Invasion Day/Survival Day Statement of Solidarity 2025

NAVA supports the boycott of “Australia Day” on 26 January 2025 and stands in solidarity with First Nations peoples, recognising their rights to justice, sovereignty and self-determination. 

The NAVA team will participate in and support nationwide events, protests and fundraisers for Invasion Day/Survival Day. We encourage our community to stand in solidarity by:

• Learning from and amplifying First Nations voices.
• Donating to self-determined First Nations-led movements and organisations.
• Committing to good practice recommendations in the First Nations section of NAVA’s Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft, and Design (the Code).

NAVA will substitute the public holiday for an alternative day and operate business as usual on Monday 27 January. This provision is allowable under some awards and agreements. Learn more about this option via Change it Ourselves.

Creating culturally safe spaces for First Nations artists and arts workers requires critical reflection on both individual and organisational values, behaviours and actions. The sector must be responsive to the specific concerns and priorities of First Nations artists, who are subject to ongoing colonialism, dispossession, and systemic inequity. NAVA urges artists, arts workers, and organisations to engage with the First Nations section of the Code and adopt its good practice recommendations.

Stephanie Parkin, Quandamooka woman of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) and author of the First Nations section, reminds us:

‘This section and others do not replace your own engagement with First Nations people. Organisations or individuals wishing to engage First Nations artists will therefore need to do work prior to engaging with an artist or community.’

Key principles from the Code emphasise:

• Respect First Nations communities' rights to self-determination. This means the right to enforce their own engagement and cultural protocols, including the right to agree, request changes, or decline a proposal.
• Recognise that general principles are always subject to the specific cultural protocols of the relevant First Nations community.
• Understand that power imbalances can exist in commercial arrangements involving First Nations communities and that power imbalances are underpinned by the colonial framework in so-called “Australia”. 
• Observe the True Tracks® principles when dealing with Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and follow the Australia Council for the Arts' Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts.

When engaging with First Nations artists and communities:

• Invest time in building genuine relationships, good channels of communication and realistic time expectations.
• Provide sufficient lead time and obtain free, prior, and informed consent.
• Develop flexible budgets that account for artists' time, ICIP, and consultation.
• Ensure First Nations peoples have the choice to be involved at all project levels.

Black Rainbow
Change the Record
Children’s Ground
Common Ground
Dhadjowa Foundation
Djirra
First Peoples Disability Network Australia (FPDN)
Gunawirra
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara
Women’s Council
Pay The Rent
Seed
Sisters Inside

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (Qld) Ltd
Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, South Australia
Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia
Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited
North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency
Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service

Online

Survival Day Yarning Circle webinar, Evolve Communities

VALS’ Invasion Day Webinar, VALS

ACT

Sovereignty Day Rally, Garema Place, Ngunnawal Country (Canberra)

NSW

Invasion Day Rally and March 2025, Belmore Park, Warrang (Sydney) 

Yabun Festival, Victoria Park, Warrang (Sydney) 

Bermagui Survival Day, Dickinson Oval, Bermagui

NT

Smoking Ceremony, Darwin Waterfront Lagoon, Larrakia Country

Qld

Kunbul Survival Day 2025, The Strand, Townsville, Bindal and Wulgurukaba Land

SA

Survival Day March, Victoria Square, Tarndanya (Adelaide) 

Tas

Invasion Day Nipaluna 2025, Parliament Lawns, Nipaluna (Hobart)

Vic

Infoshop Invasion Day drop-in collective banner painting, Friday 24 January, 3-10pm, Catalyst Social Centre, 146 Sydney Rd, Coburg

Invasion Day Rally 2025, Parliament House, Naarm (Melbourne)

WA

Invasion Day Rally 2025, Forrest Chase, Boorloo (Perth) 

Rubibi Survival Day, Goolari Media, Rubibi (Broome)

A Guide for Venues: Engaging with First Nations Curators, Artists and Audiences, NETS Victoria

Change it Ourselves

Change the Conversation From Surviving to Thriving, Georgia Mokak

Colonial Frontier Massacres in Eastern Australia 1788-1872, The Centre for 21st Century Humanities

Core cultural learning - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

Cultural Authority and Consultation, Wesley Shaw

First Nations - Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design

First Nations Recommended Resources - Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design

Invasion Day, Creative Spirits

Proper Partnerships in Industries Dealing with Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property,

Parallax Legal

Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts, Australia Council for the Arts

Respecting ICIP in Collecting Institutions, Nathan Sentance, Tammi Gissell and Madeline Poll

Sacred Data, Jazz Money

Tips to Making a Genuine Commitment to First Nations and People of Colour in the Arts, Georgia Mokak

True Tracks®: a pathway to Indigenous engagement, Terri Janke

this mob Invasion Day banner painting event, 2023. Photo by Kate ten Buuren.

ID: A photo of this mob's Invasion Day afternoon banner painting workshop held in a sun-dappled courtyard. Adults and children are scattered throughout the space—some gathered around a craft table, while others kneel or sit on the ground, painting banners. The ground is dotted with colourful banners and painted Aboriginal flags left to dry.