The purpose of this paper is to examine how effective tax incentives could be in encouraging the development of Indigenous businesses on Indigenous land in Australia.

Given the substantial deficits in economic activity, infrastructure and human capital identified by the ICCP/COAG trial in the Thamarrurr Region of the Northern Territory, questions were asked by the COAG partners as to the opportunity cost—both to governments and the local community—of sustaining the status quo. This report presents the findings of a study aimed at answering these questions. It follows a methodology first deployed by the Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.