Conservation activities on Indigenous lands are becoming an emerging theme across Australia with the support of Traditional Owners (TOs). The integration of Indigenous rangers as part of a broader team of land managers means that many conservation programs can now extend beyond the boundary of the formal conservation estate. Indigenous custodians are more likely to connect to conservation initiatives and to support these from the very start. Here, we describe a recent example where TOs were engaged early in a conservation translocation proposal in 2021 to reintroduce golden bandicoot marsupials (Isoodon auratus) from the Matuwa Indigenous Protected Area in central Western Australia to the Sturt National Park of western NSW where they had been locally extinct for over 100 years. TO engagement on Country at both source and release sites, including field work involving animal capture and data recording, led to the successful transport and release of 27 golden bandicoots across remote deserts separated by some 3,000 km. Planning required considered consultation between western managers, scientists and TOs across organisations, as well as Indigenous acknowledgement for those visiting different Country. This cross-cultural respect led to important conservation benefits for the species, and created an important opportunity for the Martu of the western desert and the Wongkumara of the Maljangapa of western NSW to connect with animal conservation, and to benefit from employment within the reintroduction context.