Australia Day

Australia Day is about so much more than the events of one day ; it is about where we have come from, who we are as a nation and what we aspire to be. January 26 is an important date in Australia's history that has evolved over time.

On our national day we can reflect on our complete and complex history and understand that acknowledging and reconciling our past helps lay a path to a stronger future. We respect and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples survival, resilience and over 65,000 years of continuous culture.

It's also a day we can pay respect to the stories, histories and contributions of the Australians who lived, worked and fought for the values and freedoms we sometimes take for granted.

It is a day that will mean different things to each of us. We are all shaped by our own experiences, and we celebrate living in a dynamic, multicultural nation where everyone's views, beliefs and contributions are valued.

More than half of all Australians participate in Australia Day, attending events organised by State Governments, local councils and community groups, or getting together with family and friends. In addition, over 16,000 new Australians become citizens on Australia Day.

Since at least 1938, the date of Australia Day has also been a day of protest and of mourning the start of the British colonisation of Australia, characterised as an invasion in which Indigenous Australians had the land that they had occupied for millennia forcibly taken. Some observe 26 January as Invasion Day, Survival Day or as a Day of Mourning, as a counter-observance to the national day.