For Sam Raciti, CEO of Mudth-Niyleta Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation and the board of directors it’s all about joining the dots—keeping the pathways open. It’s about going that extra mile, going further than just a job description. It is about how they can make the necessary partnership arrangements happen.

The story of Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation (PTAC) and its members is one of remarkable survival. Located in Tjuntjuntjara, it is arguably one of Australia’s remotest Aboriginal communities.

West Kimberley, Western Australia: There is a feeling of quiet celebration among the Nyikina and Mangala people. The Aboriginal Lands Trust has returned about 73 hectares of historically important land to the Bidan community.

The forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families is one of the bleakest and saddest parts of our recent history, and it has had profound consequences through the generations.

Jabiru, Northern Territory: Mirarr are the traditional owners of the land north east of Kakadu National Park and western Arnhem Land. The area takes in the Ranger uranium mine, Jabiluka mineral lease and the mining town of Jabiru. It also includes the wetlands of the Jabiluka billabong country and the sandstone escarpment of Mount Brockman with its ancient rock paintings.

Wugularr, Northern Territory: Congratulations to Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation, winners in the prestigious 2013 National Architecture Awards announced at the end of last year. The corporation took out the inaugural ‘Nicholas Murcutt Award for Small Project Architecture’ for the Djakanimba Pavilions.

North Queensland: Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre is an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation working to improve the lives of Indigenous people in and around Mareeba.

Campbelltown, New South Wales: Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation (TAC) has been around for a long time. It incorporated in 1983 under the former Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1975 before transitioning to the CATSI Act in 2007. Over this time it has expanded into a thriving multifunctional community-controlled organisation, very much at the heart of the outer Sydney suburb of Airds.

North Queensland: The Gudjuda Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation represents the Bindal, Juru and Ngaro traditional owner groups. Their country, spanning north Queensland from the Whitsunday Islands up to Townsville, is a biodiversity treasure trove. It also takes in one of the largest and richest river catchments in Australia—the Burdekin River.