Joseph Elu has been Chairman of Indigenous Business Australia since December 1996. He is a member of the Government-appointed National Indigenous Council that provides advice on policy, programme and service-delivery issues to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Mr Elu is Chairman of the Seisia Island Council (on the tip of Cape York) and is a member of the Island Coordinating Council. He also co-chairs the Indigenous Community Volunteers Foundation and is a member of the Torres Strait Regional Authority.

In 2006 Mr Elu was appointed the inaugural Chairman of Outback Stores which is a subsiduary company of Indigenous Business Australia

Mr Elu is a former Board member of Reconciliation Australia and Special Broadcasting Service. A powerful advocate for the inclusion of private enterprise in the process of assisting the economic development of Indigenous people, Mr Elu is a recipient of the Centenary Medal and holds an honorary Doctorate in Economics from the Queensland University of Technology.