Indi Kindi has won GOLD at the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, recognised for its design excellence in the Service Design – Education Service category for its groundbreaking Walking Learning® curriculum.
According to the Good Design Awards Jury: “The Jury recognises Indi Kindi as an exemplary case study of Aboriginal-led co-design that redefines early education delivery in remote communities. This multi-faceted service design solution incorporates Indigenous knowledge through its innovative “classrooms without walls” approach, enabling genuine learning-on-Country experiences. The Jury was impressed by the program’s measured impact, reducing developmental delay from 74% to 42% in Borroloola while achieving exceptional workforce stability with 5+ year educator tenure. By centreing local Aboriginal women as educators and leaders, the program addresses complexity including access in an experience-based, human-centred way, creating clear community-wide impact that honours Indigenous history and enables self-determination. Well done.”
Moriarty Foundation Co-Founders, Ros Moriarty and Yanyuwa man John Moriarty AM, said they were honoured that the program has been recognised nationally for its community-led innovation.
Moriarty Foundation Co-Founder and Executive Director, Ros Moriarty, said, “Walking Learning® shows what is possible when early education is co-designed and delivered through an Aboriginal Worldview. This recognition celebrates our local Aboriginal educator teams who deliver this curriculum every day on Country, giving our youngest learners the best start in life so they can thrive and reach their potential.”
Indi Kindi Program Director and Early Years Specialist, Jessica Horne-Kennedy, emphasised the significance of the curriculum’s design.
“Indi Kindi’s culturally-informed pedagogy integrates culture, education, health and wellbeing and aligns with the Australian Early Years Learning Framework. By grounding early learning in an Aboriginal Worldview and working in partnership with local families and communities, we support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to grow up strong in education, wellbeing and connection to Country,” said Ms Horne-Kennedy.
A 2024 report by Deloitte Access Economics demonstrated the transformational impact of the Walking Learning® curriculum. In Borroloola in 2012, 74% of children entering their first year of school were assessed as developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains. By 2021, the proportion of developmentally vulnerable children reduced to 42%, which was also around a 20% stronger outcome than neighbouring communities. Indi Kindi is a key differentiating factor between Borroloola and these other areas.This reduction directly counters a worsening national trend where the average developmental readiness in very remote areas sits at just 16.5%. In 2025, Indi Kindi achieved a 100 percent transition rate of young learners to preschool across its delivery hubs in Borroloola and Tennant Creek.
The awards recognise how the curriculum integrates health, wellbeing and culture through play-based on Country learning to prepare children for a positive and confident start to school. Moriarty Foundation is currently developing scaling tools to expand Walking Learning® to more remote communities, while providing pathways for non Indigenous early learning services to engage respectfully with Aboriginal pedagogies.
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