During NAIDOC Week 2026 the Volunteering Australia team took part in events across the country celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, history and community.
On the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, Anna attended a performance of Bangarra and Project Dust at the National Gallery of Australia. The singing, didgeridoos and clapping sticks reverberated through the gallery, offering a powerful reminder of the strength and continuity of First Nations storytelling through dance and music.
On Dharawal Country, Andrew took his son to an Illawarra Hawks NBL1 NAIDOC match, one of many community sporting events held across the country during the week.
In Naarm, Lily visited a SNAICC exhibition celebrating National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day, held annually on 4 August. The exhibition displayed the full collection of Children’s Day posters and gave attendees the chance to meet the team behind this significant day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and communities.
Other staff members attended webinars and went for bushwalks on Country.
This participation reflects a direct commitment under Volunteering Australia’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) by encouraging and supporting staff to attend external NAIDOC Week events.
Volunteering Australia recognises that practices of community giving have been prevalent among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for tens of thousands of years. As the national peak body for volunteering, VA is committed to celebrating this contribution and to using volunteering as a platform to promote reconciliation. The Reflect RAP has laid the foundations for this work, and Volunteering Australia is now progressing towards its next RAP, continuing to build on the relationships and understanding established through this first stage.
For more information on Volunteering Australia’s reconciliation commitments, see the Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.
