What is National Sorry Day?

Each year, 26 May marks National Sorry Day, acknowledging the Stolen Generations — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly removed from their families between the mid-1800s and 1980s — and the tabling of the Bringing them home report in 1997.

National Sorry Day is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about and acknowledge the truth of Australia’s Stolen Generations history and the ongoing, intergenerational impacts caused by past policies of forced removal.

National Sorry Day 2026

National Sorry Day 2026 marks the 29th anniversary of the tabling of the Bringing them home report in 1997. The Bringing them home report shared this history with the nation and made wide-ranging recommendations to address the enormous harm caused to Stolen Generations survivors and their families. 

A generation on, many of these crucial actions have not been taken. We have lost many survivors over the decades since the report, and time is running out for those who are left to see justice.  

Sorry without action is not enough. This year’s national theme, From Sorry to Action, reflects expectations that governments take urgent steps to create tangible and measurable change within survivors’ lifetimes.

This moment demands leadership, accountability and action.

We encourage you to mark National Sorry Day on 26 May, and to stand with us to ensure this day is part of an ongoing commitment to truth-telling, healing and justice.

Priority actions are needed in these areas:

• Most survivors are eligible for aged care but are faced with an aged care system which often re-triggers the trauma of institutionalisation.
• Queensland is yet to introduce a redress scheme, and other state and territory schemes are flawed.
• Many survivors and families still don’t have access to their records which hold their stories. 
• Stolen Generations organisations that support survivors on the ground are often either volunteer-run or receive project funding only, which doesn’t allow for the workforce and organisational investment needed to build and retain organisations, staff and expertise. 

As we head to May 2027 – 30 years since the Bringing them home report was tabled – we must be focused on moving from Sorry to Action.

Events

Visit our events page to see local events being held across Australia. More events will be added regularly.

Find a National Sorry Day event near you

Hosting an event? If you’d like us to list it, please share the details with us here.

Can you help us promote National Sorry Day? 

We’ve put together a suite of shareable resources to help you promote National Sorry Day 2026 across your networks and social channels.

Download the social media kit. It includes a short campaign explainer plus some ready-to-post tiles with captions.

You’ll also find a colouring-in sheet (for the young and young at heart), a National Sorry Day fact sheet, and downloadable Teams backgrounds.

Watch and share our National Sorry Day videos. In the first, our CEO Shannan Dodson (Yawuru) discusses this year’s theme From Sorry to Action —and why urgent change and accountability matter for Stolen Generations survivors and their families. 

The second video is grounded in the voices of survivors and highlights why implementing only 6% of Bringing them home recommendations over 29 years just isn’t good enough. 

We’ll be sharing Sorry Day videos and campaign content across our channels too—please like, comment and share to help extend the message in the lead up to National Sorry Day.

Learn more about Australia’s history and Stolen Generations survivors 

We’ve got some really useful resources already on our website, and the lead up to National Sorry Day is the perfect time to check them out and learn more.