What Karabena does

Karabena Consulting is a 100% Indigenous-owned, profit-for-purpose Aboriginal consultancy established in 2019 and operating as Karabena Consulting Trust (ABN 72 480 451 346) from Victoria, Australia. The firm is led by Professor Kerry Arabena and serves Australian federal, state, and local government departments, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, healthcare providers and peak bodies, sporting organizations, and selected corporate clients. Its services are organized around three interconnected practice areas: strategy, research and evaluation consulting; cultural safety training and facilitation (including the Living Libraries cultural immersion program); and program co-design and support across health, education, leadership, and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Name

Karabena

Legal name

Karabena Consulting Trust

Website

https://karabenaconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Karabena Consulting is a 100% Indigenous-owned Australian consultancy that delivers Indigenist research, evaluation, and cultural safety training to government, healthcare, and community clients across Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indigenous Consulting Services

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Management Consulting Services (54161), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Minority, Indigenous & Disability Rights (BPADAGAH), Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO)

Keywords

• Indigenous consulting services
• Cultural safety training
• First Nations research
• Strategy co-design
• Program evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Riddells Creek

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Revenue is generated through commissioned consulting projects with government departments, community organizations, and industry bodies. Projects include strategy development, research and evaluation, cultural safety training, facilitation services, and program co-design. Services are delivered on a project basis with government and institutional clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Karabena Consulting is a 100% Indigenous-owned, profit-for-purpose Aboriginal consultancy that partners with government, community and industry clients to co-design strategy, conduct research and evaluation, deliver cultural safety training and facilitation, and support programs that improve health, education, leadership and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia. The firm operates as a single consulting practice grounded in Indigenous science and evidence, delivering bespoke projects such as the Living Libraries Cultural Immersion Program, evaluation of government self-determination strategies, and child and family models of care for Aboriginal health services.

Product overview

Karabena Consulting is a 100% Indigenous-owned, profit-for-purpose Aboriginal consultancy that operates as a single unified consulting practice rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company offers three interconnected core service areas: (1) Strategy, Research and Evaluation Consulting - co-designing strategy, research and evaluation for government, community and industry partners; (2) Cultural Safety Training and Facilitation - including the Living Libraries Cultural Immersion Program as a flagship offering; and (3) Support programs for health, education, leadership and wellbeing outcomes. Sub-products include specialized resources such as the Cultural Safety in Training Setting Accreditation Resources for ANZCA, First Peoples Access and Inclusion Course Resources, and the Growing Future Elders Model of Care for Danila Dilba Health Service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy, Research and Evaluation Consulting Co-design of strategy, research and evaluation services for government, community and industry partners, grounded in Indigenous science and evidence, covering policy and governance through to monitoring and evaluation.
• Cultural Safety Training and Facilitation Bespoke cultural awareness and cultural safety training programs designed and delivered to organisations, focusing on embedding cultural safety practices and promoting inclusivity in operations and service delivery.
• Living Libraries Cultural Immersion Program A cultural awareness and comprehension training program originally developed for Australian Unity that embeds participants' experiences of reconciliation within community contexts, including smoking ceremonies, Wayapa practice, Totem exercises, and visits to community agencies.
• Cultural Safety in Training Setting Accreditation Resources A 15-minute video and six supplementary explainer fact sheets developed for the ANZCA Faculty of Pain Medicine accreditation team members to conduct culturally safe hospital accreditation visits.
• First Peoples Access and Inclusion Course Resources A facilitator-led course with supporting resource pack, student resource booklet and slide deck to support First Peoples youth to understand the knowledge required to pass the Learner Permit Test, delivered for the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.
• Growing Future Elders Model of Care A culturally grounded, family-centred child and family model of care developed with Danila Dilba Health Service and First 1000 Days Australia, covering the life-course pathway from preconception through adolescence.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivered evaluation of NACCHO-RACGP National Guide partnership (2019-2025) examining preventive healthcare guidance development and partnership governance effectiveness
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Karen Milward Consulting ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration with Karen Milward Consulting Services on multiple projects including DEECA Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, Dhelk Dja evaluation, Australian Unity Living Libraries program, and Victorian Closing the Gap Partnership Forum. The partnership combines complementary expertise in Indigenous consulting and evaluation services.
• First 1000 Days AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with First 1000 Days Australia on the Growing Future Elders project with Danila Dilba Health Service, developing a comprehensive child and family model of care grounded in Indigenous knowledge and life-course approaches.
• Jody Barney from Deaf Indigenous ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Jody Barney from Deaf Indigenous Consulting to undertake community engagement activities for the Victorian Disability Worker Commission cultural awareness training project, bringing disability and Indigenous intersectional expertise.
• RACGP-NACCHO PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngaged by the RACGP-NACCHO Partnership to evaluate the National Guide to preventive healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This partnership between Australia's largest general practice organization and the peak body for 145 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations represents a significant collaboration in Indigenous healthcare.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PwC Australia (Indigenous Consulting): Indigenous consulting practice within one of Australia's largest professional services firms. Competes for the same government, healthcare and corporate Indigenous advisory work Karabena targets, but with broader scale and global methodology.
• EY (Indigenous Consulting Practice): EY's Indigenous services span strategy, policy and economic advisory for Indigenous organisations and government. Comparable scope to Karabena's strategy and policy consulting, with substantially greater resources and procurement reach.
• KPMG Australia (Indigenous Services): KPMG's Indigenous advisory practice provides strategy, policy and evaluation services to government and corporate clients on Indigenous engagement. Overlaps directly with Karabena's strategy and evaluation offerings from a much larger platform.
• Deloitte Australia (Indigenous Services): Deloitte's Indigenous practice delivers strategy, policy and economic advisory for Indigenous clients and government. Competes with Karabena for high-value government and corporate Indigenous consulting engagements.

Emerging players

• Australian Indigenous Governance Institute: Indigenous-focused organisation working on governance, leadership and policy capacity building for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Partial overlap with Karabena's strategy, governance and self-determination advisory work.
• First 1000 Days Australia: Indigenous-led research and policy initiative focused on the early-life window, co-led by Professor Kerry Arabena. Overlaps with Karabena on health, early childhood and life-course models of care (e.g., Growing Future Elders with Danila Dilba).

Regional players

• Aboriginal Resource and Development Services (ARDS): Northern Territory-based Aboriginal community organisation providing research, policy and program support focused on remote and regional Aboriginal communities. Comparable to Karabena in research and evaluation methodology, though regionally focused.

Others

• VACCHO (Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation): Peak body for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations in Victoria and a Karabena client (Cancer Partnership Health Check). Functions primarily as a sector representative body, but is an adjacent ecosystem participant in Indigenous health consulting.
• Reconciliation Australia: National body promoting reconciliation and managing the RAP framework. Not a direct competitor, but an adjacent ecosystem participant whose RAP standards shape demand for Karabena's cultural safety and policy consulting services.

Direct peers

• Cultural Perspectives Pty Ltd: Australian Indigenous-owned cultural awareness, cross-cultural training and consulting firm. Directly comparable to Karabena's Cultural Safety Training and Living Libraries-style programs, serving government and corporate clients on Indigenous engagement and reconciliation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/karabena

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Karabena