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While the latest census data revealed Indigenous home ownership had increased, an Indigenous financial consultant strives for more generational wealth within Indigenous families.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics home ownership increased to 39.5 per cent of households in 2016, up from 33 per cent in 2011, with overcrowded living conditions improving.
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The data revealed living conditions had improved with almost 80 per cent (78.9) of people living in dwellings that were “adequately sized”, compared to 69.2 per cent in 2001.
But the lasting impacts of colonisation continue to have a significant impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing conditions, with around 5 per cent of those surveyed living in “non-private” dwellings, such as boarding schools, motels, staff quarters and prisons.
Meanwhile 95 per cent stayed in private dwellings, these included houses, apartments and flats, and also caravans, cabins, tents or boats.
Managing director of Indigenous Wealth Brad Gimbert said Indigneous people are “behind the eight ball” when it comes to wealth generation, but said there is more opportunity than ever before.
“There’s so much opportunity for our people… [but] we miss out,” Mr Gimber said.
“There’s no wealth generation or generational wealth, [such as] things getting passed down.”
But he said, that is changing. For example, while buying a house for your children was not thought of, it is a reality for many clients.
The organisation was established to help Indigenous people build generational wealth by connecting them with the right professionals related to property, finance and business.
Mr Gimber said while the group does assist Indigenous people in purchasing their first home, it is more tailored towards property investment and leveraging wealth through a property portfolio.
“I want to rewrite the narrative from ‘poor black fellas’ into ‘wealthy First Nations people’. The way we do that is through property investment,” Mr Gimber said.
‘I was nervous’: First home buyer
John Kelly, who grew up in a housing commission home in his younger years said he was nervous and had “no clue” what to expect when wanting to purchase his first home before he met with Indigenous Wealth to discuss some options.
“We sat down and talked for a long while about my goals, what I wanted etc, and different ways we could achieve it,” Mr Kelly said.
“In the back of my mind I thought ‘this is probably too good to be true.’”
Mr Kelly said buying his first property was “the best thing” he had done for himself “money-wise”, and was now onto his second investment.
Barriers to investment
Despite there being a “massive” number of Aboriginal people ready to invest, with jobs and savings, many are faced with setbacks.
Mr Gimbert said some clients may have experienced “lateral racism”, or simply a negative feeling while navigating through the finance landscape.
“They’ve been shafted with deals when they approach real estate,” he said.
“I’ve had clients, with lots of money, get laughed out of the room and things like that.”
To help overcome some of the barriers, Mr Gimbert said more needs to be done to educate and empower Indigenous people to create their own wealth, particularly through property investment.
As not many people have financial education in general, Indigenous people have it “even less”, he said.
“It’s just a mindset shift. It’s just broadening those horizons,” he said.
While Indigenous Wealth is on track to securing a full Indigenous-run financial team, at this stage the 100 per cent Indigenous-owned group provides initial consultation with clients, to understand their needs, before referring them onto a network of financial advisers.
“The whole team is made up of mortgage brokers to help with property, accountants, solicitors to do the conveyancing and then we can also refer them on to get insurances and property management,” he said.
“We’re working on bringing all that in-house to be all Aboriginal people doing those roles, and then create career pathways as well.”
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