Why Walan Yulang
Walan Yulang works towards an Australia where equitable opportunity is something everyone actually has.
Every day we wake up to challenge the biases and systemic issues that create barriers for individuals, families and Communities, and to open pathways for self-determination.
People arrive at services from different places, and some Australians need different approaches to reach the same outcome. Person-centred practice is what closes gaps in the Social Determinants of Health.
Walan Yulang means Strong Ripple in the Wiradjuri language. We are a 100% Aboriginal-owned consultancy based in the ACT.
How we work
Genuine Partnership
Neither side of this work can do it alone. Organisations hold the power to change systems. Communities hold the cultural authority to say what that change should be.
Our role is to get both into the same room and keep them there. That takes longer than a round of consultation, and it is the only version of the work that holds.
Choice, Voice and Control
Self-determination decides how a project is scoped, in the first week, before anyone writes a plan. Applied at the end, it is decoration.
Programs and policies that Community has determined carry further and last longer than those designed on their behalf. Our goal is systemic change that upholds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Choice, Voice and Control.
Ask Community first
The instinct in most organisations is to arrive with a solution and consult on it. We ask you to turn that around and bring the question instead.
Well-funded work can still marginalise the people it was meant to support. Asking early costs a few weeks. Getting it wrong costs trust that takes years to rebuild.
- 2025 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year
- Youth Mental Health Leadership Award — 2025 ACT Mental Health Week Awards
Peter Harris
Founder · Wiradjuri / Gamilaroi man
Peter has worked across Aboriginal health in NGOs, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, peak bodies and government, which means he has seen the same problems from four different sides. His focus settled on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing, domains that only make sense when you treat a person as a whole.
He helped establish Canberra's first Aboriginal Community Controlled Suicide Prevention Service. He has served on a Youth Reference Committee advising Headspace and the ACT and Australian governments, and is Vice-President of the Winnunga Warriors Basketball Club, where he mentors younger Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders.
“For the best chance of creating positive outcomes we need to look at people as a whole, and work with individuals to create strategies that promote positive outcomes in all areas of Social and Emotional Wellbeing.”
Peter describes the awards as an honourable acknowledgement of his contribution. He also says he will only feel fulfilled when he can say with certainty that health outcomes are equitable for all Australians.
Interested in working together?
Tell us a little about your organisation and what you're hoping to do. There's no obligation in a first conversation.