The Impact Report 2021-22 is the second IBA impact assessment. It provides a baseline for understanding IBA’s external footprint and the ripples of impact from our activities on the lives of Indigenous Australians.

The report shows that each of IBA’s core programs had overall significant positive economic, social and cultural impacts on the people we serve.

IBA works closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to make sure they can access the economy from a safe and stable position, and indeed for entrepreneurs, from a position of strength to contribute back to the community.

The report reveals that IBA is seen as a long-term invested partner in their success. Customers also illustrated the positive impacts of IBA’s unique customer support as we continued to experience the ongoing uncertainties and challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

It is clear IBA’s assistance provided a critical lifeline for customers to remain active participants of the economy.

The ripples of IBA’s impact continue to flow into Indigenous communities and the wider economy.

WHERE IS THE MOST IMPACT FROM HOUSING OCCURRING?

The most positive impacts from home ownership were in relation to expanded life, hopes and aspirations as well as greater safety and stability. It implies that home ownership through IBA is providing principally a safe and stable platform from which customers can take pride in themselves and begin a better life, planning and aspiring for a more positive future.

POSITIVE IMPACTS

Home ownership had a positive economic impact on IBA’s surveyed customers. Half the participants felt having an IBA home loan helped improve their financial skills in terms of dealing with financial organisations, understanding financial documents, and understanding different financial products. For the latter  a large share indicated that home ownership had positively impacted confidence in their current financial position and helped their ability to make good financial decisions, as well as save and spend wisely, and write a budget. A majority of IBA homes customers (58%) agreed that home ownership had resulted in more money being left over after paying bills.

Home ownership had significant positive social impacts, particularly in relation to their hopes and aspirations. Home ownership has significant positive impact around customers’ sense of pride in themselves, control in life, improved quality of living, ability to have bigger dreams for the future, confidence in their financial future, and resulted in greater motivation at work..

Home ownership had a significant positive cultural impact on customers . It stoked a greater sense of pride in Indigenous culture and around half felt positive impacts on their ability to preserve, practice and/or promote Indigenous culture, including around being able to display greater Indigenous art and culturally significant pieces around their home.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS

A large proportion did not list any negative impacts. For those that did, the shock of costs associated with rates and maintenance, higher financial pressure and commitment were some of the negatives. Some of these issues likely reflect similar burdens to anyone making the shift into homeownership. The issue of IBA’s rates not being as competitive as commercial banks in part reflects the more relaxed borrowing conditions for IBA customers, as it is primarily an entry point for first home buyers with less than commercial levels of deposit or high leveraging ratios. Many customers also understood that a higher interest rate is designed to encourage people to refinance with commercial lenders, thereby making more capital available to lend to other First Nations families aspiring for home ownership.

WHERE IS THE MOST IMPACT FROM BUSINESS OCCURRING?

The largest positive benefits for responding customers are in relation to employee impacts and towards culture & community. In contrast to home loan customers who benefited from stability and safety; and life, hopes and aspirations, IBA’s business customers viewed the strongest positive impacts of their work as principally outwardly focused, with significant benefits accruing to their employees as well as contributing to their culture and community. The smallest relative impacts were in financial skills.

POSITIVE IMPACTS

IBA customers on average agreed that business loans, leasing and cashflow products had a significant positive economic impact on their lives. When it came to business skills and success, the overwhelming majority agreed that IBA’s products played an important role in their business, including to help grow their business, improve business success and start a business.

Around half felt that IBA has helped improve their ability to manage financial risks and make good financial decisions.  Just under half agreed that IBA had improved their ability to access business networks.

Most respondents did not agree or disagree that IBA’s products necessarily helped improve their ability to deal with financial organisations or understand financial documents, reflecting the overall level of financial sophistication our customers have developed.

Business customers who responded also indicated significant positive impacts for employees including learning new skills and knowledge, having a greater sense of purpose, greater self-confidence, better quality of life, and having an enhanced means of supporting their family.

Customers described feelings of greater freedom and independence and the ability to support other people, including, “control of destination and decision-making”, “autonomy, independence, my own boss”, “self-determination”, “growth and opportunities for mob”,, “hopes and aspirations” and being inspired to have bigger dreams.

Business owners overall indicated they were able to take better care of their family and themselves, make long-term plans and build good leadership skills. They  indicated that IBA had a significant positive impact on their ability to preserve, practice and promote culture, inspiring other Indigenous people to have a more positive view of business ownership and have greater pride in their culture.

The majority of participants agreed strongly with the notion that business ownership helped them to be able to ‘live in both worlds’, recognising the importance of being proud of oneself in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous society.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS

A few participants reported negative impacts of business ownership, which centred around stress, cashflow and time pressures,  arguably similar to those that non-Indigenous business owners experience. Some also identified significant red tape and resulting delays between commencing an application with IBA through to when approval finally came through.

IBA’s business support customers revealed the highest level of dissatisfaction, with 1 in 4 responding customers revealing that the support IBA provided had not helped progress their business goals. It reflects in part the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some customers suggested that IBA could improve its services through better communication, the hosting of more networking events and small grants.

WHERE IS THE MOST IMPACT OCCURRING?

The most positive impact for their organisation was in relation to direct financial security and empowerment, followed by the ability to fulfill community objectives, and the impact on financial expertise. No participants revealed any negative or significant negative impacts.

The co-investors’ commitment to investing with IBA is not only having direct benefits to their financial bottom line, but it is also enabling IBA investments to deliver a niche product that commercial financial providers do not. Through these partnerships, IBA Investments is completely self-funded.

POSITIVE IMPACTS

Co-investors revealed the heightened level of financial security and empowerment derived from IBA’s investment program. Key benefits included enabling better financial returns and increasing capital reserves.

Respondents also noted the higher positive impact on financial investment expertise. In particular, the experience increased their confidence towards investing and increased their ability to understand and manage investments.

Investment and Asset Management co-investors rated IBA as having a positive social impact, just below the cusp of being deemed a significant positive social impact.

Key social impacts related to inspiring hopes and aspirations within the organisation. Respondents described how community members benefited including supporting their pursuit of economic independence, improvements to social wellbeing and through funded actions that supported or complemented their organisations’ existing core services. The majority also agreed that their partnership with IBA helped seed new ideas, inspired action or improved community services and helped progress infrastructure development ambitions for the community.

Co-investors rating IBA as having an overall significant positive cultural impact through activities related to education and skills development, cultural activities, provision of health services and preserving, practicing, and promoting Indigenous culture. They described how partnering with IBA promoted pride in culture, and enabled cultural empowerment for community members to live in both worlds.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS

There is negligible evidence of any negative impacts from the 19 co-investors who completed the online survey and the 10 co-investor stakeholders interviewed for this study.