First Nations Media Australia

Overview

First Nations Media Australia is the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media organizations, representing Indigenous media practitioners and advocating for Indigenous screen storytelling across Australia. Established in 2014, the organization supports a network of Indigenous community media organizations across the country -- from remote community broadcasters to national Indigenous media services -- and advocates for the resources, policies, and professional infrastructure that allow Indigenous Australian storytellers to tell their own stories on their own terms.

First Nations Media Australia's remit extends beyond film and television into radio, digital media, and community broadcasting, reflecting the comprehensive media landscape through which Indigenous Australians maintain cultural connections, communicate within communities, and share their perspectives with broader Australian and international audiences.

Indigenous Community Media

Australia's Indigenous community media sector includes NITV (National Indigenous Television, part of the SBS network), the NIMAA (National Indigenous Media Association of Australia, whose functions were absorbed into First Nations Media Australia), and a network of remote Indigenous community broadcasting organizations that produce local language content for communities across Australia's vast interior. This community broadcasting infrastructure provides Indigenous media practitioners with professional development pathways and production experience that feed into the broader Australian screen industry.

Screen Australia's Indigenous Department specifically supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander screen practitioners and stories through dedicated funding programs. First Nations Media Australia works alongside Screen Australia's Indigenous programs, providing the community media infrastructure that Screen Australia's individual production funding builds upon.

Protocols for Respectful Indigenous Storytelling

First Nations Media Australia provides guidance on culturally appropriate engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories, communities, and traditional knowledge for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners. The protocols it publishes -- covering story ownership, community consultation, the use of restricted cultural knowledge, and the protocols for depicting ceremony, sacred sites, and language -- provide the framework for screen productions engaging with Indigenous content to do so respectfully and appropriately.

For non-Indigenous producers, directors, and writers seeking to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories or perspectives into their work, the First Nations Media Australia protocols provide the baseline framework for ethical engagement. Productions that are not initiated and led by Indigenous practitioners face particularly high obligations to consult, to seek permission, and to be guided by the Indigenous communities whose stories and knowledge they engage with.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Australian productions involving Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander content, First Nations Media Australia provides protocol guidance and can facilitate connections with appropriate Indigenous cultural consultants and community organizations. Understanding the protocols early in development -- rather than attempting to comply retroactively after a production is underway -- prevents the cultural harm and practical complications that arise when Indigenous protocol obligations are not properly observed.

For Indigenous Australian practitioners entering the screen industry, First Nations Media Australia's network of community media organizations provides professional development pathways, community connections, and institutional support that mainstream industry entry pathways do not provide.

See Also

For Screen Australia's dedicated Indigenous funding, see Screen Australia in this directory. For the Canadian equivalent, see Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) in this directory.