NAIDOC Week is celebrated from 5–12 July 2026. NAIDOC Week celebrations recognise the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) has its origins in the emergence of Aboriginal rights groups in the 1920s and 30s, such as the Australian Aborigines League and the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association. These groups sought to increase general awareness of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and eventually held the first Day of Mourning on 26 January 1938. Read more about the history of NAIDOC.
The theme for this year’s NAIDOC Week is 50 Years of Deadly. For 5 decades, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have used NAIDOC Week as ‘a platform, a protest, a celebration, and a statement of survival’. This theme recognises the past, celebrates the present, and focuses on building the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Get involved!
Join and support your local community by attending and uplifting activities and events taking place in your area. For example, on Thursday 9 July, the EORA NAIDOC Community Group is holding a Family Fun Day at Carriageworks. Find other NAIDOC Week events near you.
The University is also holding a number of NAIDOC Week events that you can attend:
- University Library’s NAIDOC morning tea
- NAIDOC Week Cultural Tours with Uncle Jimmy Smith
- 30,000 Years of Baking Bread panel discussion
- NAIDOC Week Flag Raising Ceremony
- 50 Years of Deadly NAIDOC Week Panel
- Growing and supporting First Nations voices in Medicine and Health panel
- NAIDOC Week Community Lunch.
For more announcements and information relating to NAIDOC Week, sign up to the National NAIDOC Newsletter.
Outside of NAIDOC Week, stay connected with and support Blak organisers and advocates:
Stay in touch with us