Local councils around Australia are citing "sadness", "great distress", "pain" and "mourning" as reasons for shifting Australia Day ceremonies from January 26.
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This comes as other councils have moved community awards or citizenship ceremonies for logistical reasons such as avoiding the higher costs associated with a public holiday.
A January 2023 Roy Morgan poll showed two-thirds of Australians believe Australia Day should remain on January 26.
But that number is lower at 54 per cent in Victoria - the state with the most councils shunning Australia Day celebrations.
The move by dozens of councils follows the Albanese Government ditching the requirement for an Australia Day citizenship ceremony in December 2022, instead providing a window from January 23 to 29.
These are many of the councils that changed the way they mark January 26 because of its historical origins.
NSW:
Albury City Council
In 2023, Albury City Council voted to move its citizenship ceremony and community awards from Australia Day, with CEO Frank Zahnich describing January 26 as "a very challenging day for [the] Aboriginal community".
The council held firm despite local MP and deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley calling for a reversal of the decision.
Blue Mountains City Council
Blue Mountains City Council moved its Australia Day citizenship ceremony in 2023 to the evening prior, so it "is not on a day that causes pain for many First Nations people", Mayor Mark Greenhill said at the time.
Clarence Valley Council
In 2022 Clarence Valley Council voted to rename its Australia Day Awards the Clarence Valley Citizens of the Year and move the event, along with the citizenship ceremony, to January 25 due to "sensitivity to the date" of Australia Day.
Dubbo Regional Council
In 2023, Dubbo Regional Council moved its citizenship ceremony in the town of Wellington to the evening of January 25, recognising the town's Indigenous population as well as avoiding the heat of the day.
However the council voted down a change to the Dubbo citizenship ceremony after a community survey showed support for the Australia Day date.
Inner West Council
In 2019, Inner West Council voted to move its celebratory events away from January 26, except for the citizenship ceremony, recognising the date "represented sadness for many Aboriginal Australians".
Lake Macquarie Council
Lake Macquarie Council is scrapping its Australia Day citizenship ceremony in 2024, moving it to January 25 to offer "new citizens, their families and the broader community the flexibility to mark Australia Day in a way that suits them".
Newcastle City Council
In 2023, Newcastle City Council moved its citizenship ceremony to January 25, following a survey of new citizens expressing support for the ceremony to be move to a "more culturally appropriate date".
Sydney City Council
Sydney City Council stopped holding a citizenship ceremony on January 26 in 2023, with Lord Mayor Clover Moore confirming the city supported changing the date of Australia Day "to one that can be fully embraced and celebrated by all Australians".
Woollahra Municipal Council
In 2023 Woollahra Municipal Council voted to stop holding citizenship ceremonies on January 26 from 2024 onwards, with councillor Susan Wynne recognising the area's "long and rich Aboriginal heritage".
Victoria:
Alpine Shire Council
In 2024, Alpine Shire Council is moving its citizenship ceremony to January 23 in recognition that "Australia Day is not a day of celebration for all Australians", council CEO Will Jeremy said.
Banyule City Council
Banyule City Council moved its citizenship ceremony away to January 24 in 2024, in response to a recommendation from its Reconciliation Advisory Committee, and has not hosted Australia Day events in recent years.
Bass Coast Shire Council
In 2022, Bass Coast Shire Council voted to move its community awards away from Australia Day to National Volunteer Week in May, among changes to reduce celebrations associated with January 26 in recognition that the date was painful for some community members.
Brimbank City Council
Brimbank City Council voted in September 2023 to move its Australia Day citizenship ceremony away from January 26, acknowledging the date "represents a day of mourning" for some First Nations people.
Darebin City Council
In 2017, Darebin City Council resolved to stop holding citizenship ceremonies and Australia Day celebrations on January 26, due to "great distress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples" associated with the date.
Glen Eira City Council
Glen Eira City Council has moved its citizenship ceremony to January 29 in 2024 "to maximise participation and inclusion" and "ensure it is a day of celebration for all involved", following consultation with local Traditional Owner groups.
Glenelg Shire Council
In 2023, Glenelg Shire Council voted to no longer hold council-led events on January 26 after a community survey showed support for change, including re-branding its Australia Day community awards.
Greater Bendigo City Council
In 2023, the Greater Bendigo City Council voted to move its Australia Day citizenship ceremony from January 26 and resolved to work with local Traditional Owners to plan "more inclusive events on January 26".
Greater Geelong City Council
In 2023, Greater Geelong City Council resolved to stop referring to January 26 as Australia Day, move its citizenship ceremony and to support formal First Nations' cultural events on the day instead.
Greater Shepparton City Council
In 2023, Greater Shepparton City Council voted to end support for Australia Day activities on January 26 and move its community awards and citizenship ceremony to January 25, and has advocated to the federal government to move Australia Day "to a more suitable date".
Macedon Ranges Shire Council
In 2023, Macedon Ranges Shire Council decided not to host events on the upcoming January 26 "in recognition of the grief and sadness expressed around the date".
Maribyrnong City Council
Maribyrnong City Council recognised January 26 as a day of mourning and publicly lowered the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the day for the first time in 2023, and will scrap citizenship ceremonies on the date from 2024.
Melbourne City Council
In 2022, Melbourne City Council joined the change the date movement, advocating to the Federal Government after a survey showed majority support in the community.
Merri-bek City Council
Merri-bek City Council, formerly Moreland, voted in 2017 to no longer refer to January 26 as Australia Day and supported the call to change the date.
In 2023 it moved it citizenship ceremony from January 26 and instead hosted a "day of mourning" event.
Nillumbik Shire Council
In 2023, Nillumbik Shire Council voted to scrap January 26 citizenship ceremonies, saying it was "insensitive" to hold the ceremony on a date recognised by many as a day of mourning.
Strathbogie Shire Council
In 2023, Strathbogie Shire Council resolved to no longer formally support or be involved in celebrations on January 26, recognising it as "a day that causes great pain to First Nations people".
Surf Coast Shire Council
Since 2022 Surf Coast Shire Council has not formally taken part in Australia Day celebrations, instead supporting a local truth-telling event at sunrise on January 26, and also lowers the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags to half-mast.
Whittlesea City Council
Whittlesea City Council scrapped its Australia Day event in 2021 following a review into its council-run events and re-branded its Australia Day awards, moving them from January 26, as it acknowledged "complexities" with the date particularly for the Aboriginal community.
Yarra City Council
In 2017 the Yarra City Council voted to stop referring to January 26 as Australia Day and scrap its citizenship ceremony on the date, with Mayor Claudia Nguyen describing it as "a day of mourning, pain and disconnection" for the community's First Nations people.
Tasmania
Clarence City Council
In 2023, Clarence City Council voted to stop holding community events, citizenship and awards ceremonies on January 26, after a recommendation from the council's Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group.
Devonport City Council
In 2023, Devonport City Council voted to move its annual Australia Day citizenship and awards ceremony from January 26 to avoid the event being "overshadowed by the divisiveness" of the day and to allow residents to choose how they mark the date.
Flinders Council
Flinders Council scrapped its Australia Day celebrations and launched the Furneaux Islands Festival as an alternative in 2014, which includes celebration of local Aboriginal history, art and culture.
Glenorchy City Council
In 2023, Glenorchy City Council moved its citizenship ceremony from Australia Day to January 24, to align with "council's goals and strategies around inclusion", after previously rebranding its Australia Day awards and moving them from January 26.
Hobart City Council
In 2017 Hobart City Council advocated to change the date of Australia Day and has since moved its community awards and citizenship ceremony from January 26.
Huon Valley Council
In 2022 Huon Valley Council renamed its Australia Day Awards the Huon Valley Community Awards and held them in May to "ensure no community members were excluded", due to the association with Australia Day.
Launceston City Council
In 2019, Launceston City Council voted to stop hosting Australia Day celebrations on January 26 out of respect for the Aboriginal community, but was forced to retain its Australia Day citizenship ceremony due to a Federal Government mandate that was ultimately scrapped in 2022.
South Australia
Adelaide Hills Council
In July 2023, Adelaide Hills Council voted to move its citizenship and awards ceremonies away from January 26 and stop supporting community events on the date, recognising "the difficulties of the [date] for First Nations Peoples".
Western Australia
Fremantle City Council
In 2017, Fremantle City Council cancelled its Australia Day celebrations and instead held a family friendly, "culturally inclusive" event on an alternative date, called One Day in Fremantle.
In 2023 the council decided to replace the event with a year-long program of Truth Telling in response to feedback from local Elders, "to shift our efforts towards learning more about the truth of our shared history", Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said.
Rockingham City Council
In 2023 Rockingham City Council voted to move its annual Australia Day awards and citizenship ceremony events to the Saturday nearest to January 26 (or Sunday if January 26 falls on a Saturday), following support from the City of Rockingham Aboriginal Advisory Group for the change.
Town of Cambridge
In 2024 the Town of Cambridge has pushed its Australia Day event to January 27 and re-named it to "Celebrate Summer", after earlier moving its citizenship ceremony to January 25.
Deputy Mayor Ben Mayes said the change would be "a bit more inclusive and an event that everyone [could] celebrate freely".
