Dwayne Mallard

As a Yamatji, Dwayne has been born into the responsibility and obligation to preserve, protect, maintain and restore the dignity of his cultural lands and waters, people and cultural way of being. Dwayne has worked across government, non-government and corporate sectors, and engaged in extensive Community volunteering. He has done so through the common thread of trying to find a way to address social ills of the marginalised and disenfranchised members of Australian society and enhancing social function. Dwayne’s involvement across the sectors ranges from Child Protection casework in Government, Community Project and Engagement roles for fringe and Remote Aboriginal Communities, workforce development in the corporate sector, most recently Chairperson of his Native Title the Wajarri Yamatji Claim (5 years), inaugural Chairperson of Wajarri Enterprises Limited (3 years) and recent Chair of MWAC, Meeanangu Wajarri Aboriginal Corporation that transitioned to Wajarri Yamatji Aboriginal Corporation, Registered Native Title Body Corporate. To assist Dwayne in his vision he undertook postgraduate studies at the Centre for Social Impact, UWA Perth, achieving a distinction in ‘Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship.’

Dwayne’s broad and extensive knowledge and experience equips him to work effectively across all sectors assisting clients to achieve their vision of primarily enhancing individual, family and social function and closing the one true gap between the individual and the opportunity. Dwayne is the first Indigenous person to be appointed to the Board of the Royal Flying Doctor Service WA and WA Soil and Land Conservation Council.

Arjaway: Creating Social Alchemy Through Restoring Dignity

Arjaway is Aboriginal English for ‘Other Way’. In mainstream thinking there predominately seems to be two ways of doing things. ‘This way – Djidja way’ and ‘That way – Datta way’. The right way and the wrong way. My way and your way. However in Aboriginal psyche and way of life there has always been another way…Arjaway. Another way of thinking, designing, doing, creating, sustaining and Being… a different approach. It’s not to say this way or that way is not working…however many of the current efforts, funding and programs addressing the breakdown of Aboriginal individual, family and social function in society are dealing with the symptoms. The symptoms of poor health, chronic disease, poor educational outcomes, high unemployment, over representation in incarceration, lower life expectancy, high incidences of abuse, severe mental health issues and inter-generational traumas. Arjaway proposes to be a preventative program of collaboration and design premised by Cultural Protocols creating collective impact in all of societies social, corporate and political spaces with wellbeing a bedrock through sound practices to facilitate healing and empowerment for the individual. Arjaway is the approach and application of another way through the expression and restoration of an Ancient Culture, to achieve empowering societal inclusion and function one individual at a time.

Caring for Country is caring for People and Culture through love.

Through Arjaway ™, Dwayne sets about imparting a whole of system view influenced by the ancient Aboriginal cultural wisdom of ‘Wiiudba – Deeper Knowing.’ Particular environments contribute to adverse circumstances for many members of society, therefore equally a systemic approach creating an environment of sustained positive function that enhances and contributes to individual, family, social and ecological function creating positive lasting legacy is achievable. This is primarily to address present, past, intergenerational and collective trauma.