The purpose of this study is to advance Indigenous-led co-governance as a governance-first correction to participatory social marketing in Indigenous contexts. It argues that when co-design and co-creation are treated as procedural methods, they are insufficient to secure Indigenous self-determination unless authority is explicitly deferred to pre-existing Indigenous governing systems. This study frames co-governance as a set of structural obligations required of institutions, rather than a shared or relational process, and clarifies the conditions under which participatory tools such as the Co-create, Build, Engage (CBETM) model may be ethically applied.
The analysis draws on critical reflections from the Queensland Government-funded Toowoomba Community Ideas Project on youth sexual violence and abuse prevention, alongside synthesis of Indigenous governance scholarship, decolonising research methodologies and Indigenous expert voices.
The paper demonstrates that meaningful Indigenous participation can coexist with institutional dominance when government authority remains externally held. It identifies five non-negotiable structural commitments for ethical practice: Indigenous-led initiation; governance authority; Indigenous data sovereignty; culturally grounded evaluation with enforced institutional reflexivity; and Indigenous-controlled feedback and adaptation.
By shifting attention from participatory intensity to the location of authority, this paper positions participatory frameworks such as CBETM as subordinate toolkits contingent upon Indigenous-led co-governance, aligning social marketing practice with Indigenous self-determination and the AIATSIS Code of Ethics.
