David Windsor

2025 Alumni Award Winner, First Nations Excellence recipient, David Windsor is an inspiring force in cultural fire leadership, helping communities rediscover and embrace cultural fire practices that have cared for Country for generations.

A proud descendant of the Kaurareg people of Kiriri Island in Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait), David brings First Nations knowledge into contemporary emergency management practices and strengthens connections between people, culture and Country.

His calling came in 2013, when a bushfire tore through the mine where he worked as Emergency Services and Security Supervisor. Recognising significant gaps in bushfire response training, he jumped immediately into action.

“I joined my local Volunteer Bushfire Brigade and completed training to build my skills in bushfire preparedness and mitigation,” says David. “As a result, I introduced a hazard reduction program at the mine site, working alongside local First Nations communities and seeking their guidance on protecting heritage areas. That experience gave me a much deeper appreciation of cultural burning and the importance of our relationship with the environment.”

After two decades leading emergency response teams across four states, David joined the Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) in 2022 as Cultural Fire and Partnerships Coordinator. Here, he works with First Nations groups and non-indigenous organisations statewide to create culturally safe spaces and build capacity for cultural burning programs.

“A big part of my work is creating opportunities for collaboration, while supporting people to navigate challenges and engage with Country,” he says. "We have been fortunate to have been invited onto Country to support cultural burns – many of which marked a ‘return to Country’ for Elders and Traditional Custodians who, due to the multi-generational impacts of colonisation, haven’t undertaken cultural burning on their ancestral lands for decades.”

Among his proudest achievements are coordinating the sector-leading Karla Katitjin Bullargar Walluk Yong-a Gathering and driving a threefold rise in cultural burns across the Noongar region in 2024. He has shaped policy on protecting Aboriginal heritage during bushfire response, earned NSW Resilient Australia Awards recognition for his work in the Shire of York, and contributed to global conversations on Indigenous fire practices.

David’s master’s degrees in Emergency Management and Fire Investigation from Charles Sturt are part of his commitment to continuous growth.

“Always look to improve what you do; it’s only through hard work and adversity that we strive to become our best,” he says. “Life is all about relationships—to each other and to Country. Never minimise a chance to learn from who and what surrounds you.”

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