking career advancement, and fostering Indigenous business creation.
“It further delivers generational and legacy impacts for Indigenous people and their communities – obtaining a master’s degree improves lifelong socioeconomic circumstances for an individual’s family.
“Graduates are role models demonstrating to their children, families, and communities the impactful role of education and for our mature-age students, that it's never too late to study.
“And more Indigenous graduates in the workforce can increase cultural sustainability and increase accessibility for Indigenous Peoples to take their rightful place in business and the economy,” she said.
Kyra Galante is a 2023 MoIBL distinguished graduate and recipient of the 2025 Monash Business School Alumni Indigenous Award.
A Guburn (Kupurn) woman from the Goldfields region of Western Australia, having connections to Noongar Country, Ms Galante is the First Nations Participation Director at Worley Australia, and a Board Member of Reconciliation WA.
Part of Mrs Galante’s work involves providing guidance to Worley and customers to facilitate the energy transition’s alignment with Indigenous cultural values to protect land, water and heritage.
“Financial barriers are our greatest challenge; these sponsorships will help our people focus on incorporating Indigenous knowledge into healing our country and addressing climate change, especially as we enter the renewable energy sector,” she said.
About the Monash University Master of Indigenous Business Leadership program
The award-winning MoIBL is Australia’s first established Master of Indigenous Business Leadership and is offered jointly by William Cooper Institute and Monash Business School. The program is co-designed and led by Indigenous business leaders, Elders and academics. In 2025, it celebrated its largest graduating cohort.
About Cybec Foundation
Cybec Foundation was established in 2002, by Roger and Patricia Riordan, to foster their vision of a world in which people live and work in communities that naturally help and support each other to be the best they can be.
About Indigenous Business Australia (IBA)
Economic independence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is at the heart of what we do. Our programs support Indigenous Australians to buy their own homes, be successful in business, and invest in commercial ventures that provide strong financial returns. IBA was established under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (ATSI Act) and is a corporate Commonwealth entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). IBA resides in the portfolio of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and is accountable to the Australian Parliament through the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy.
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