Celebrating NAIDOC Week 2025

For 50 years NAIDOC Week has been honoring and elevating Indigenous voices, culture, and resilience. This year, the National NAIDOC Committee is honouring a legacy that reaches far into the past and extends into the future. This NAIDOC Week is in celebration of a movement that endures, grows, and evolves, and which is driven by the unwavering strength of communities.

The 2025 theme, "The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy," celebrates not only the achievements of the past but the bright future ahead, empowered by the strength of our young leaders, the vision of our communities, and the legacy of our ancestors.

Nurse and Midwife Support proudly supports the important work of national peak membership body CATSINaM who are dedicated to representing and advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses, midwives, and students around Australia.

On Saturday 28 June 2025 CATSINaM announced the passing of esteemed Elder and Founding Director Aunty Dr Sally Goold OAM. 

Aunty Dr Sally Goold OAM was a revered Wiradjuri woman dedicated to making an indelible mark within the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s healthcare. At the age of 16, she became the first Aboriginal nurse in New South Wales and spent her career pioneering the growth of Aboriginal registered nursing and midwifery in Australia.

As a founding member of CATSINaM, an Aboriginal elder, and an advocate for national nursing and midwifery education, regulation, and health service delivery, her life and work will only continue to inspire generations to come.

Dr Ali Drummond, CATSINaM CEO and registered nurse, joined our podcast last year to discuss the importance of Cultural Safety and Cultural Humility in nursing and midwifery. You can listen to that episode - as well as all of our other podcasts - free on our website.

NMS Podcast Episode 42: Cultural Safety with Dr. Ali Drummon

Education and training is a key pillar of cultural safety in the workplace. CATSINaM launched an online self-paced Murra Mullungari training program that focuses on practical applications in clinical contexts.

The Nurse and Midwife Support team completed the training program in January encourages all nurses and midwives around Australia to do the same.

Podcasts

Listen to Episode 9 where Catherine Chamberlain and Tanisha Edwards share their experience, knowledge and skill supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and families. 

Listen to Episode 41 where first Aboriginal Nurse Practitioner Lesley Salem shares her passion for nursing, her experiences of racism and her dedication to mentoring student nurses.

Listen to Episode 43 where Aboriginal Liaison Officer Aunty Gina Bundle and midwife Alexandrea Burton discuss why and how the Baggarrook Midwifery Service is recreating traditional practices in a contemporary settings.

Stay tuned for our upcoming podcast episode featuring Amber Gibson, a nursing graduate in paediatric oncology at Children Health Queensland, and proud Wiradjuri woman. She talks about life as a graduate nurse and why she’s dedicated to supporting and mentoring initiative such as the Aboriginal cadetship program.

Newsletters

Read Edition 21 of our newsletter where we continue to celebrate the stories and work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives.

Blogs

Read Tessa Moriarty’s reflection piece ‘Lessons I needed in Cultural Safety and Humility’ and learn how First Nations colleagues, CATSINaM, and her own mistakes helped her reevaluate her perspective and dedicate her career to the pursuit of Cultural Safety and Humility in nursing practice.

Nurse & Midwife Support encourages all Australians to celebrate NAIDOC Week. Learn how to get involved and support your local First Nations communities here.

If any nurse, midwife or student needs support please contact Nurse & Midwife Support on 1800 667 877. We are here for you 24/7 anywhere in Australia.