NAIDOC Week 2025 celebrates 50-year milestone honouring the next generation of Indigenous leaders

National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week 2025 (6–13 July) marks 50 years of honouring and uplifting Indigenous voices, culture and resilience. This year’s theme – ‘The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy’ – celebrates the achievements of the past while looking ahead to a bright future.

Immunisation is critical to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. NCIRS has established an expert Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Immunisation Advisory Group to provide cultural and technical expertise, advice and advocacy to inform current and future immunisation research, policy, programs and evaluation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The Group’s members are health professionals, service providers and academics from across Australia, including urban, rural and remote areas. 

NCIRS and the Group are committed to ‘walking together’ to achieve high vaccination coverage and reduce the burden of vaccine preventable diseases in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples – now and for future generations.

Below, some of the Advisory Group’s next generation of health leaders share their insights on how the Group’s work contributes to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices – through the strength of young leaders, embracing the vision of communities and honouring the legacy of ancestors.

Kristy Cooper, Nurse Practitioner, Tasmanian Aboriginal Health Service 

‘The establishment of the Advisory Group holds promise for a future in which First Nations communities are in the position to prioritise, collect, review and speak on our data with care and the authority to do so. Historically, this has not been the case. 

‘I am passionate about contributing to my community, whether this be through translating evidence-based immunisation recommendations into practice or supporting our frontline clinicians in all aspects of immunisation delivery to our communities. Contributing to the standard of practice for immunisation in our community-controlled health service is how I continue to honour the legacy of our Elders, who had the vision for health care delivered to our community, by our community over 50 years ago in Ultrawide/Tasmania.

‘I can see there have been improvements in providing culturally safe and sensitive practice in health care, and hope that through the work of the Advisory Group we can continue to advance this.’

Brayden Grogan, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner working in Queensland

‘I’m proud to be an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner working directly in community caring for the next generation. I’m afforded opportunities to talk about our shared history and the vision that our Elders had to provide culturally safe health care to their people, and hope to continue this legacy they established. 

‘I hope to see all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and practitioners trained in immunisation education and administration, so that we can achieve health equity.’

Dr Kerry Hall, Aboriginal Health Practitioner and Senior Lecturer based in Queensland

‘The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Immunisation Advisory Group at NCIRS embodies the spirit of NAIDOC 2025 – “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy”. Through community-led action and cultural leadership, we’re shaping a future in which immunisation is equitable, trusted and rooted in self-determination – leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.’

Nancy Lui-Gamia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Senior Health Worker and Public Health Officer from Northern Queensland

‘As a group, we are working for the next generation, sharing our collective knowledge, traditions and experiences to advocate for health solutions.

‘Our vision is essential in shaping the future of immunisation programs. 

‘We hope to leave a legacy in which our communities will be represented in public strategies and future generations of Indigenous children and families grow up with better access to vaccines, clearer information and better health outcomes – not just through improved immunisation rates but also through fostering a deeper trust and engagement in broader health programs.’