Building pathways and transforming Indigenous communities

Key points

• Muru Office Supplies was founded by Bidjigal man Mitchell Ross in 2014. It dedicates 20 percent of its profits to grassroots community programs. 

• Australian Unity has partnered with Muru Office Supplies for almost a decade. 

• The partnership demonstrates how meaningful engagement with Indigenous businesses creates pathways for future generations and drives real social impact. 

When Mitchell Ross founded Muru Office Supplies in 2014, he had a simple but powerful idea: to create a business that would give back to Aboriginal communities while competing in a mainstream market.  

More than a decade later, Mitchell’s business has made a real difference to the communities it supports. But it’s also transformed the way that organisations like Australian Unity approach Indigenous partnerships. 

Creating pathways for future generations 

For Mitchell, a proud Bidjigal man from La Perouse in southeast Sydney, starting Muru Office Supplies was never just about selling stationery. The company name itself—“muru” means “pathway” in the Bidjigal language—reflects his vision to create opportunities for future generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

“I wanted it to represent the path and the journey that I’d personally been on in business and to become a bit of a role model for other aspiring entrepreneurs,” says Mitchell. “But I also wanted to create pathways, whether that’s through employment, education or other contributions that we make in areas of health and wellbeing.” 

Operating in collaboration with Complete Office Supplies, Muru Office Supplies has grown into a national operation with six team members, five of whom identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The company supplies everything from pens and paper to bathroom essentials, kitchen equipment and furniture to offices across Australia. 

What sets Muru Office Supplies apart is its commitment to giving back. Since 2014, the company has dedicated 20 percent of its annual profits to community programs, contributing a total of $974,000 to community-led Indigenous organisations to date. It’s aiming to reach the million-dollar milestone in late 2025. 

Creating ripples of change 

Muru Office Supplies community contributions focus on programs that create tangible local impact. Rather than supporting large charities, Mitchell deliberately seeks out community-led initiatives that employ local people and address specific needs. 

One example is IndigiGrow, which revitalises endangered local plant species and teaches traditional practices while employing young Aboriginal people in horticulture apprenticeships.

Another, DeadlyScience, creates STEM education opportunities for Aboriginal students in regional and remote areas, while the Her Futures Foundation empowers First Nations women in regional and remote communities. 

For Mitchell, the impact extends far beyond immediate outcomes. “If you think about when I was growing up, there wasn’t a lot of Indigenous role models other than in sport. It’s such a different landscape now. There’s a lot of successful businesses, a lot of First Nations people in other successful career paths, and that creates a ripple effect." 

These ripples create generational change. As Mitchell as seen firsthand, when Indigenous organisations employ community members, it strengthens families and communities while inspiring the next generation to see a different possibility for their future. 

“It might seem like small little stones in the river now, but it will create a massive difference in time.” 

A partnership built on genuine commitment 

This kind of impact doesn’t happen by accident—it requires partners who are genuinely invested in each other’s success.  

For Melanie Butler, Muru Office Supplies’ National Account Director, the relationship with Australian Unity is a “dream partnership”. 

“Australian Unity partnered with us as a First Nations business for the right reasons,” says Melanie. “They’re not just doing it because it’s something that might look good on their website. It’s not for looks. They actually do walk the walk. 

“They want people buying from us. They want our business to grow. They want the partnership to be strong,” she continues. “Their heart is in it.” 

Karl Whatham, Head of Sourcing at Australian Unity, explains how the organisation’s approach has matured, shifting from viewing Indigenous procurement as simply “the right thing to do” to recognising the genuine value the partnerships can deliver. 

“As we’ve gone down this journey, there are a lot of creative and innovative Indigenous companies out there that we’ve met with and are now working with directly,” says Karl.  

“Doing so really aligns to Australian Unity’s values at a broader level. Focusing on being a socially conscious enterprise, focusing on Real Wellbeing—there’s just clear alignment there. And our people who work here really value that commitment, and I think our customers do too.”  

The business case and measuring success 

The partnership demonstrates that supporting Indigenous businesses delivers both social impact and business value. Aboriginal businesses are “statistically 100 times more likely to employ Aboriginal people,” says Mitchell. 

“There’s actually a strong business case for this approach,” says Mitchell. “If you’re a large organisation and you want to attract talent or customers from diverse backgrounds, it makes sense to have businesses in your supply chain from diverse backgrounds. That brings diverse thinking, diverse ideas, and can give you a business advantage.” 

While Australian Unity has a Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), success isn’t measured solely against the plan. Real success occurs when Indigenous businesses grow, employ more people and expand their community impact. “When you see the businesses we work with grow, when you see those businesses employing more people—those are the real tangible measures of success,” Karl explains. 

Dee Venrooy, Group Vendor Governance and Performance Manager at Australian Unity, adds: “If we help Indigenous businesses grow, it then enables them to grow the impact they’re having in their communities. Indigenous businesses, more than other businesses, tend to reinvest profits back into early childhood education or supporting Aboriginal women in business, for example.” 

A blueprint for meaningful change

While acknowledging the importance of a Reconciliation Action Plan as a framework, Mitchell believes organisations need to move beyond document-driven approaches. “The mature organisations that are already nailing all of those things from the RAP need to go a step higher and say, ‘what else can we do besides just rely on this document?’.” 

The Australian Unity partnership with Muru Office Supplies exemplifies this evolution—it has moved beyond a transactional arrangement to become a genuine, strategic relationship that drives mutual value and social change. 

Mitchell emphasises the significance of Australian Unity’s long-term commitment: “The difference that long-term partnerships can make is important. It’s not about prioritising the absolute bottom dollar, but about long-term impact and partnerships.” 

As Mitchell and Muru Office Supplies’ story shows, the ripple effects of these partnerships can touch entire communities—in turn, creating pathways for generations to come.