Our Country Advisory Service

The Our Country Advisory Service (OCAS) provides targeted support, advice, toolkits and voice to emerging and established Indigenous tourism operators, sectoral aligned businesses, and community owned organisations.

The service helps businesses to establish and grow their tourism products and services, so they can expand the tourism sector and create new jobs.

The OCAS is delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culturally sensitive allies employed by the department to provide one-on-one culturally trusted engagement with the tourism sector, so businesses and aspiring enterprises can identify their tourism commercial offering and focus in on business establishment and grow through consumer uptake.

Our dedicated Senior Business Development Officers servicing the Torres Strait Islands, Northern Peninsula Area, and Northern, Central and Southern Queensland regions have been critical in providing access to support, advice on ways to pivot businesses and identifying industry mobilisation opportunities.

The OCAS has supported more than 250 Indigenous businesses through guidance and referral pathways, and are assisting more than 120 businesses to grow and progress through the discovery phase.

Senior Business Development Officers

Dedicated OCAS officers for each region in Queensland are:

• Torres Strait Islands, Perina Drummond (perina.drummond@dtis.qld.gov.au)
• Northern Peninsula Area, Stephanie Toy (stephanie.toy@dtis.qld.gov.au)
• North Queensland, Margaret Ross-Kelly (margaret.rosskelly@dtis.qld.gov.au)
• Central Queensland (including Cherbourg), Christina Canendo (christina.canendo@dtis.qld.gov.au)
• South East Queensland, Renee Gusa (renee.gusa@dtis.qld.gov.au)

OCAS Support Staff

• Program Manager, Mali Ingram (Mali.ingram@dtis.qld.gov.au)
• Senior Program Officer, Vanessa Ramsey (vanessa.ramsey@dtis.qld.gov.au)

More information

Email Tourism@dtis.qld.gov.au to access the service.