Nungya reflects on truth, Stolen Generations survivors and how acknowledgement must become practical, community-led action.
Today is National Sorry Day. It is a day for truth, respect and care for Stolen Generations survivors, their families and every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community still carrying the impact of forced child removal policies.
For Nungya Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation, Sorry Day is not only about remembrance. It is also about what we do next: how we listen, how we build safer spaces and how we turn acknowledgement into practical support.
Today is a day to remember and listen
National Sorry Day is held every year on 26 May. The date marks the tabling of the Bringing Them Home report in Federal Parliament on 26 May 1997. That report recorded the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were removed from their families, cultures and communities.
Sorry Day asks the country to face that history honestly. It asks people to listen without rushing past the grief. It also asks us to understand that the harm did not end when policies changed. The impacts continue through family separation, trauma, records and identity, health, housing, trust in services and the need for culturally safe support.
From Sorry to Action
This year, the national message is clear: sorry must be backed by action. Reconciliation Australia has highlighted the call to move from Sorry to Action, and The Healing Foundation is continuing to press for stronger commitments to Stolen Generations survivors and their families.
Current reporting on the new Sorry to Action: A Plan to Act on Bringing Them Home 2026-2028 has again shown how much unfinished work remains. Almost three decades after Bringing Them Home, only a small number of its recommendations have been fully implemented. That is why action matters: survivors are ageing, families still need support, and communities need real resources, not just words.
What action can look like close to home
Action does not always begin with something loud. Often it begins with making a place safer for someone to walk into.
- Safe spaces for men. Nungya’s men’s shed work is about belonging, routine and a place where men can build, yarn, learn and reconnect without shame.
- Support that respects lived experience. People should not have to explain trauma over and over just to be treated with dignity.
- Assistance animals and everyday confidence. Practical support can help people manage anxiety, isolation, disability and day-to-day stress.
- Community-led pathways. Healing is strongest when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lead the relationships, language, priorities and solutions.
A simple commitment for today
Today, we can pause. We can learn about the Stolen Generations. We can read survivor-led resources. We can support organisations that are doing the work. We can check whether our workplaces, services and community groups are creating culturally safe spaces, not just saying the right words.
For Nungya, the commitment is practical: keep building community-led support, keep making connection easier, keep backing healing with action and keep creating places where people are treated with respect.
Sorry Day belongs to truth. Action belongs to all of us.
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