About NASCA

NASCA is a 100% Indigenous-governed and led non-profit organisation, connecting our young people to Culture, and providing intensive, wrap-around support, so they can thrive at school and beyond.

NASCA at a glance

NASCA Academies

17,000+

Young people supported

95%

Graduation rate (2023)

Together, we can build a proud, prosperous, and healthy Australia where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people thrive.

Our young people are smart, talented, strong and kind. But right now many of them face enormous barriers that make it difficult to succeed. Every day they live with the impacts of cultural loss, dislocation, and intergenerational trauma. Many experience racism and bullying.

That makes school a tough place to be.

What helps our young people flourish? Connecting to Culture that teaches, heals, and empowers them. Feeling supported, capable, loved, and valued. Having good mentors and being mentors to others like them.

That’s what NASCA’s programs do, in ways that are unique and special to Mob.

It might be taking our young people out on Country and connecting them to their Culture. It might be having someone to talk to. It might be showing up, wherever they need us – whether it’s in the classroom, on the bus, or at their football game.

Whenever and wherever they need us. We’re there.

Time and again our young people show what they can achieve when they’re given the right kind of support. They start to excel at school when they once struggled to even attend. They feel proud of who they are and excited about who they can become.

They can chart their own future. From education to employment, to family life, to heights that we cannot yet dream of, and they along with their families, schools, and communities are stronger as a result.

NASCA’s journey from sports, to Culture and education

Our journey began in 1995 when David Liddiard, Ngarabal man, and Rugby League champion, made the life-changing decision to start an Indigenous not-for-profit.

David saw first-hand the opportunities created through sports and understood the significant role sports played in improving the well-being of Indigenous people.

And so, the National Aboriginal Sports Corporation Australia (NASCA) was born.

NASCA, was the first organisation in the country dedicated to building Indigenous participation in sports. From 1995 to 2005, our purpose was to create opportunities for young Mob through sports.

In 2005 NASCA shifted its focus towards education. This shift ushered in a new era for the organisation, and a new name was launched – the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy (NASCA) which better reflected the areas in which NASCA worked.

From 2005 to 2019 we focused on improving the school attendance rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, through strengthening their cultural pride and identity and promoting self-confidence and healthy lifestyles. It was during this time we expanded into Western NSW and our partnerships with remote Northern Territory communities gained significant traction.

In 2021 we partnered with the Federal Government’s National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) to launch our Young Women’s Academies. These academies were created to address the specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young women and girls – needs that have historically and systemically been overlooked due to a lack of funding.

Today, we are one of the only organisations in the country with a dedicated Young Women’s Academy program. These Academies have been so successful they make up the majority of our programmatic footprint and have catalyzed our exponential growth over the last three years.

By 2022, NASCA’s programs had shifted so significantly from sports, to education and Culture, we decided to be known simply as ‘NASCA’: thereby honouring our past mission, while reflecting our shift towards our three pillars of Culture, education, and community.

While sport still plays an important part in our programs, it is just one of many tools we use to improve our young people’s school attendance, performance, and attainment rates. Today, we focus on connecting our young Mob to Culture to improve their social and emotional well-being and educational outcomes.

Most recently, we added crucial post-school support through our Pathways Program, so our young people can successfully move on to further education and employment once they leave school.