The new chief executive officer brought the council, which has suffered financial woes, back from the brink by securing $130,000 funding for another year, and met audit requirements.

"My first two weeks were the hardest," Mr Hampson-Chatfield told the Tribune.

"I got stuck with financial audits.

"I started on August 12 and if I didn't have it sorted by August 16, this office was going to be closed down."

But after a week of late nights working on the books, he is proud to say the council now has money in its accounts that has never been there before.

Now the 26-year-old wants to encourage other young people in Yass to aim high, like he did.

“I wanted to get it out there that young people can do [these] things,” he told the Tribune.

“I didn’t think I could ever be in the place I’m in [as CEO] but I am. Go for what you want to go for – don’t hold back. Just go for it.”

He wants to see more Koori kids working in businesses around town.

“It’d be lovely to walk into a shop and see a Koori face behind the counter. That’s my dream,” he said.

As Onerwal’s chief, he manages six community properties and plans to secure funding for another four homes to be built in Yass.

"Aboriginal housing here is over-crowded, nothing new has been built for 25 years," he said.

He also performs site surveys on proposed road works and other developments to ascertain if construction is going to impact on important Aboriginal artefacts.

But it's not all hard work - he is organising a touch footy side for the summer competition.

He sees his position as a chance to "bring the Yass indigenous community together" and offers mentorship to young people, indigenous or not.

“It’s a community organisation that belongs to everybody. I want to get as many people to be involved as I can.

“A few girls and boys have dropped out of school or their apprenticeships and had no one to talk to, so I’ve been that 'lean way'. I talk to them about what they want to do, and mentor their attitudes.”

Until he landed the job, he was living in Canberra for 19 years but his mum was born and bred in Yass and he considers this his hometown. He said his mother, nan and pop grew up on the Aboriginal reserve in north Yass.