Reconciliation Week

This week marks National Reconciliation Week (NRW), an annual event in Australia, held from 27 May to 3 June.  NRW is dedicated to fostering understanding and strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community. 

At Anglicare WA, we believe that reconciliation is everyone’s responsibility and recognise NRW as part of our commitment to achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recognition and justice.   

This means building respectful and trusting relationships with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community by emphasising deep listening, healing, and honouring and respecting Culture. 

Starting in 1996, NRW marks two significant milestones for Indigenous Australia and Australia’s reconciliation journey:  

• The 1967 referendum on 27 May, when over 90% of Australians voted to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Census. 

• The 1992 Mabo Case on 3 June, when the High Court overturned the idea of terra nullius and recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always had rights to the land. 

The week is also preceded by National Sorry Day, which occurs annually on 26 May to acknowledge and remember the Stolen Generation—the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities by successive colonial and Australian governments to be assimilated into white Australian society.   

This year’s theme for NRW is ‘Bridging Now to Next’, which encourages Australians to reflect on past lessons while working toward a more united future by honouring truth-telling.  

Reflecting on the significance of NRW, Jarred Wall, Wardandi Bibbulmun man and Anglicare WA General Manager, Aboriginal Service Strategy stated: 

It's a really special week. For our Aboriginal community, it is a chance for us mob to get together and to really be with one another, but it's also a chance for non-Aboriginal Australia to really come together and have tough conversations. Chat to your mob. Come together with Aboriginal organisations. Work through different pathways, but also be bold in what you do too. Take some risks and really put yourself out there. 

Reconciliation should be everyone's business, and it should be everyone's business 24/7, 365 days a year, and that's what true reconciliation really plays out like.  

There are many ways to get involved during NRW, whether that’s through attending an event, learning something new, or simply holding space for a quiet moment of deep listening and reflection. 

Below are some recommended events: 

• Wed 28 May – Online Screening of ‘Genocide in the Wildflower State' 

• Fri 30 May – Reconciliation Truth Forum (Boorloo/Perth) 

• Tues 3 June – Walk for Reconciliation (Boorloo/Perth) 

To see the full calendar of NRW events across the country, please click here. 

To access NRW posters and resources, please click here. 

To learn more about Anglicare WA’s Reconciliation journey and STRETCH Reconciliation Action Plan, please click here.    

To learn more about our advocacy priority ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recognition and Justice’, please click here.