This year marks 25 years of Reconciliation Australia but Australia’s formal reconciliation process began a decade earlier in 1991 with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
Following the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody with its recommendation to initiate a formal reconciliation process between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians, the Council was established through Commonwealth legislation with a 10-year sunset clause.
After 10 years, it was not surprising that the Council had only begun to make progress towards reconciliation. However, it helped build a people’s movement across a wide range of sectors. The Week of Prayer for Reconciliation (1993) expanded into National Reconciliation Week, and the Council’s work culminated in the nationwide Bridge Walks for Reconciliation in 2000. It also presented the Australian public with a Roadmap for Reconciliation, a series of national strategies designed to guide future efforts.
With the handing over of the baton, Reconciliation Australia was created to take forward the Council’s work, this time as a not-for-profit organisation independent of government.
Learning from the work of the Council and tasked with moving beyond sentiment and goodwill, the next two decades saw the development of the Indigenous Governance Program and Awards; Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs); the Australian Reconciliation Barometer and Workplace RAP Barometer; the Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education program; and more recently, the Community Truth-telling Pathways program.
All of these programs had the intent of expanding and engaging the people’s movement of the 90s into a growing network of active allies capable of making systemic change. To do this we had to make the concept of reconciliation and the challenges First Nations peoples faced, relevant to the lives of “ordinary” Australians.
Over the past 25 years, we’ve made sure our work has reached into workplaces, schools, communities and institutions across the country to shift both attitudes and behaviours and create the environment and incentive for change.
The RAP program, which began 20 years ago with just eight organisations, now numbers more than 3,300 involved in embedding reconciliation into everyday practice. Through their RAPs, these organisations have developed stronger relationships with First Nations communities and businesses through formal and informal partnerships that have helped direct billions to First Nations procurement, and supported staff and leaders to build on their understanding of First Nations cultures and experiences through increased participation in cultural learning and cultural immersion.
In education, Narragunnawali now supports more than half of Australian schools and early learning services to take a structured approach to reconciliation, creating culturally responsive and safe learning environments that welcome First Nations children and their families.
Our Indigenous Governance Program continues to elevate community-led governance practices, while the Community Truth-telling Pathways program is helping to build a community of best-practice in truth-telling that is First Nations community led, place based, strengths focused and action oriented.
The impact of this work is reflected not only in participation, but in building understanding and shifting mindsets.
Research from the Australian Reconciliation Barometer (ARB) shows that people engaged in formal reconciliation initiatives (like RAPs) have a stronger grasp of Australia’s history and a deeper commitment to action when compared to the general population. They are more likely to see truth-telling as essential to reconciliation and to recognise their role in the process.
But progress has never been linear. The ARB shows that awareness has grown significantly over the past 25 years as more Australians recognise the impacts of colonisation, support the idea of reconciliation, and agree that truth-telling is important. Yet, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ experiences of racism across all areas of life remain unacceptably high.
We see that growing awareness has not always translated into consistent action. For example, our research shows that the majority of non-Indigenous Australians recognise the importance of truth-telling but only some are actively participating in truth-telling opportunities.
The reconciliation movement must move people from understanding to action, and from action to impact.
This shift requires a broader base of participation and deepening levels of commitment.
We see growing support for reconciliation from multicultural communities but we need to provide more access to information and more opportunities to engage with a broader view of the histories and cultures of Australia and its First Peoples. Young Australians are leading in both awareness and willingness to act, offering momentum that must be supported and sustained.
At the same time, responsibility must be shared. Reconciliation isn’t the work of First Nations peoples alone. We have carried the weight of championing, explaining, and acting for far too long.
The work that remains requires all of us to join the reconciliation team, not out of guilt or shame, but as Australians who want to create a nation that embraces our shared histories and honours the unique cultures, rights and aspirations of First Australians to the benefit of all.
After 25 years, one thing is clear. If reconciliation is to succeed, it will require all of us to be All In. As the theme for National Reconciliation Week 2026, All In is a call to move beyond passive support and into active participation – challenging individuals, organisations and governments to contribute to meaningful, lasting change.
Looking ahead, Reconciliation Australia’s focus is to expand impact, deepen action and grow the movement.
The past 25 years have shown what is possible when we’re all in for reconciliation, but the work is far from finished.
Karen Mundine
Chief Executive Officer
