National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. You can support and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities through activities and events held across the country.
National NAIDOC Week’s premiere event is the National NAIDOC Week Awards Ceremony which showcases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander excellence. Every year, a different focus city is chosen to host the National NAIDOC Awards Ceremony.
Previous National NAIDOC Week Award Winners come from many different communities within Australia and have different backgrounds, however they are all part of NAIDOC history and share remarkable achievements. We encourage you to read more about previous NAIDOC Week Award Winners and learn more about their excellence.
National NAIDOC Week – 5-12 July, 2026
www.naidoc.org.au
50 Years of Deadly
For five decades, NAIDOC Week has celebrated the voices of our communities — steady, unapologetic, and proud. Each year, its themes have called for truth, celebrated culture, honoured resistance, and reminded the nation of who we are.
Fifty Years of Deadly marks a milestone. It’s a tribute to the people who built this movement. the Elders who stood firm, the organisers who made space, the artists who turned resistance into expression, and the communities who keep showing up, year after year.
NAIDOC has always been more than a week — it’s a platform, a protest, a celebration, and a statement of survival. Read more.
2026 National NAIDOC Week artwork
Poster title – Paralpi
Artist – Zaachariaha Fielding
Selected from submissions across the country, Paralpi by Zaachariaha Fielding has been chosen as the official poster for National NAIDOC Week 2026.
Zaachariaha Fielding is a proud Yankunytjatjara man from the APY Lands in South Australia and is widely recognised as one of the country’s leading contemporary First Nations artists and musicians. Known internationally through the acclaimed music duo Electric Fields, his work brings together language, sound, visual storytelling and culture in deeply powerful and contemporary ways.
Paralpi reflects movement, energy and continuity, carrying the stories of Ancestors forward while celebrating the creativity and cultural power of the next generation. Rich in colour and symbolism, the artwork speaks to the enduring strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the past 50 years of NAIDOC and beyond.
Through this work, Zaachariaha honours the resilience of community, the importance of language and identity, and the ongoing cultural renaissance being led by First Nations peoples across the country and across the APY Lands.
Zaachariaha Fielding said:
“Paralpi is about movement — movement through generations, through memory, through song and story. It speaks to the strength our people carry and the beauty of culture continuing to evolve while staying deeply connected to who we are.”
