Invasion Day 2026: Marches, Protests & Events Across Australia

This weekend sees Invasion Day events take place around the country for 2026, with tens of thousands of people expected to take to the streets to commemorate, protest, and stand in solidarity with community.

January 26 has only been celebrated as a public holiday since 1994, but First Nations communities have been marking it as Invasion Day, or a Day of Mourning since before 1938. It represents the destruction of Indigenous culture and knowledge, the loss of countless lives, and the dispossession of land.

With changes to the anti-protest restrictions made earlier this week, Sydney’s annual Invasion Day rally is scheduled to go ahead as usual, though community groups made it clear the restrictions would not have deterred them from marching.

Star Observer acknowledges that we cover the news that occurs on stolen land which was never ceded, and it is a vital part of our practice as journalists to acknowledge and respect this indisputable fact.

As queers, it is our responsibility to stand and fight alongside Indigenous peoples. We celebrate Pride on unceded and stolen land, and if we allow our celebrations to erase this fact, we are betraying a fundamental tenet of queer pride. When the 78ers marched down Oxford Street for the first time in the middle of winter, they called for an end to “police attacks on gays, women, and Blacks.” From the very beginning of modern Pride celebrations, our struggles have been intertwined. There can be no queer justice without First Nations justice.

In Gadigal (Sydney), Pride In Protest have organised a queer contingent to meet at Hyde Park at 9am.

This Invasion Day, and every day, we stand in solidarity with Gadigal, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Boon Wurrung, and Turrbal and Yuggera peoples, the rightful owners of the land we work on.

Invasion Day 2026 marches, protests and events

Gadigal (Sydney) and surrounds

• 5:20am, Dawn Reflection, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks
• 7:30am, WugulOra Morning Ceremony, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks
• 10am, Blak Caucus Invasion Day, Hyde Park
• 10am, Survival Day, Apex Park, Byron Bay
• 11am- Survival Day Katooma, Katoomba North Public School
• 5pm, Blak Powerhouse, Manning House, Camperdown
• 10am – 7pm, Yabun Festival, Victoria Park, Camperdown

Naarm (Melbourne) and surrounds

• 5:30am, Ballarat Survival Dawn Ceremony, View Point, Lake Wendouree
• 5am-7am-, Invasion Day Day Service, Camp Sovereignty, Melbourne
• 11am, WAR Invasion Day Protest, Victorian Parliament House
• 12pm – 5pm, Our Survival Day, The Briars, Mount Martha
• 11:30am, Share The Spirit Festival, Treasury Gardens

Meanjin (Brisbane) and surrounds

• 10am, Magandjin Invasion Day, Queens Gardens
• 9am, We Have Survived! Rally, Sunshine Coast City Hall, Maroochyadore

Gimuy (Cairns) and surrounds

• 9am, Day of Survival and Strength, Fogarty Park

Kaurna (Adelaide)

• 7:30am, Mourning in the Morning – Smoking Ceremony, Elder Park, King William Street
• 9am, Kura Yerlo Survival Day, North Haven Surf Life Saving Club
• 12pm, Invasion Day Rally, Tandanyangga (Victoria Square)
• 5pm-11pm- Aus Lights On The River, Elder Park

Ngunnawal (Canberra)

• 9:30am, Sovereignty Day Rally, Garema Place, Canberra
• 10am, Invasion Day Rally, Old Parliament House lawns

Boorloo (Perth)

• 8am-10am- Reflect Respect Celebrate Australia Day Smoking Ceremony and Community Breakfast, Victoria Gardens, East Perth
• 12pm, Invasion Day Rally, Forrest Place

Nipaluna (Hobart) and Limilinaturi (Devonport)

• 11am, Invasion Day March, Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre
• 11:30am, Limilinaturi Invasion Day, Talaminakali Health Service