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  • Congratulations to all of the 2016 National NAIDOC Award Winners

    The Committee extends its congratulations to all of the 2016 National NAIDOC Award winners honoured at a ceremony in Darwin on Friday 8 July.

    Congratulations to: Manymak Energy Efficiency Project (NT) – Caring for Country Award winner, Elijah Douglas (QLD) – Youth of the Year, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (NT) – Artist of the Year, Layneisha Sgro (WA) – Scholar of the Year, Montana Ah-Won (WA) – Apprentice of the Year, Jade North (NSW) – Sportsperson of the Year, Professor MaryAnn Bin-Sallik (NT) – Female Elder of the Year, Dr Robert Francis Isaacs (WA) – Male Elder of the Year, Professor Chris Sarra (QLD) – Person of the Year, Stephen Page (QLD) – Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

    “It is humbling to see the breadth of amazing work being done by so many talented and dedicated individuals across our land,” said Committee Co-Chair, Benjamin Mitchell.

  • 2017 National NAIDOC Host City announced

    The National NAIDOC Committee are pleased to announce tropical Cairns as the 2017 host city for the National NAIDOC Awards!

    Lynette Dewis and Louise Hunter accepted the NAIDOC Message Stick on behalf of the Cairns NAIDOC Committee in the 2016 Ceremony on Darwin on Friday 8 July.

    The National NAIDOC Awards was last hosted in Cairns in 2006, congratulations Cairns!

  • Winner announced for the 2016 National NAIDOC Poster Competition

    Congratulations to Wiradjuri woman Lani Balzan for her winning entry to the 2016 National NAIDOC Poster Competition.

    While more than 100 outstanding entries were received, the Committee was unanimous in its selection of Ms Balzan’s artwork.

    Ms Balzan’s artwork represents all of the Songlines coming together to create our nation. You can see how they criss-cross the land as they run East, West, North, South and diagonally across the country to track the journeys of our ancestors.  

  • 2016 National NAIDOC theme

    Songlines: The living narrative of our nation

    For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the Dreamtime describes a time when the earth, people and animals were created by our ancestral spiritual beings. They created the rivers, lakes, plants, land formations and living creatures.

    Dreaming tracks crisscross Australia and trace the journeys of our ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lores.  These dreaming tracks are sometimes called ‘Songlines’ as they record the travels of these ancestral spirits who 'sung' the land into life.

  • Subscribe to the NAIDOC Newsletter

    For the latest news about celebrating NAIDOC Week, subscribe to the National NAIDOC Newsletter. You will be the first to receive updates about:

    • The NAIDOC Week dates, theme and host city
    • Submitting an artwork in the National NAIDOC Poster Competition
    • Nominating a community member for a National NAIDOC Award
    • Tickets for the National NAIDOC Awards Ceremony
    • Ordering the National NAIDOC Poster and merchandise
    • Using the National NAIDOC Logo on your promotional material
    • Funding for local NAIDOC Week activities
    • Local NAIDOC Week calendar of events

NAIDOC Week 2016: 3-10 July

Welcome to the official NAIDOC website.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.

NAIDOC Week is held in the first full week of July. It is a time to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements and is an opportunity to recognise the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our country and our society.

We encourage all Australians to participate in the celebrations and activities that take place across the nation during NAIDOC Week.

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