NAIDOC Week (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee) occurs annually in the first week of July and celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians all over the country and overseas.
Each year the National NAIDOC Committee chooses a theme. In 2026 it was Fifty Years of Deadly, This milestone theme celebrates five decades of NAIDOC as a powerful community-led movement, honouring the resilience, survival, and cultural pride of First Nations peoples.
Each year at DFAT, we mark NAIDOC Week with a series of events on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra. For example:
- Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony
- A flag raising ceremony
- Participation in the APS-wide NAIDOC Week Touch Football competition
- A NAIDOC Week reception including First Nations cultural performances
- First Nations speaker series
- In 2026, a powerful dialogue on leadership, identity and the future of reconciliation was held between First Nations Champion, Deputy Secretary George Mina and Professor Marcia Langton AO.
These activities showcased the richness of First Nations cultures and provided opportunities to engage DFAT partners and staff to learn, reflect and celebrate together.
