Towards inclusive prosperity: comparative analysis of Indigenous procurement policies in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Indigenous procurement is widely promoted as an instrument of economic reconciliation, yet headline gains often mask limited transformational impact. Applying McCrudden’s social procurement framework, we conduct a systematic cross-national comparison of identity-specific procurement architectures across Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand. We show that contract values cluster heavily within major metropolitan hubs and narrow industry sectors, leaving remote and early-stage community enterprises marginalized. Furthermore, persistent cross-national data gaps and aggregated reporting conceal these structural inequities while enabling policy distortions like fronting. We recommend structural reforms including regional benchmarks and independent auditing to align procurement with genuine Indigenous economic sovereignty.