The Regional Community Collective Hub
A coordinated, place-based model that integrates health, education, environmental stewardship and social enterprise under one community-led initiative in Leonora, Western Australia.
Not a building. A model.
The Regional Community Collective Hub is not simply a physical facility — it is a coordinated approach to service delivery that aligns government agencies, research institutions, industry partners, and local community members around shared priorities.
The Hub model was developed in response to a clear gap: communities in the Northern Goldfields have historically received fragmented, externally designed services that do not reflect local needs or cultural realities. The Hub changes that by placing community at the centre of design, delivery, and governance.
In late 2025, Nyunnga Ku was awarded grant funding through the National Indigenous Australians Agency's Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) Program. This three-year investment supports a sustainable employment model, co-designed with local communities to meet the specific economic and social needs of the Northern Goldfields.
The Hub integrates four program pillars — health, education, environment, and social enterprise — and operates from a physical facility at 38 Tower Street, Leonora, currently under design and construction with support from Curtin University's School of Design and Built Environment.
The Northern Goldfields context
Leonora and the surrounding Northern Goldfields communities face compounding disadvantage: geographic isolation, limited access to health and education services, high unemployment, and the ongoing impacts of intergenerational trauma. These are not abstract statistics — they are the lived reality of community members that Nyunnga Ku works with every day.
Existing service models have largely failed to address these challenges because they are designed externally, delivered inconsistently, and disconnected from cultural context. The Hub is a direct response to this failure — a model built from the ground up by and for the communities it serves.
The Hub's long-term goal is not dependency on government funding — it is financial sustainability through social enterprise, with services that are community-owned, culturally grounded, and capable of outlasting any single funding cycle.
Four integrated program areas
The Hub is structured around four interconnected pillars. Each addresses a distinct dimension of community wellbeing — and each is designed to reinforce the others. Health outcomes improve when people have meaningful employment. Education improves when it is connected to Country. Enterprise is sustainable when it is rooted in culture.
Health & Wellbeing
Integrated health services delivered in partnership with Curtin University's Goldfields Department of Rural Health. Includes social and emotional wellbeing support, culturally safe care, and preventative health programs designed around community needs — not clinical frameworks.
Education & STEM
STEM education integration for young people across the Northern Goldfields. Programs are co-designed with community and delivered through culturally informed frameworks that connect learning to Country. The goal is to build pathways into further education and employment.
Care for Country
Environmental monitoring and land management programs developed in collaboration with CSIRO. Two-way learning that combines scientific research with Traditional Owner knowledge. Participants are employed as environmental monitors and cultural mentors.
Social Enterprise
Commercial development through bush medicine concepts and waste-to-energy pilot projects. These are not peripheral activities — they are central to the Hub's long-term sustainability, generating revenue that reduces dependence on grant funding.
Five-stage operating model
The Hub operates through a continuous cycle of consultation, co-design, delivery, enterprise development, and evaluation. Each stage feeds into the next — ensuring the model remains responsive, accountable, and genuinely community-led.
Community Consultation
Programs begin with on-Country consultation — including the Annual Back to Country Camps — where community members identify priorities, share experiences, and shape the direction of services. This is not a formality; it is the foundation of the model.
Co-design with Partners
Service design happens in genuine partnership with Curtin University, CSIRO, NIAA, and IBA. Each partner contributes specific expertise — research, design, funding, or property — and the Hub coordinates these contributions around community priorities.
Place-based Delivery
Programs are delivered in Leonora and across the Northern Goldfields — on Country, in community spaces, and through the Hub facility at 38 Tower Street. The model brings services to communities, not the other way around.
Monitoring & Evaluation
Outcomes are tracked against a clear framework with measurable targets. Evaluation is embedded into program delivery — not added at the end. Community feedback, participant data, and partner reporting all contribute to ongoing improvement.
Enterprise Development
Commercial activities — including bush medicine and waste-to-energy — are developed alongside service programs. Revenue generated feeds back into the Hub, building financial sustainability and reducing reliance on external funding over time.
A genuine multi-partner initiative
The Hub is not a single-organisation project. It brings together government, research institutions, commercial partners, and community members — each with a defined role and genuine contribution to the model.
Nyunnga Ku Aboriginal Corporation
Nyunnga Ku leads the Hub — setting direction, managing the model, and ensuring all programs remain community-led and culturally grounded. The board of directors provides governance and strategic oversight.
National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA)
NIAA's Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) Program provides the primary three-year funding that makes the Hub possible. NIAA also supports the physical build of the Hub facility.
Curtin University Rural Health
Curtin's Goldfields Department of Rural Health co-designs and delivers health programs. Curtin's School of Design and Built Environment contributes to the design of the Hub facility — ensuring it is culturally safe, sustainable, and fit for purpose.
CSIRO
CSIRO contributes scientific expertise to environmental monitoring and land management programs. The partnership enables two-way learning — combining Western scientific methods with Traditional Owner knowledge.
Indigenous Business Australia (IBA)
IBA supported the purchase of the Hub property at 38 Tower Street, Leonora. IBA also provides commercial development guidance to support the social enterprise components of the Hub model.
Community Members & Elders
Community members are not passive recipients of services — they are co-designers, participants, employees, and leaders. The Back to Country Camps and ongoing consultation processes ensure community voice remains central to all decisions.
2025–2028 Delivery Plan
The Hub is funded for three years through the NIAA RJED Program. Each year has a distinct focus — building the foundation in Year 1, launching programs in Year 2, and scaling toward financial sustainability in Year 3.
Foundation
- NIAA RJED2 funding secured
- Hub property purchased at 38 Tower Street, Leonora
- Advisory Committee established
- 12 First Nations participants engaged
- Building approvals progressed
- Community consultation and co-design workshops
- Curtin University design partnership formalised
Build & Launch
- Hub facility construction completed
- Health program delivery begins
- STEM education program launched
- Environmental monitoring program operational
- Bush medicine enterprise pilot commenced
- Waste-to-energy feasibility completed
- 25+ participants engaged
Scale & Sustain
- All four program pillars fully operational
- Social enterprise revenue streams active
- Hub financially self-sustaining
- Model documented for potential replication
- 50+ participants engaged
- Formal evaluation and impact report published
- Future funding strategy confirmed
Explore the programs
See the full breakdown of health, education, environment and enterprise initiatives.