NAIDOC Week 2025, being celebrated from 6-13 July, invites Australia to honour more than 65,000 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture, and achievement, and to mark the five decades since NAIDOC Week was first formally celebrated in 1975. What began as a call for recognition has grown into a community-led movement that places First Nations stories at the heart of our national narrative.
This year’s theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy,” encourages us to celebrate past achievements while looking ahead to the future being shaped by emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders. Their courage and creativity build on the wisdom of Elders and the resilience of communities, adding new chapters to a legacy that stretches deep into the past and far into the future.
The National NAIDOC Committee’s embrace of greater independence and self-determination embodies that legacy. Each story shared, each act of resilience remembered, and each cultural practice revived reminds us why NAIDOC must always remain grounded in community vision and integrity.
At ANZSOG, NAIDOC Week sharpens our commitment to becoming a culturally capable institution that empowers First Nations peoples and communities, and strengthens public governance.
Genuine transformation of the public sector is essential if governments are to forge just and equitable relationships with First Nations communities – relationships founded on deep listening and shared decision-making.
That transformation demands the integration of First Nations knowledge, languages and governance principles into everyday practice and the presence of First Nations voices at every level of government.
Consistent with our 2030 strategy, through our teaching, research and partnerships with First Nations scholars and practitioners, we work to advance that change. During NAIDOC Week, and every week, ANZSOG stands with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We celebrate the progress made over the past five decades while acknowledging the structural and cultural change still required, and we remain committed to listening, learning and acting, so the next generation inherits a public sector, and a nation, where First Nations strength, vision and legacy are fully realised.