I recently had a yarn with Brendan Moyle, former CEO of Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council – and a solution presented itself. Not before many questions came to the forefront…..

How do we identify authentic Indigenous Businesses, Services, Arts and Goods… and – is there a register where we can all list our names so we can identify the connection to our heritage, easily and quickly?

We have all been through the recent Aboriginal flag issue, where we still don’t have ownership over the Aboriginal flag, which is unsettling.

Soon, on the AFN platform, any Indigenous First Nations identified person can list their basic details to use this mark – FN – and it won’t cost the community, or individuals, a cent!

Once the identifying mark completes the IP Australia trademark process – as a community, we can monitor the use of the symbol and it will belong to us – our community.

You just have to let us know if you see anyone using it inappropriately, so we can legally ask them to stop.

We would love to hear your feedback on this move forward – to help protect our communities and our history from fraudsters and fake money grabbers. And protect our heritage where possible.

by Julie Okely.