Mapping Country, Building Connection: AGIG Launches Ngurra Portal
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) has used state-of-the-art technology to turn mapping into a powerful reconciliation tool. In January 2025, the company launched the Ngurra Portal, an interactive geospatial platform co-developed with Indigenous-owned consultancy Winyama, that connects employees with the Traditional Custodians and native title groups across AGIG’s operations.
“Ngurra” means home, country, or place of belonging in many Australian Indigenous languages. The portal is a digital space that provides cultural and historical context to AGIG’s sites and assets. It is a vital element of AGIG’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), serving as an evergreen educational resource for communities.
A digital project with real impact
These reconciliation efforts reach far beyond the screen. For National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week 2025, AGIG brought these web maps to each of its offices as part of its “What Country are you on?” campaign. Employees snapped photos in front of the maps while holding signs naming the Traditional Owners of the affiliated operational site. QR codes also made it easy for staff to access the portal, allowing them to explore these regions in real time. The campaign drew enthusiastic engagement and sparked conversations around cultural awareness throughout the week’s activities.
When AGIG’s Communications team revamped their corporate imagery earlier this year, they used the portal to identify the local Traditional Owners tied to each photographed asset. Now, when these images appear in select company communications, they’re captioned with proper attribution to the land’s Traditional Custodians. The Sustainability team is set to extend this approach in its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance Report.
In praise of this project, Strategy and Policy Manager Owen Sharpe, a member of AGIG’s Reconciliation Working Group, said,
The Ngurra Portal has been an important tool for building our understanding of the rich history of the diverse lands our assets traverse. It provides a practical foundation to ensure our work on operational sites continues to be respectful and informed into the future.
What’s next
This launch marks a milestone in AGIG’s Reflect RAP commitment to forging stronger connections with Australia’s Indigenous cultures. AGIG is now set to release their Innovate RAP, endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, which focuses on its long-term partnerships and supplier and contractor development with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and stakeholders.
By combining interactive tech with education, AGIG has given its 500+ employees not just a map, but a compass – pointing the way towards deeper cultural awareness and relationships with Australian Indigenous land and peoples.
Explainer
Australia's Traditional Custodians
Australia’s Traditional Custodians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who have lived on and cared for the land and sea across Australia for over 60,000 years.
Aboriginal peoples are the First Peoples of mainland Australia and Tasmania, with hundreds of diverse Nations, languages and cultural practices across the country.
Torres Strait Islanders are the First Peoples of the Torres Strait Islands, located between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. They have their own distinct cultures, languages, and seafaring traditions closely tied to the islands and surrounding seas.
As the First Peoples of Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities maintain a deep, ongoing connection to Country, a term that refers not only to land, but also to waters, skies and all living things within their traditional territories.