Burraga Foundation

Local connections, positive partnerships

About us

The Burraga Foundation is an Aboriginal not-for-profit charity organisation.

We champion a better understanding of Aboriginal Australia for all Australians by promoting cultural awareness, community engagement, education and employment opportunities.

Our recent work

  • NSW State Emergency Services

    Cultural Awarness Training

    NSW SES engages the Burraga Foundation to deliver regional Cultural Awareness Training workshops.

  • University of New England

    Working in partnership to further support students seeking to advance their education via university pathways.

  • Inner West Council

    Frontline worker, short form, in person Cultural Awareness Training support.

  • Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority

    ACARA engages Burraga to deliver report in support of the Federal Government's Teacher Workforce Action Plan, Action 19a.

  • Public Service Commission

    ‘Everybody’s Business’ cultural awareness training digitisation and production of SCORM outputs for the whole of government and NGO sector.

  • Parliament of NSW

    Artwork consultation and development. Burraga provided the first Aboriginal digital artwork used by the Parliament of NSW when corresponding about Aboriginal affairs.

  • NIAA

    Ongoing support for the Burraga Foundation's Storylines Initiative. Over 100 communities now participating.

  • NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group

    Development and delivery of the NSW AECG multitenancy language learning App.

  • St George Illawarra Dragons

    Burraga School Based Apprenticeships, St George Illawarra Dragons NRL partnership., supporting two trainee placements

  • Betashares

    Reconciliation Action Plan consultation and support for Betashares - managing over 37 billion in ETF assets.

  • Harvard

    Burraga research pathway enabled by Harvard University informing Departmental research treatment design.

  • Storylines

    The Storylines initiative partners with its 100th local Aboriginal community and hundreds of schools across NSW and SA.

What we do

We promote a greater understanding across communities through cultural awareness training, consultancy, programs and initiatives.

We work alongside Aboriginal people and communities, supporting schools, government, and non-government organisations to foster genuine and lasting local partnerships.

We also facilitate the provision of modern technologies to support relationship building, enable learning and empower Aboriginal language revival.

Our programs and initiatives

Storylines

A place to share and celebrate stories of history, culture and success, whether you’re a community member, an educator, a student, or represent an organisation.

Youth Ambassadors

Empowering young people to become advocates for their local Aboriginal community through a structured community engagement, consultation and digital story creation.

Traineeships

Helping Year 11 and 12 students to gain valuable work skills and experience through paid employment whilst completing secondary school.

Mentoring

Our mentors work with students and teachers to provide a goal-based, personalised learning program, empowering students to reach their chosen education, training and employment outcomes.

Our vision and establishment

The Burraga Foundation was inspired by activist and leader Joe Anderson, also known as King Burraga.

In 1933, Joe called for Aboriginal self-determination and representation in Federal Parliament, a visionary message that has transcended generations.

“I am calling a corroboree of all the natives of New South Wales to send a petition to the King, in an endeavour to improve our conditions. All the black man wants is representation in Federal Parliament. There is also plenty fish in the river for us all and land to grow all we want. One hundred and fitty years ago, the Aboriginals owned Australia, and today, he demands more than the white man’s charity; he wants the right to live.”

“I am calling a corroboree of all the natives of New South Wales to send a petition to the King, in an endeavour to improve our conditions. All the black man wants is representation in Federal Parliament. There is also plenty fish in the river for us all and land to grow all we want. One hundred and fitty years ago, the Aboriginals owned Australia, and today, he demands more than the white man’s charity; he wants the right to live.”

Our services

Burraga supports many schools, government and non-government organisations, delivering a range of consultancy, training and culturally aligned services. Our not-for-profit services support the sustainability of our programs and initiatives that are provided at no cost to the Community, schools and K-12 students.

On-country tours

Cultural immersion experiences led by Aboriginal cultural knowledge holders and custodians of the land.

Cultural awareness training

Aboriginal cultural awareness training tailored to your organisation’s needs.

Cultural consultation

Expert knowledge to support your organisation in building culturally aligned learning experiences, programs and services.

Partnerships

Place-based partnership facilitation.

Reconciliation Action Plan development and support

End-to-end plan development and implementation support.

Digital resource and materials development

Digital resources and software, consultation, design and development services.

Community voices

  • Aunty Mooie Muriel Brandy

    Aunty Mooie Muriel Brandy

    “When I went to school it wasn’t easy to find information about where I was from. Sharing my story has enabled me to pass on my knowledge to future generations.”

  • Mia Simon

    Mia Simon

    “I’ve always been interested in learning more about my history and culture. Storylines is a great place to find stories from my local community.”

  • Kiara Brindle

    Kiara Brindle

    “I love seeing stories of what our kids are doing at school with the local community. It’s also great to have the stories saved on our local community site so we can come back to them at a later date. I’m looking forward to sharing the stories with our kids when they’re older.”

  • Karen Keers

    Karen Keers - Teacher

    “Storylines makes it easy to upload stories and share what we’re doing at the school in support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education.”

  • Matthew MacDonald

    Matthew MacDonald - Teacher

    “Storylines is a fantastic resource for building lesson plans incorporating stories that are culturally accurate and locally accepted by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.”

Partners and Supporters

Photo: Aunty Mooie Muriel Brandy, passed 2019. Aunt will be sadly missed. Our heartfelt condolences to Aunt’s family, friends and community. We thank them for their permission to continue to use this photo. The photo is a loving tribute to Aunty Mooie's support of the next generation of Aboriginal leaders.