This paper discusses the use of harvest studies to explore the nature of Indigenous community economies in remote Indigenous Australia. In particular, it looks at the potential for harvest studies to better inform development strategies for culturally appropriate and sustainable economies in these communities. Since the 1980s, alternative models of remote Indigenous economies have emerged in Australia and the North American Arctic. These models are generally made up of three sectors: the customary, the state, and the market. These models usually serve one or more of five purposes:

(i) to make the customary sector visible;

(ii) to identify linkages and interdependencies between the customary and the market and state sectors;

(iii) to provide an appreciation of the interplay of economic, social, cultural and political institutions and organisations that underpin these hybrid economies;

(iv) to reveal hybrid economies as more than merely transitional or inferior forms of economy; and

(v) to promote alternative development strategies that strengthen hybrid economies based on an appreciation drawn from purposes (i) to (iv).

The customary sector of most Indigenous economies remains invisible and the workings of hybrid economies remains poorly understood. This paper argues that while this situation persists, many remote Indigenous communities will remain vulnerable to the unexpected and unintended impacts of poorly-informed development and conservation decisions and policy making. By revealing something of the socioeconomic contribution and context of the customary use of wildlife, harvest studies can provide a means of predicting impacts, as well as aiding in the identification of opportunities for enhancing Indigenous livelihoods on country.