Building the future: Aboriginal strength and vision through community leadership

NAIDOC Week 2025

National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week is held every year to recognise and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia. In 2025, this date marks a significant milestone with NAIDOC being a time of national observance and advocacy for 50 years.

Each year during the first week of July (from 6 to 13 July in 2025), NAIDOC Week invites all Australians to connect with the world’s oldest continuous cultures, and to take part in events that honour the strength, leadership, and ongoing contributions of Australia’s First Nations communities. It’s a time to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and look ahead to a future shaped by self-determination, culture and community.

This year’s theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy”, celebrates the powerful leadership of young people while acknowledging the guidance of Elders and the legacy they’ve built. It’s a reminder that strong communities are grounded in culture and built on generations of knowledge and experience.

As part of NAIDOC Week 2025, we had the opportunity to engage with representatives from Mallee District Aboriginal Services (MDAS), an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO). This organisation is deeply connected to the communities it serves and is leading change through culturally safe care, youth empowerment, and community-driven programs.

This conversation highlights what NAIDOC Week means to their team and community, the ways they support youth as emerging leaders, and how culture and legacy continue to shape their everyday work.

Mallee District Aboriginal Services

Mallee District Aboriginal Services (MDAS) is a leading Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) serving communities across the Mallee region of north-west Victoria. For 30 years, MDAS has delivered culturally safe support services led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the aim of strengthening self-determination through community-led care and decision-making.

MDAS offers extensive person-centred support through a multidisciplinary team. Its integrated services include medical care, such as GP clinics and maternal and child health among others, and social wellbeing programs for mental health, housing support and more for families, youth and Elders.

MDAS is deeply committed to nurturing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, with more than half of its staff identifying as either. The organisation invests in growing a strong, culturally connected workforce to ensure its services reflect and respond to community values and lived experience.

Additionally, MDAS’s focus on delivering high-quality, culturally safe services is backed by its demonstrated commitment and achievement of multi-accreditation against national frameworks with AGPAL’s RACGP Standards 5th edition and QIP’s QIC Health and Community Service Standards.

We were thrilled to hear from Rey Lucas, Quality & Governance Manager, and the wider team about the impactful work they do in local communities and their initiatives and thoughts on this year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations.

Celebrating NAIDOC Week: pride and community spirit

For MDAS, NAIDOC Week is a time of pride, reflection, and celebration in which the team sees an opportunity to honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, history, and achievements while recognising the strength of its people.

Rey shared that MDAS celebrates this important week through a range of community-led events “such as our Flag Raising and Family Fun days, health promotion stalls, yarning circles, and school visits — all guided by local and cultural voices” and designed to bring people together in the spirit of unity and respect.

In the lead-up to NAIDOC Week 2025, MDAS is also part of a newly established Cultural Significant Events Committee in the region. This partnership between local Aboriginal organisations and government bodies ensures that all celebrations truly reflect the community’s rich cultural heritage. “Our aim is to hear as many voices as possible, ensuring we reflect the diversity of our community and deliver culturally respectful and inclusive experiences for all,” the MDAS team explains. By collaborating with different organisations, MDAS helps deliver meaningful events, fostering clear communication and creating strong connections that strengthen community relationships.

Empowering the next generation guided by Elders’ legacy

Aligned with the 2025 theme of celebrating the next generation and the legacy of Elders, MDAS emphasises the importance of empowering young Indigenous people while carrying on the wisdom of past generations. The organisation runs mentoring and leadership programs to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in pursuing careers in health and community services. By investing in young people’s development, MDAS is nurturing future leaders who are culturally grounded and equipped to continue this important work.

Equally important is the guidance Elders provide to the organisation’s services and decision-making. “Our Elders are our wisdom and knowledge holders, and extremely influential in shaping and mapping out our services” Rey shares. “They inform our cultural governance, guide our health messaging, and ensure our programs are culturally respectful.” Their wisdom keeps MDAS grounded, while helping to build a future that reflects their teachings and passes that knowledge on to the next generation. Both youth and Elders play a vital role – youth bring new vision and energy, and Elders provide cultural guidance.

Embedding culture in care: holistic and community-led healing

Embedding culture into its health and wellbeing programs is a key priority for MDAS. The organisation incorporates Aboriginal cultural values and traditional knowledge into its care services, from bush medicine and healing practices to creating culturally safe yarning spaces for open conversation and support. Programs are developed with respect for cultural protocols and are often designed by communities themselves, ensuring they connect physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.

This community-controlled approach ensures high-quality clinical services with culturally safe care rooted in self-determination. As a trusted service provider, MDAS continues delivering sustainable, grassroots programs that provide local communities with a strong voice in their healthcare journeys, encouraging autonomy through services that reflect local values and knowledge.

Continuous improvement: strengthening community connections

As an AGPAL and QIP accredited organisation, MDAS places great importance on quality improvement initiatives that enhance service delivery and community engagement. One recent accomplishment shared by the team is the implementation of an internal communications team dedicated to keeping the community informed, engaged, and empowered. The team explains how this has transformed the way MDAS shares information and updates: “Through improved communication channels, regular updates, and culturally appropriate messaging, we are better able to share important information, celebrate community achievements, and promote access to our programs and services.”

Looking ahead: a legacy for future generations

As MDAS looks to the future, it is clear about the legacy they want to leave for the next generation, a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to lead their own health services. Reflecting on the organisation’s long-term goals, Rey shared, “We aim to leave a legacy of empowered, healthy communities, grounded in culture, led by our people.”

MDAS hopes for the next generation to inherit a strong, self-determined health system that reflects their identities, values, and aspirations. Achieving this means continuing to honour the wisdom of Elders and the power of community in every initiative. By “striving to do better and give back to serve our next generation of youth”, the organisation is laying the foundations for today’s young people to thrive as tomorrow’s leaders, carrying forward the strength, vision, and legacy that NAIDOC Week 2025 proudly celebrates.

Honouring legacy, empowering future generations

NAIDOC Week is a great reminder of the strength, legacy, and vision that continue to shape Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia. Through the work of organisations like Mallee District Aboriginal Services we can recognise this year’s theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy”. These Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations continue delivering culturally safe, community-led care, while also empowering young leaders, guided by the wisdom of Elders, to strengthen culture through every service they provide.