About the Fellowship
Rebuilding Indigenous governance through women’s leadership: co-designing a Kimberley Nation Rebuilding Framework grounded in healing, culture, and self-determination
Through her Fellowship, Janine will strengthen her leadership to support Kimberley nation rebuilding by developing a culturally grounded framework and training approach that equips people for self-determination. She will undertake trauma-informed facilitation, mediation and Indigenous nation-building training, supported by systems leadership coaching. Working alongside Kimberley women leaders and Elders, she will co-design a Kimberley Nation Rebuilding Framework that integrates cultural governance, healing-led leadership and conflict transformation.
The Fellowship will lay the foundations for a future region-wide training program to strengthen governance, support Prescribed Body Corporates, and enable communities to confidently engage in cultural, service and system reform.
About Janine
Janine Dureau is a proud Nyikina and Bunuba woman from Derby in the West Kimberley, now living on Yawuru Country. With over 30 years of experience across Aboriginal Community Controlled organisations, government, and the non-profit sector, Janine is a nationally respected leader in Aboriginal governance, self-determination, and cultural, service, and system reform.
A strategic thinker and experienced changemaker, she has played a key role in co-designing self-determination, governance, and reform strategies that restore cultural authority, strengthen Aboriginal leadership, and improve service delivery for Aboriginal communities. Since 2018, Janine has led Kimberley Aboriginal women’s leadership gatherings, focusing on gender justice, reform, and amplifying the voices and leadership of Aboriginal women.
Janine is a founding member and inaugural Chairperson of the Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council, where she also served as CEO. In this role, she advocated for systemic reform to ensure Kimberley Aboriginal women are recognised and included in policy development, service design, and decision-making. Her advocacy has driven significant policy and legislative reforms, including campaigns to protect Aboriginal communities and improve outcomes for Aboriginal children and families.
In recognition of her work, Janine received the 2023 Bill Armstrong AO Human Rights Award and the 2025 Women & Leadership Australia (WA) Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership. Janine remains committed to nation rebuilding, truth-telling, and advancing Aboriginal-led cultural, service, and system reform on local, national, and global platforms.