Reconciliation Australia

Narragunnawali Awards 2025 Winners

Ben Taylor — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 08:40:06 +0000

Reconciliation Australia is proud to announce the winners of the fifth Narragunnawali Awards; the only national awards that recognise and celebrate Australian schools and early learning services that are implementing outstanding reconciliation initiatives.

Schools category winner: Briar Road Public School, Dharawal Country, Airds NSW

Chair of the awards judging panel and Reconciliation Australia Board Director, Sharon Davis said it was clear to the judges that Briar Road Public School has built a place where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are thriving, and where Pacifica, Māori, and non-Indigenous students and families are also included and uplifted.

‘Students, staff, and families describe the school as a place where reconciliation is both expected and celebrated, and community ownership of the journey is evident,’ they said.

“While it embeds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and perspectives in its work, it also ensures that non-Indigenous staff take on the heavy lifting of the ongoing work of reconciliation in education.’

The judges also highly commended Karuah Public School on the Mid North Coast of NSW for its work.

‘Karuah Public School situated itself on the front line of truth-telling about its past exclusion of Aboriginal students.

‘Their five-year journey of reconciliation has involved consistent dialogue, vulnerability, and respect which has transformed a once-divided community into a more connected and hopeful one,’ Sharon Davis said.

Early Learning category winner: Evans Head-Woodburn Preschool, Bandjalang Country, Northern NSW

The judging panel said Evans Head-Woodburn Preschool demonstrated an exceptional, long-standing commitment to reconciliation.

“Guided by Bandjalang Elders and Traditional Owners, the team works hand in hand with families to make learning a space of respect, truth-telling and belonging.

‘Their service is more than inclusive, it is led by and with the local community, making reconciliation central to their identity and practice.’

Reconciliation Australia CEO Karen Mundine congratulated the winners and finalists in this year’s awards and said she was uplifted by the outstanding reconciliation work in schools and early learning services across the country.

‘This year we saw stories of reconciliation in action in schools and early learning services − reconciliation that is not symbolic or seasonal but systemic and embedded into governance, the curriculum, staffing, culture and community relationships.

‘Stories of exceptional educators, engaged families, and of dedicated Elders and First Nations community members who have developed relationships with schools and early learning services so that children may learn from them and be richer for it.’

Reconciliation Australia also acknowledges the hard work and commitment of the other finalists in both categories: Bannister Creek Primary School, Perth, Goodstart Shailer Park, Logan City Qld, and Tillys Play and Development Centre − Rutherford, Maitland, NSW.

The full playlist of all six finalists’ films, captured by Indigenous production company Wirrim Media, can be viewed here.

The awards were presented on Thursday 6 November at a ceremony at the Museum of Australian Democracy, Canberra.

The evening ceremony followed a day-long national forum which brought together First Nations and non-First Nations educational leaders and professionals to critically examine current reconciliation efforts within the Australian education sector.

The Narragunnawali Awards have been held every two years since 2017. Reconciliation Australia thanks Telstra and Teachers Health Group whose generous support has made the 2025 awards possible, and the BHP Foundation for their longstanding support for the Narragunnawali program.

Narragunnawali is a Reconciliation Australia program which provides tools and resources for schools and early learning services to take action towards reconciliation between First Nations peoples and other Australians.

There are more than 14,000 Australian schools and early learning services engaged with Narragunnawali.

Narragunnawali (pronounced narra-gunna-wally) is a word from the language of the Ngunnawal people meaning alive, wellbeing, coming together and peace, and is used with permission of the United Ngunnawal Elders Council.

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Victorian Treaty laws require commitment and action

Ben Taylor — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 03:33:49 +0000

Statement from Reconciliation Australia

Reconciliation Australia congratulates the Victorian parliament on passing Australia’s first Treaty legislation.

The Statewide Treaty Bill not only recognises the truth of colonisation but also underpins building respectful, two-way relationships with the First Peoples of Victoria.

The new Aboriginal-led body established through Treaty – Gellung Warl – will be consulted on matters affecting Victorian First Nations peoples giving those communities the power to shape the policies and services that affect their lives while also creating accountability mechanisms.

This outcome is the work of generations of First Nations communities and a product of their extraordinary strength, resistance and leadership.

Only through recognising and actively supporting First Nations peoples’ right to self-determination can we truly move the dial on Closing the Gap priorities.

We know that developing trusting relationships, respecting First Nations peoples and cultures, and acting on their expert opinions makes for better outcomes.

If we are to build a just and reconciled country, governments must learn and act on this truth.

We also commend the continuation of the truth-telling work of the Yoorrook Justice Commission. Their years of work gathering information and facilitating safe and action-oriented truth-telling has been integral to this Treaty process.

Truth-telling is fundamental to forging the path to reconciliation and justice. It facilitates healing and builds a collective pathway towards stronger and more cohesive communities.

As our National Reconciliation in Education Forum approaches, it is heartening to know this legislation also ensures that Victoria’s primary and secondary students will learn the true history of colonisation in the state, and about the strength and contributions of Victoria’s First Peoples.

Our recent Australian Reconciliation Barometer data shows that young Australians are vital supporters of reconciliation and are the future leaders willing to take action. 

Ultimately, Treaty and ongoing truth-telling processes must be framed by unity and strength.

Treaty will benefit all Victorians as it strengthens socio-economic outcomes for First Nations peoples in that state as well as offering opportunities for other jurisdictions to learn from.

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Reconciliation and the new parliament

Ben Taylor — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 23:20:17 +0000

Opportunities for national reconciliation, justice and unity in the new parliament

As Australia’s 48th Parliament prepares to start its legislative program, Reconciliation Australia urges a return to non-partisan support in progressing reconciliation and justice for First Nations peoples.

We are pleased that both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition applauded the sentiments in Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Violet Sheridan’s Welcome to Country during the opening of Federal Parliament on 22 July.

Sussan Ley’s comments that the Welcome to Country should “set the tone for the next parliament”, and the Prime Minister’s suggestion that the ceremony is an opportunity for parliamentarians to “embrace and show a profound love of home and country” are hopeful signs that the rancorous division seen during the 2023 Referendum and this year’s election campaign may be waning.

The Parliament must reflect the strong support for reconciliation and truth-telling in the Australian community. Our 2024 Australian Reconciliation Barometer (ARB) found that 85% of Australians believe the relationship between non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is important.

The ARB also found that 71% of Australians believe that truth-telling is important.

Among young Australians and multicultural Australians support for reconciliation and justice is even stronger.

Informed by the high level of community support this parliament must take decisive action to progress reconciliation, close the gap in First Nations outcomes, and advance a formal national truth-telling process.

It must show determined leadership in Australia’s reconciliation journey and ensure this journey is framed by unity and strength, not division and hesitancy.

A real understanding of our shared history will provide a solid foundation for a more unified and cohesive society.

Australians want nothing less.

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Narragunnawali Awards 2025 finalists announced

Faiza Ways — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 20:00:18 +0000

The finalist schools and early learning services have been recognised for implementing outstanding reconciliation initiatives that work to advance reconciliation in education.

Six Australian schools and early learning services that are implementing outstanding reconciliation initiatives have been selected as finalists for the Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education Awards 2025.

The award finalists in the two categories are:

Schools

Bannister Creek Primary School, WA

Briar Road Public School, NSW

Karuah Public School, NSW

Early Learning

Evans Head – Woodburn Preschool, NSW

Goodstart Shailer Park, QLD

Tillys Play and Development Centre – Rutherford, NSW

The finalists were selected by a judging panel of eminent First Nations educationalists: Mx Sharon Davis, Professor Grace Sarra, and Professor Joe Sambono.

The judging panel acknowledged the finalists for their commitments to building strong and respectful relationships with local First Nations Elders and communities, developing a respectful understanding of First Nations’ cultures and histories, and engaging in truth-telling within their educational communities.

Chair of the judging panel and Reconciliation Australia Board Director, Sharon Davis, said education is a powerful tool for building a better society.

‘Narragunnawali gives educators a way in. It supports them to bring First Nations cultures, languages and histories into their classrooms and early learning services with care and respect. When educators approach the work with self-reflection and a willingness to learn, and when relationships with community are at the centre, schools and services start to feel safer and more welcoming for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families,’ said Davis.

‘Each year I judge these awards, I’m heartened by the growing groundswell of schools and early learning services that are walking the talk – not just knowing better but doing better.

‘There is a deep hunger for justice in our communities, and when it comes to education, we cannot carry that work alone. Most educators in Australia are non-Indigenous, and that makes their role in reconciliation essential. Narragunnawali helps educators embed reconciliation into everyday practice, and take up that responsibility with care, commitment and courage,’ they said.

Davis said the Narragunnawali Awards are an important showcase of the schools and early learning services doing the work of reconciliation and the positive outcomes and benefits that accrue to their communities.

About the Narragunnawali Awards

Held every two years since 2017, the Narragunnawali Awards are Australia’s first and only national awards program that recognises and celebrates educational environments implementing outstanding reconciliation initiatives – across the government, Catholic and independent sectors.

Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education program provides tools and resources for schools and early learning services to act towards reconciliation between non-Indigenous Australians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The judging panel will conduct site visits to all finalists in July and August with the winners announced at the awards presentation night in November.

The winners of each category of the Narragunnawali Awards 2025 will receive $10,000 in prize money to support reconciliation initiatives within the winning school or early learning service community.

Awards supporters

Reconciliation Australia welcomes Telstra and Teachers Health as the sponsors for the Narragunnawali Awards 2025.

Telstra is sponsoring the Early Learning Category and Teachers Health is sponsoring the Schools Category.

Lauren Ganley, Telstra’s Chief First Nations Advocate, said, ‘We’re honoured to sponsor the 2025 Narragunnawali Awards and celebrate the incredible work educators are doing to lead reconciliation in Australia. By supporting the younger generation to be the change we want to see, we’re hoping to shape a future where reconciliation is understood and lived from the very beginning.’

Brad Joyce, CEO and RAP Champion of the Teachers Health Group said, ‘As we continue on our Innovate RAP journey, we understand the importance and value of the Narragunnawali program and we’re proud to sponsor the 2025 Awards, recognising and championing schools that are walking the path of reconciliation with purpose and heart.’

Narragunnawali (pronounced narra-gunna-wally) is a word from the language of the Ngunnawal people, Traditional Owners of the Canberra region.

 Narragunnawali means alive, wellbeing, coming together and peace, and is used with permission of the United Ngunnawal Elders Council.

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Truth-telling: Yoorrook Justice Commission reports

Liz Willis — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 00:26:16 +0000

Reconciliation Australia’s statement on the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s final reports

The Yoorrook Justice Commission has done the people of Victoria and Australia a great service in so comprehensively mapping the history of colonisation, and its impact on First Peoples in Victoria.

With the release of the final reports the Commission has also provided a blueprint for acknowledging our shared history and for addressing the terrible legacy of centuries of mistreatment, dispossession and racism endured by First Nations peoples.

In mapping out how government and institutional policies have negatively affected Victoria’s First Nations over more than two centuries, the Commissioners have created a resource which will help Australians understand and accept the wrongs of the past and their impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

The reports also documents the extraordinary strength, resistance and leadership of generations of First Nations communities in the face of these injustices.

The Yoorrook for Transformation report provides the Victorian Government and people with a clear plan to ‘make amends for past policies and practices and ensures these wrongs are never repeated’.

The Yoorrook Truth Be Told investigation into Victoria’s colonial and more recent history is a powerful example of one of Reconciliation Australia’s five dimensions of reconciliation, namely Historical Acceptance.

Truth-telling is fundamental to forging the path to reconciliation and justice. It provides healing and a collective pathway towards stronger and more cohesive communities.

The transformation report’s 100 recommendations are far ranging: Statewide and Traditional Owner group treaties, the establishment of a truth-telling body, water and land management, the administration and governance of critical services in health, education, criminal justice and family violence, and, perhaps most importantly, the report recommends the ‘transfer of decision-making power, authority, control and resources to First Peoples, giving full effect to self-determination.’

Truth-telling at a structural level through processes like the Yoorrook Justice Commission is critical to correcting the public record and driving long term change.

But that change only happens if we act on what we have learned. The Yoorrook Report sets out clear recommendations that we need action on to see a better future for the next generation.

The Yoorrook Justice Commissioners have done the hard work, and it is now time for the Victorian Government to positively respond to the recommendations with decisive action and implementation.

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New survey shows overwhelming support for reconciliation

Ben Taylor — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 23:29:07 +0000

Reconciliation Australia’s latest survey has found strong support for reconciliation and truth-telling.

85% of Australians surveyed in the 2024 Australian Reconciliation Barometer (ARB) believe the relationship between non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is important.

The ARB is undertaken every two years to measure the attitudes and perceptions First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians hold about each other and about key issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The 2024 survey was conducted almost a year after the Voice referendum campaign and at a time when Australians juggled cost-of-living pressures at home, while violent conflicts and extreme climate events wreaked havoc across the world.

Reconciliation Australia CEO, Karen Mundine, said she was encouraged by the latest ARB findings.

‘Despite the economic and global challenges and despite the disinformation and racism we witnessed during the referendum campaign, the 2024 ARB results show that most Australians share an enduring optimism in the possibility of a more united Australia and believe that the Federal Government should do more to advance reconciliation’, she said.

‘It gives us hope to report that Australians now largely accept the truths of our history, place importance on our relationships with each other, and are prepared to work together.’

‘I am particularly heartened by this latest ARB data indicating growing support for reconciliation from two critical demographic groups: multicultural Australians and young Australians.’

Multicultural Australians

The 2024 ARB shows that multicultural Australians believe more strongly in the importance of relationships in building unity than mainstream Australians and are more driven to take action on reconciliation.

Multicultural Australians believe in the importance of truth-telling at higher levels than Anglo-Australians (81% compared to 67%) and are more than twice as likely to have participated in a local truth-telling activity than Anglo-Australians.

They are more likely to have attended a First Nations art exhibition or museum display or a celebration of First Nations culture.

Multicultural Australians more strongly believe the wrongs of the past must be rectified before all Australians can move forward (36% compared to 24%).

However, the ARB also found less knowledge of First Nations histories and cultures among multicultural respondents who reported they are much less likely to have personal experiences with First Nations people that provide them with first hand understanding.

Ms Mundine said this was a clear indication of the need to better engage and inform multicultural Australians of the importance of reconciliation and truth-telling.

‘Our ARB respondents from multicultural backgrounds show significant support for the key principles of reconciliation,’ said Mundine. ‘Our challenge is to ensure that this support is consolidated with access to good information in languages other than English, and more opportunities for interaction with First Nations people.’

View 2024 ARB data on multicultural Australians

Young Australians

Ms Mundine said the 2024 ARB data shows that young Australians have more positive attitudes towards unity, cultural understanding, and the importance of truth-telling than older Australians.

‘Young Australians are more committed to acting in support of reconciliation (66% compared to 47%), they are more likely to recognise racism in Australia and more than 90% of them believe it is important to learn about the impact of European colonisation and government policy on First Nations Australians.

‘They overwhelmingly support having Welcome to Country ceremonies at major sporting events (80% compared to 55% of older Australians) and official dual naming of important sites,’ said Mundine. ‘And they believe, at rates more than double that of the general community, that the wrongs of the past must be rectified before all Australians can move forward (58% to 28%).

‘Young Australians are showing the way, and we must harness their energy and positivity into the future, if we are to achieve a reconciled and more just nation,’ she said.

View 2024 ARB data on young Australians

Rising racism

Karen Mundine said that while these responses were cause for optimism, the 2024 ARB worryingly indicated a rise in First Nations people experiencing racism since the 2022 ARB.

‘More than half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people surveyed reported experiencing racial discrimination in the past six months. Not only has there been rise in these experiences since 2022, but we have seen a significant increase in racism the last decade,’ she said (39% in 2014 to 54% in 2024).

‘Of particular concern is that younger Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience racism at higher levels than all other age groups, with 68% of First Nations people aged 25-34 years old experiencing at least one form of racial prejudice in the past six months.

‘This exposure to racism has meant that half of the First Nations people surveyed feel unable to be true to their cultural identity in their community, in their dealings with government departments and in the criminal justice system.

‘This is a shocking finding and adds weight to calls for governments to fully implement the National Anti-Racism Framework, as a key established mechanism to address systemic racism in Australia,’ she said.

View 2024 ARB data on experiences of racism

Measuring the positive impact of RAPs

In another positive indication of changing Australian attitudes, Reconciliation Australia’s survey of people employed by organisations with a Reconciliation Action Plan – the Workplace RAP Barometer (WRB) – shows increased understanding of, and support for, reconciliation compared with the general population.

Every two years Reconciliation Australia conducts the WRB, surveying employees in organisations with a RAP.

The WRB survey results have been compared with responses from the general population drawn from the 2024 ARB to give an indication of the impact of RAPs on understanding of First Nations histories and cultures and attitudes towards reconciliation.

For example, RAP employees have higher knowledge of the history of colonial Australia than the general community (70% of RAP employees compared to 60% in the general community), and most believe the Australian people should be educating themselves about First Nations histories and cultures in response to the referendum result (72% compared to 42% in the general community).

RAP employees surveyed in the WRB see racism as more prevalent than the general community does (73% compared to 52%).

Ms Mundine said that the more than 3,000 RAP organisations with members and employees making up over five million Australians are clearly having a significant influence on Australian attitudes.

View 2024 ARB/WRB data comparisons

2024 ARB survey notes

The 2024 Australian Reconciliation Barometer, undertaken every two years since 2008, shows the attitudes and perceptions First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians hold about each other and about key issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people. The following were surveyed:

532 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (associated with a margin of error of +/-4.2%)
1990 non-indigenous people (associated with a margin of error of +/-2.2%.)

For a combined total base sample of 2,599 is associated with a margin of error of +/-1.9%

Both samples weighted to be representative in terms of age group, gender and location (state and territory populations), as per Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data.

Read the 2024 ARB Methodology Statement

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Choirs launch National Reconciliation Week 2025

Faiza Ways — Mon, 26 May 2025 23:00:48 +0000

In schools, workplaces and communities across the country, thousands of Australians are singing in support of a better Australia.

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) starts today!

The week is a time for all Australians to reflect on our shared histories and act to contribute to a better and more just Australia.

The dates for National Reconciliation Week are the same each year, 27 May to 3 June.

These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

Bridging Now to Next calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us.

Voices for Reconciliation: Solid Rock

To celebrate the start of #NRW2025, Reconciliation Australia has released this compilation of 40 choirs of all ages, from all walks of life and from every corner of the continent.

Nearly 700 community choirs from across the country are raising their voices this week for justice, truth, and reconciliation by singing the iconic Australian 1980s hit song, Solid Rock.

In schools, workplaces and communities across the country, thousands of Australians are singing in support of a better Australia, one that honours First Nations cultures and acknowledges our shared history.

Reconciliation Australia CEO, Karen Mundine, said the enthusiasm of the choirs taking part in Voices for Reconciliation is reminiscent of the overwhelming response from Australians who walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge 25 years ago, on 28 May 2000.

‘The hundreds of thousands of Australians who answered the call to support reconciliation and walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge 25 years ago demonstrated back then that Australians wanted better from their country,’ Karen Mundine said.

‘In 2025, that enthusiasm for reconciliation, truth-telling and justice is once again displayed as Australians come together this week to sing, yarn, learn and show governments that we can do better.’

Singing Solid Rock, joining a reconciliation event in your community, speaking to your friends and family about reconciliation and standing up against racism are all ways that Australians can join us in creating a more just Australia.

The choir compilation is up on our YouTube channel now.

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