AbSec – NSW Child, Family and Community Peak Aboriginal Corporation – will join the Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation (WCC) and the Condobolin community to launch a new Aboriginal Community-Controlled Mechanism (ACCM) and Aboriginal-led Commissioning (ALC) services — a milestone, years in the making and a demonstration of what genuine community leadership can achieve for Aboriginal children, families and communities.
The service launching in Condobolin was shaped by community stakeholders on Wiradjuri Country. WCC has played a key role in activating the work locally, bringing together Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), NGOs, Elders, emerging leaders, young people and community members to ensure multiple voices informed the service design.
WCC has now established an Aboriginal-led governance and leadership program that connects Elders, emerging leaders and young people. The service includes a Community Kitchen, which will provide weekly meal kits and food support while building skills, confidence and leadership opportunities for Aboriginal young people. The Community Kitchen will also act as an informal referral pathway, helping connect families with the supports that address their wider needs.
Aboriginal-led Commissioning starts from a simple truth: Aboriginal communities hold the knowledge, the relationships and the solutions. This approach places communities in the driver’s seat of designing, funding and delivering the services their families need — shifting away from government-designed approaches that have historically defined the problem, the solution and the measure of success for the very communities they were meant to serve.
“This launch in Condobolin is not a program handed down from the government — it is community standing up and saying: we know what our children and families need,” says John Leha, AbSec CEO. “The knowledge, the relationships, the solutions — they have always been here. The launch of the Aboriginal-led Commissioning service with the Wiradjuri Corporation is a turning point — not just for Condobolin, but for what Aboriginal self-determination can look like across NSW. “
The Condobolin ACCM identified community priorities through yarning and engagement with Elders, families, young people and local services. What emerged was clear: the community needed stronger pathways into leadership, practical support for food security and youth development, and better-coordinated, more integrated health and wellbeing services built around the needs of children and families. These three streams are the community’s answer to those needs.
Ally Coe, CEO, Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation is positive about the future; “the strength of this program lies in what it unlocks between organisations, the kind of deep collaboration over time that our community has long needed, and that our children and families have always deserved. Too many communities have felt the impact of organisations pulling in different directions. In Condobolin, we are choosing a different path — one built on genuine partnership, shared effort and a common goal. Working alongside AbSec, I know we will achieve something real for our children, our families and our community.”
Mr Leha adds, “When communities lead the commissioning of their own services, they are not just improving outcomes for children and families today; they are building the governance, the capability, and the sustained investment that will carry those outcomes forward for generations.”
About Aboriginal-led Commissioning
AbSec’s Aboriginal-led Commissioning initiative is built on a foundational truth: that Aboriginal communities are best placed to develop and deliver services for Aboriginal children and families. Moving away from traditional top-down procurement, the model invests in community governance bodies and ACCOs as genuine commissioning partners — setting priorities, designing services, and determining what success looks like.
Condobolin is one of two community trial sites — referred to as Freshwater Country and Saltwater Country — where the approach is being tested, refined, and evaluated through a developmental process. The initiative is supported under the Closing the Gap framework and aligns with Priority Reform 2, which commits to building the Aboriginal community-controlled sector.
Event Details
Condobolin ACCM & Aboriginal-led Commissioning (ALC) Services Launch
Tuesday 16 June 2026, 2:00pm – 5:00pm | Formal Welcome: 2:30pm
Wiradjuri Condobolin Study Centre, 48 McDonnell Street, Condobolin NSW 2877
Community activities include BBQ, face painting, weaving, jumping castle, and the opportunity to yarn with local organisations and community leaders.
For more details and to register for the event: visit our website.
About AbSec
AbSec is the peak Aboriginal organisation in NSW dedicated to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by advocating for the rights, safety, and wellbeing of our children, young people and families. We build strength and resilience by supporting community-led solutions, shaping policy, and driving reforms that ensure every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and young person grows up strong in culture and identity.
For media enquiries, please email [email protected] or call Kristjan Porm, Communications and Memberships Manager on 0402 158 726.
