In a report released this week, KPMG said the $10,000 per annum limit for early access to superannuation savings should be increased for Indigenous Australians in cases of severe hardship.
KPMG also wants Indigenous financial literacy increased through more innovative uses of software tailored specifically for mobile technologies.
The firm said identification processes related to superannuation and wealth management should be recalibrated in order to compensate for a common lack of valid ID, as well as cultural and geographical barriers.
On the tax policy front, KPMG said the federal government should create an ‘Indigenous Community Development Corporation’, designed to enable the Indigenous community to hold assets, make investments and receive income from royalties.
For large-scale projects in northern Australia, a 10-year tax holiday should be deemed where certain criteria on Indigenous employment are met.
KPMG said Indigenous business enterprise should be legislated and required to pay a small amount of tax if profitable, with the rate dependent on the levels of Indigenous ownership and employment.
KPMG also believes Indigenous equity funds should be established, and consideration given to federal government fund-matching on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
“We believe there’s great potential for Indigenous Australia to participate in economic growth, and that it is economic participation and commercial enterprise that will lead to better outcomes for Indigenous Australia,” KPMG Australia chair Peter Nash said.
“The imperative to drive economic growth is central to our national interest debates, but Indigenous Australia has largely been excluded from these discussions. Instead, the Indigenous narrative tends to revolve around how to ‘fix’ Indigenous Australia, largely through government and corporate welfare.”
