View source for Australian Aboriginal flag

{{short description|Official flag representing Aboriginal Australians}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = Australian Aboriginal flag
| Image = Australian Aboriginal Flag.svg
| Imagetext = 
| Alt = 
| Noborder = 
| Nickname = Aboriginal Flag
| Morenicks = Indigenous Flag
| Use = Flag of [[Aboriginal Australians]]
| Symbol = 
| Proportion = 2:3 (originally), 1:2 (commonly used)
| Adoption = 14 July 1995
| Design = A horizontal bicolour of black and red with a yellow disc in the centre
| Designer = [[Harold Thomas (artist)|Harold Thomas]]
}}

[[File:Aboriginal Flag 30th anniversary event, Adelaide.jpg|thumb|264px|Marching from Parliament House down King William Street to Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga, [[Adelaide]], to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Aboriginal flag, 8 July 2001]]
The '''Australian Aboriginal flag'''<!--lower-case "flag" settled by discussion 21 February 2024; do not change--> is an [[List of Australian flags|official flag of Australia]] that represents [[Aboriginal Australians]]. It was granted official status in 1995 under the ''[[Flags Act 1953]]'', together with the [[Torres Strait Islander flag]], in order to advance [[Reconciliation in Australia|reconciliation]] and in recognition of the importance and acceptance of the flag by the Australian community.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Aboriginal flag|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/aboriginal-flag|access-date=2024-08-06|website=[[Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies]]|date=8 March 2022|archive-date=25 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625153220/https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/aboriginal-flag|url-status=live}}</ref> The two flags are often flown together with the [[Flag of Australia|Australian national flag]].

The Australian Aboriginal flag was designed by Aboriginal artist [[Harold Thomas (artist)|Harold Thomas]] in 1971, and it was first flown in [[Adelaide]] in July of that year. Thomas held the [[intellectual property rights]] to the flag's design until January 2022, when he transferred the copyright to the [[Australian Government|Commonwealth government]]. The flag was designed for the [[Indigenous land rights in Australia|land rights movement]] and became a symbol of Aboriginal people of Australia.

The flag is horizontally and equally divided into a black region (above) and a red region (below); a yellow disc is superimposed over the centre of the flag.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/students/student_symbols/docs/australian_aboriginal_flag.pdf|title=Australian Aboriginal Flag|date=15 May 2009|website=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet|publisher=[[Australian Government]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515041304/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/students/student_symbols/docs/australian_aboriginal_flag.pdf|archive-date=15 May 2009|access-date=21 December 2017}}</ref> The overall proportions of the flag, as proclaimed and in its original design, are 2:3; however, the flag is often reproduced in the proportions 1:2 as with the Australian national flag.<ref>The proclamations and the Flags Act (for the Australian National Flag and the Australian Red Ensign) do not specify overall proportions but show the flags as images.</ref>

==Status==
On 14 July 1995, the [[Keating government]] advised the proclamation of the Aboriginal flag as "the flag of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and to be known as the Australian Aboriginal flag", under section five of the ''[[Flags Act 1953]]''. The proclamation noted that the flag was "recognised as the flag of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and a flag of significance to the Australian nation generally".<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240551972|title=Flags Act 1953 Proclamation|journal=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette|date=14 July 1995|issue=S259}}</ref> Due to an administrative oversight, the 1995 proclamation was not lodged so that it would continue in force indefinitely; hence it automatically expired on 1 January 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2008L00209/asmade/2008-01-25/supplementaryes/1/pdf|title=Explanatory Statement|website=Federal Registrar of Legislation|date=2021-10-19|access-date=7 August 2024|archive-date=7 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807064256/https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2008L00209/asmade/2008-01-25/supplementaryes/1/pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It was therefore almost identically replaced, on 25 January 2008, with effect as from 1&nbsp;January.<ref name="2008 proc">{{cite web|url=http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2008L00209|title=Flags Act 1953{{mdash}}Proclamation (Australian Aboriginal Flag)|date=25 January 2008|publisher=[[Federal Register of Legislation]]|access-date=5 July 2022|archive-date=2 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302072458/http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2008L00209|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Design==
[[File:Flag of the Australian Aborigines.svg|thumb|A version of the flag in 1:2 proportions]]

===Symbolic meaning===
The symbolic meaning of the flag colours (as stated by Harold Thomas) are:<ref name="NAIDOC">{{cite web|url=http://www.naidoc.org.au/indigenous-australian-flags/|title=Indigenous Australian flags|access-date=23 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706125805/http://www.naidoc.org.au/about/indigenous-australian-flags/|archive-date=6 July 2011|url-status=dead}} Also Schedule 2 to each of the proclamations.</ref>

* Black – "represents the Aboriginal people of Australia"
* Yellow circle – "represents the Sun, the giver of life and protector"
* Red – "represents the red earth, the red ochre used in ceremonies and Aboriginal peoples' spiritual relation to the land"

Discussing the process of designing the flag in a copyright trial, Thomas also elaborated that the black represented "black consciousness, black awareness, black power [and] be[ing] proud of your blackness". The other colours of yellow and red were sourced from the predominant colours used to decorate [[Pukumani Poles|pukamani poles]]. Thomas also explained why the black was placed above the red stripe:

{{Blockquote|text=I wanted to make it unsettling. In normal circumstances you'd have the darker colour at the bottom and the lighter colour on top and that would be visibly appropriate for anybody looking at it. It wouldn't unsettle you. To give a shock to the viewer to have it on top had a dual purpose, was to unsettle{{spaces}}... The other factor why I had it on top was the Aboriginal people walk on top of the land.}}

Others, including [[Nova Peris|Nova Perris]] and social worker Tileah Drahm-Butler, have also interpreted the red as representing the blood shed by Aboriginal people.<ref>{{cite Hansard|title=Select Committee on the Aboriginal Flag – 24/09/2020 – Aboriginal flag design|jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia|house=House of Representatives|date=24 September 2020|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=committees/commsen/d4eeb3aa-ae60-440d-b60b-769b4bf4e9c9/&sid=0004|speaker=Peris, Nova|speaker-link=Nova Peris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124225117/https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=committees%2Fcommsen%2Fd4eeb3aa-ae60-440d-b60b-769b4bf4e9c9%2F&sid=0004|url-status=live|archive-date=24 January 2022}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124230403/https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=committees/commsen/d4eeb3aa-ae60-440d-b60b-769b4bf4e9c9/&sid=0004 |date=24 January 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Drahm-Butler|first=Tileah|date=13 November 2020|title=Decolonising Social Work|url=https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/decolonising-social-work|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124223503/https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/decolonising-social-work|archive-date=24 January 2022|access-date=25 January 2021|publisher=The University of Melbourne|quote=The red of the flag can have two meanings – it's the earth and the blood of the people.}}</ref>

===Colours===
[[File:Australian Aboriginal Flag (Pantone).svg|thumb|A 2:3 version of the flag using RGB approximations of the official [[Pantone]] colours]]
The official colour specifications of the Australian Aboriginal flag are:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Style manual for authors, editors and printers.|last=Australia.|date=2002|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Australia|others=Snooks & Co.|isbn=9780701636487|edition=6th|location=Canberra|pages=300|oclc=49316140}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
!Scheme
! style="background:#D22630; color:#fff;" colspan="2" |Red
! style="background:#FFC72C; color:#000000;" colspan="2" |Yellow
! style="background:#000000; color:#fff;" colspan="2" |Black
|-
|[[Pantone]]
|1795 C (or 179 C<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/australian-national-symbols/australian-flags|title=Australian flags|last=Cabinet|first=Prime Minister and|date=27 June 2016|website=pmc.gov.au|access-date=21 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041858/https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/australian-national-symbols/australian-flags|url-status=live}}</ref>)
| style="background:#D22630"|
|123 C
| style="background:#ffc72c"|
|Black C
| style="background:#000000"|
|-
|[[RGB color model|RGB]]<br/>([[Hex color|Hex]])
|204–0–0<br/>(#CC0000)
| style="background:#CC0000"|
|255–255–0<br/>(#FFFF00)
| style="background:#FFFF00"|
|0–0–0<br/>(#000000)
| style="background:#000000"|
|-
|[[CMYK color model|CMYK]]
|0%–100%–100%–30%
| style="background:#B30000"|
|0%–0%–100%–0%
| style="background:#FFFF00"|
|0%–0%–0%–100%
| style="background:#000000"|
|}
In most cases, on-screen or digital reproductions of the flag should use the RGB colours as in the table above. When displaying in physical fabric formats, it is much preferred to use the [[Pantone]] specifications. When printing on paper, the [[CMYK color model|CMYK]] colours are superior.

===Shape===
The original design was in the proportion 2:3, rather than 1:2, to make the flag more "squared up", as Thomas felt that the Australian Flag, at 1:2, was too long.<ref>{{Cite AustLII|litigants=Thomas v Brown|source=FCA|num=215|year=1997}}.</ref>

==History==
[[File:Aboriginal Flag Tent Embassy 1974.jpg|thumb|The Aboriginal flag at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1974]]
Harold Thomas first discussed the need to create an Aboriginal flag with [[Gary Foley]], several days or months before [[National Aborigines Day Observance Committee]] (NADOC) day in 1971. He first thought about the need for an Aboriginal symbol after attending a protest in 1970 when Aboriginal people were unrecognisable in a crowd of mostly white supporters. Thomas recalls that the Aboriginal flag came to him fully formed in a moment of inspiration, independently or in conversation with Foley.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gallois |first=Mathieu |date=1 July 2016 |title=The 'Aboriginal flag' as art |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.520864522777320 |journal=[[Australian Aboriginal Studies]] |issue=2 |pages=46–47 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Once he had come up with the design, Thomas selected cloth at the [[Harris Scarfe]] store in [[Rundle Mall]], Adelaide. The first flag was sewn together by Sandra Lee Hanson, a colleague of Thomas working at the [[South Australian Museum]]. While the original flag is lost, offcuts from the flag were found in the museum in 2014.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Sarah |date=29 December 2014 |title=Black Circle May Prove Missing Link to Lost First Aboriginal Flag |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/black-circle-may-prove-missing-link-to-lost-first-aboriginal-flag/news-story/2ec19f1dd876f39fe6a27e0d9462c361 |url-access=subscription |work=[[The Australian]] |page=3}}</ref>

The flag was first flown on NADOC day in [[Victoria Square, Adelaide|Victoria Square]] in [[Adelaide]] on 9 July 1971 during a land rights rally.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Australian Aboriginal flag|url=https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/australian-aboriginal-flag/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-08|website=City of Adelaide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719032604/https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/australian-aboriginal-flag/|archive-date=19 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="NAIDOC" /> The flag was later adopted by the [[Redfern, New South Wales|Redfern]] Black Caucus, with members of the group going on to found the [[Aboriginal Tent Embassy]] in [[Canberra]], where the flag was used from late 1972. The original flag possibly flew here or remained in South Australia.<ref name=":0" /> In the early months of the embassy—which was established in February that year—other designs were used, including flags with the black, red and green colours of the [[Pan-African flag]] as a symbol of black consciousness,<ref>{{cite book|last=Foley|first=Gary|date=2014|editor-last1=Schaap|editor-first1=Andrew|editor-last2=Foley|editor-first2=Gary|editor-last3=Howell|editor-first3=Edwina|title=The Aboriginal Tent Embassy: Sovereignty, Black Power, Land Rights and the State|publisher=Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon|pages=22–41|chapter=A reflection on the first thirty days of the Embassy|isbn=9780415538701|chapter-url=https://kooriweb.org/foley/essays/pdf_essays/embassy.pdf}}</ref> and a flag with a red-black field containing a spear and four crescents in yellow.

[[File:Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Australian flags outside the Australian Parliament House in July 2016.jpg|thumb|right|The Australian Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Australian flags being flown outside [[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] to mark [[NAIDOC Week]]]]
[[Cathy Freeman]] caused controversy at the [[1994 Commonwealth Games]] by carrying the Aboriginal flag as well as the [[Flag of Australia|Australian national flag]] during her [[victory lap]] of the arena, after winning the 200 metres sprint; only the national flag is meant to be displayed. Despite strong criticism from both Games officials and Australian team president [[Arthur Tunstall]], Freeman carried both flags again after winning the 400 metres.

[[File:Aboriginal Flag, Invasion Day march, Redfern, 26 January 2018.JPG|thumb|Australian Aboriginal flag, [[Australia Day|"Invasion Day"]] protest march, Sydney, 2018]]
In 1995, the [[Keating government]] advised the governor-general to give the flag official status as a flag of Australia, through a proclamation under the ''Flags Act''. In a statement, the minister for Administrative Services argued this reflected the government's support for Aboriginal pride and reconciliation.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Brough|first=Jodie|date=1 July 1995|title=Cathy's flag gets official blessing|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|page=1}}</ref> However, the decision was criticised at the time by [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]] opposition leader [[John Howard]]. He stated that the recognition "would rightly be seen by many in the community not as an act of reconciliation but as a divisive gesture"<ref>From a statement of 4 July 1995, cited on [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/au-ab_st.html Flags of the World website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701161255/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/au-ab_st.html |date=1 July 2011 }}. Retrieved 13 July 2011.</ref> and that "No matter how these flags bulk large in the affections of our indigenous people, they can only ever be symbols for one section of the Australian community."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wallace|first=Christine|date=5 July 1995|title=Howard opposes recognising black flag|work=Australian Financial Review|page=4}}</ref> The move was also criticised by the designer of the flag, Harold Thomas, arguing that the flag "doesn't need any more recognition"<ref>Harold Thomas in ''Land Rights News'', July 1995, p. 3, cited in [http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/dowembassy.htm#symbolism Aboriginal Tent Embassy: Icon or Eyesore?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219200648/http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/dowembassy.htm#symbolism |date=19 February 2018 }}</ref> and that "This move will mean that the flag has been taken over by the white man and will lose its potency as a symbol."<ref>{{Cite news|date=6 July 1995|title=Harold Thomas Opposes Aboriginal Flag Recognition|work=[[Australian Associated Press]]}}</ref>

The National Indigenous Advisory Committee campaigned for the Aboriginal flag to be flown at [[Stadium Australia]] during the [[2000 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coolrunning.com.au/olympic/1998g024.shtml|title=Aboriginal flag to fly?|work=Cool Running Australia|date=25 September 1998|access-date=11 March 2008|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303194229/http://www.coolrunning.com.au/olympic/1998g024.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games|Olympics organisers]] announced that the Aboriginal flag would be flown at Olympic venues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/2000/aug/21abo.htm|title=Aboriginal flag to fly at Olympic venues|work=rediff.com|date=21 August 2000|access-date=27 June 2010|archive-date=8 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608222537/http://www.rediff.com/sports/2000/aug/21abo.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The flag has been flown over the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] during the march for [[wiktionary:reconciliation|reconciliation]] of 2000 and many other events, including [[Australia Day]]. Since July 2022, the flag has been flown on the Harbour Bridge permanently, alongside the Australian national flag.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-11/aboriginal-flag-replaces-nsw-flag-atop-sydney-harbour-bridge-/101225916|last=Roe|first=Isobel|title=Aboriginal flag to replace NSW flag atop Sydney Harbour Bridge|website=ABC News|date=11 July 2022|
access-date=20 November 2025}}</ref>  On the 30th anniversary of the flag in 2001, thousands of people were involved in a ceremony where the flag was carried from the [[Parliament of South Australia]] to Victoria Square.<ref name=recon>{{cite web|url=http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/reconciliation/flag.htm|title=Reconciliation|publisher=Adelaidecitycouncil.com|access-date=27 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902154303/http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/reconciliation/flag.htm|archive-date=2 September 2006}}</ref>

==Use==
[[File:Victoria Square Aboriginal Flag.jpg|The Aboriginal flag flying in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga, Adelaide (2013), near where the flag was first flown|thumb]]

===Public buildings and locations===
The first city council to fly the Aboriginal flag was [[Newcastle City Council, New South Wales|Newcastle City Council]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite book|author=Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation|title=Walking Together: The First Steps. Report of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation to Federal Parliament 1991–94|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/car/1994/1/index.html|access-date=10 March 2008|year=1994|publisher=Australian Government Printing Service|chapter=Chapter 19. Newcastle: Building a Community|chapter-url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/car/1994/1/168.html|author-link=Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation|archive-date=5 December 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205160527/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/car/1994/1/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 8 July 2002, the [[Adelaide City Council]] endorsed the permanent flying of the Aboriginal flag close to the location of its first raising at Victoria Square in 1971 (now dual-named Tarntanyangga), which now flies adjacent to the [[Flag of Australia|Australian flag]].<ref name=council>{{cite web|website=City of Adelaide|url=https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/australian-aboriginal-flag/|title=Australian Aboriginal flag|access-date=21 April 2021|archive-date=19 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719032604/https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/australian-aboriginal-flag/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/indigenous-australian-flags|website=NAIDOC|title=Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags|access-date=21 April 2021|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421020520/https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/indigenous-australian-flags|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Aboriginal flag|website=Adelaidia|date=17 December 2013|first=Mandy|last=Paul|url=https://adelaidia.history.sa.gov.au/things/aboriginal-flag|access-date=21 April 2021|archive-date=7 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407103939/https://adelaidia.history.sa.gov.au/things/aboriginal-flag|url-status=live}}</ref> It has also been flown in front of [[Adelaide Town Hall]] since the same date.<ref name=recon/>

Various councils in Australian towns fly the Aboriginal flag from the town halls, such as [[Bendigo]] (adopted in 2005).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?page_Id=950&h=0|title=City of Greater Bendigo – Aboriginal Flag To Permanently Fly From Town Hall|publisher=Bendigo.vic.gov.au|date=21 April 2005|access-date=27 June 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314163339/http://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/page/page.asp?page_Id=950&h=0|archive-date=14 March 2011}}</ref> The flag is also flown at many other public buildings such as a number of the state Parliament Houses including that of Victoria.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/news/2770-aboriginal-flag-flying-forever-at-parliament|title=Aboriginal Flag flying forever at Parliament|publisher=Parliament of Victoria|date=15 September 2015|access-date=29 January 2022|archive-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129234954/https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/news/2770-aboriginal-flag-flying-forever-at-parliament|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In April 2021, Regional NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said that he would like to see the flag flown at every [[New South Wales Police]] regional police station in the state, expanding from the 12 of the 89 then flying it.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wainwright|first=Sofie|title=NSW Police works to fly Aboriginal flag permanently at more regional stations|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=21 April 2021|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-21/nsw-police-stations-flying-aboriginal-flags/100081762|access-date=21 April 2021|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420224451/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-21/nsw-police-stations-flying-aboriginal-flags/100081762|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Australian Aboriginal flag has been hoisted alongside the Australian national flag as a permanent feature of the Australian Embassy in [[Dublin]], Ireland, since 5 March 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2021/0305/1201114-australian-embassy-flag/|title=Aboriginal flag flies at Australian embassy in Dublin|date=5 March 2021|publisher=RTÉ}}</ref>

[[File:The 3 Flags of Australia.jpg|thumb|The [[Flag of Australia|Australian national]], Aboriginal and [[Torres Strait Islander flag|Torres Strait Islander]] flags as they are often displayed at official events]]
Following the [[2022 Australian federal election]] on 21 May 2022, the incoming [[Anthony Albanese]] led [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] government started displaying the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag alongside the national flag at ministerial press conferences.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2022/05/23/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-flags-flank-prime-ministers-debut1|title=Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flags flank Prime Minister's debut|date=23 May 2022|publisher=[[National Indigenous Television]]|first=Rachael|last=Knowles|access-date=4 June 2022|archive-date=4 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604082029/https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2022/05/23/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-flags-flank-prime-ministers-debut1|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon the opening of the [[47th Parliament of Australia|new Parliament]], both flags began to be displayed in the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and [[Australian Senate|Senate]] chambers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/senate-president-sue-lines-no-longer-wants-the-lords-prayer-read-before-each-sitting-day-in-parliament/news-story/d6700e000160a526ee7a494274a42f64|title=Senate President Sue Lines no longer wants the Lord's Prayer read before each sitting day in Parliament|date=28 July 2022|publisher=[[Sky News Australia]]|first=Jack|last=Mahony|access-date=28 July 2022|archive-date=28 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728045545/https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/senate-president-sue-lines-no-longer-wants-the-lords-prayer-read-before-each-sitting-day-in-parliament/news-story/d6700e000160a526ee7a494274a42f64|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 27 May 2022, at the start of [[National Reconciliation Week]], both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were hoisted on the front lawn of [[Government House, Adelaide]], to be permanently flown alongside the national flag and the [[South Australian flag]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Opie|first=Rebecca|title=Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags permanently fly at Government House|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=27 May 2022|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-27/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-flags-permanently-fly/101104308|access-date=4 June 2022|archive-date=4 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604060913/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-27/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-flags-permanently-fly/101104308|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Other authorised uses===
The sale of [[condom]]s in the colours of the Aboriginal flag won a public health award in 2005 for the initiative's success in improving safe sex practices among young Indigenous people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-11-10/aboriginal-flag-condoms-win-health-award/737078|title=Aboriginal flag condoms win health award|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=10 November 2005|access-date=7 January 2014|archive-date=7 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107055131/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-11-10/aboriginal-flag-condoms-win-health-award/737078|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://healthbulletin.org.au/articles/dont-let-your-community-get-bitten-ask-for-a-snake/|last1=Molloy|first1=Rachel|last2=Greet|first2=Bev|last3=Knight|first3=Ken|journal=Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin|title=Don't let your community get bitten. Ask for a snake|year=2005|volume=5|issue=1: Brief report|access-date=30 October 2023|archive-date=29 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029214702/https://healthbulletin.org.au/articles/dont-let-your-community-get-bitten-ask-for-a-snake/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Aboriginal-designed [[emoji]]s titled Indigemojis and including the flag on several designs, were released in December 2019 via an app,<ref>{{cite web|last=Ward|first=Sarah|date=21 December 2019|title=Australia's First Set of Indigenous Emojis Are Now Available to Download|url=https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/design-style/australias-first-set-of-indigenous-emojis-are-on-their-way-to-your-phone|access-date=21 April 2021|website=Concrete Playground|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125202454/https://concreteplayground.com/sydney/design-style/australias-first-set-of-indigenous-emojis-are-on-their-way-to-your-phone|url-status=live}}</ref> with the permission of Harold Thomas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/12/indigenous-emojis-featuring-aboriginal-flag-and-boomerang-to-be-launched|last=Taylor|first=Josh|title=Indigenous emojis featuring Aboriginal flag and boomerang to be released|work=The Guardian|date=12 July 2019|access-date=12 July 2019}}</ref>

===Proposed, unauthorised and other uses===
[[File:Invasion Day Protest Swanston St Melbourne 2019.jpg|thumb|A number of Aboriginal flags at an Invasion Day Protest in Melbourne, 2019]]
The Aboriginal flag is often included in various proposed designs to [[Australian flag debate|replace the current Australian Flag]]. One proposal has been to substitute the [[Union Flag]], located in the canton of the Australian Flag, with the Aboriginal flag. Harold Thomas said of this idea: "I wouldn′t reject it out of hand, but I could make a decision to say no. Our flag is not a secondary thing. It stands on its own, not to be placed as an adjunct to any other thing. It shouldn't be treated that way."<ref>{{cite web|title=Replace the Union Jack with the Aboriginal Flag|website=Ausflag|url=https://www.ausflag.com.au/replace_the_union_jack.asp|access-date=21 April 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512082812/https://www.ausflag.com.au/replace_the_union_jack.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[science fiction film]] ''[[Event Horizon (film)|Event Horizon]]'', actor [[Sam Neill]], himself a New Zealander, designed a flag for use on his sleeve as the way he thought the Australian flag should look in 2047, which incorporated the Aboriginal flag.<ref>"[http://www.ausflag.com.au/flag_waived.asp Flag Waived] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229063542/http://ausflag.com.au/flag_waived.asp |date=29 February 2016 }}." AusFlag: Article from ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 14 October 1997. Retrieved 2015-09-15.</ref>

The Australian Aboriginal flag is celebrated in the painting ''[[The First Supper]]'' (1988) by [[Susan Dorothea White]] where the central figure is an Aboriginal woman who displays the flag on her T-shirt.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Susan Dorothea White The First Supper|last=Norton|first=Kylie|work=Susan Dorothea White|access-date=27 August 2016|url=http://www.susandwhite.com.au/enlarge.php?workID=94|archive-date=27 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827175628/http://www.susandwhite.com.au/enlarge.php?workID=94|url-status=live}}</ref>

The flag was to be part of the logo on Google Australia's home page on [[Australia Day]] 2010, but the company was forced to modify the design due to its creator Harold Thomas demanding payment if Google were to use it.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/oh-dear-google-flagged-over-logo-dispute-20100126-mvhd.html|title=Oh dear: Google flagged over logo dispute|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=26 January 2010|access-date=27 June 2010|first=Asher|last=Moses|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704160703/http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/oh-dear-google-flagged-over-logo-dispute-20100126-mvhd.html|archive-date=4 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

The anti-Islamic group [[Reclaim Australia]] used the flag at their protests in 2015, which was condemned by the flag's creator, Harold Thomas, who called it "idiotic".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newmatilda.com/2015/04/08/father-aboriginal-flag-slams-reclaim-australia-idiotic-appropriation/|title=Oh dear: Father of the Aboriginal Flag Slams Reclaim Australia For 'Idiotic' Appropriation|last=McQuire|first=Amy|date=8 April 2015|access-date=26 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827010051/https://newmatilda.com/2015/04/08/father-aboriginal-flag-slams-reclaim-australia-idiotic-appropriation|archive-date=27 August 2015|url-status=live|publisher=newmatilda.com.au}}</ref>

==Copyright==
{{further|Copyright law in Australia}}
Copyright in the flag has been subject to controversy, as to original and ongoing ownership of the copyright.

===1997: copyright granted to Thomas===
In 1997, in the case of ''Thomas v Brown and Tennant'',<ref>[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/federal_ct/1997/215.html ''Harold Joseph Thomas v David George Brown & James Morrison Vallely Tennant''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914093635/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/federal_ct/1997/215.html |date=14 September 2016 }} [1997] FCA 215 (9 April 1997) Accessed 14 July 2013.</ref> the [[Federal Court of Australia]] declared that Harold Thomas was the owner of copyright in the design of the Australian Aboriginal flag, and thus the flag has protection under [[copyright law of Australia]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/articles/A97n07.pdf|title=Federal Court declares Aboriginal artist owner of copyright in Aboriginal flag|publisher=Australian Copyright Council|date=9 April 1997|access-date=4 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616091250/http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/articles/A97n07.pdf|archive-date=16 June 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.federalcourt.gov.au/pdfsrtfs_c/chapter2.htm|title=The Work of the Court|publisher=Federal Court of Australia|work=Annual Report 1996-1997|access-date=4 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110328121906/http://www.federalcourt.gov.au/pdfsrtfs_c/chapter2.htm|archive-date=28 March 2011}}</ref> Thomas had sought legal recognition of his ownership and compensation following the Federal Government's 1995 proclamation of the design, and his claim was contested by two others, George Brown and James Tennant.<ref>[http://www.colingolvan.com.au/law-articles-and-essays/73-a-sorry-tale Colin Golvan, "A Sorry Tale", from ''Australian Financial Review'' 4 July 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515160448/http://www.colingolvan.com.au/law-articles-and-essays/73-a-sorry-tale |date=15 May 2016 }}. Retrieved 13 July 2011.</ref> After winning copyright, Thomas awarded rights solely to Carroll & Richardson – Flagworld Pty Ltd and Birubi Art Pty Ltd for the manufacture and marketing of the flag and of products featuring the flag's image.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/au-ab.html#copy|title=Press release from Carroll and Richardson|work=[[Flags of the World (website)|Flags of the World]]|access-date=11 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316075414/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/Flags/au-ab.html|archive-date=16 March 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2018, Thomas granted WAM Clothing (which is co-owned by Birubi Art owner Ben Wooster) a licence for the use of the flag on clothing. In June 2019, it was reported that WAM Clothing had demanded that Aboriginal-owned businesses stop selling clothing that featured the flag.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/11/company-that-holds-aboriginal-flag-rights-part-owned-by-man-prosecuted-for-selling-fake-art|last=Allam|first=Lorena|title=Company that holds Aboriginal flag rights part-owned by man prosecuted for selling fake art|work=The Guardian|date=11 June 2019|access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> They also sent notices to the [[NRL]] and [[Australian Football League|AFL]] about their use of the flag on [[Indigenous round]] jerseys.<ref>{{cite web|title=New licence owners of Aboriginal flag threaten football codes and clothing companies|first=Isabella|last=Higgins|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=11 June 2019|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-11/new-licence-owners-of-aboriginal-flag-threaten-football-codes/11198002|access-date=21 August 2020|archive-date=20 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820022942/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-11/new-licence-owners-of-aboriginal-flag-threaten-football-codes/11198002|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2020, after a prominent Aboriginal footballer began selling WAM-licensed teeshirts bearing the flag through his own website, Aboriginal former senator [[Nova Peris]], a leader of a "free the flag" campaign, wrote to the [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]], requesting his support for divesting WAM of the copyright.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/buddy-embroiled-in-aboriginal-flag-controversy-20200608-p550jj.html|last=Cherny|first=Daniel|title=Buddy embroiled in Aboriginal flag controversy|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=8 June 2020|access-date=9 June 2020|archive-date=8 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608221424/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/buddy-embroiled-in-aboriginal-flag-controversy-20200608-p550jj.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After consultation with its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council, the AFL did not enter into a commercial agreement with WAM in 2020, in line with general Aboriginal sentiment on the issue. In August 2020, [[Ken Wyatt]], [[Minister for Indigenous Australians]], said that he would love to see the flag freely used across Australia, and former AFL player [[Michael Long (footballer)|Michael Long]] said its absence would have a negative effect on the players in the [[Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round]]. Wyatt encouraged spectators to bring flags to the games, beginning in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] on 22 August 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ken Wyatt encourages AFL fans to 'drape' the Aboriginal flag around them to protest copyright stoush|first=Anna|last=Henderson|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=21 August 2020|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-21/ken-wyatt-encourages-afl-fans-to-wear-aboriginal-flag/12580968|access-date=21 August 2020|archive-date=20 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820234200/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-21/ken-wyatt-encourages-afl-fans-to-wear-aboriginal-flag/12580968|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/21/afl-slugged-with-retrospective-bill-for-use-of-aboriginal-flag-as-fans-urged-to-bring-their-own|last=Allam|first=Lorena|title=AFL slugged with retrospective bill for use of Aboriginal flag as fans urged to bring their own|work=The Guardian|date=21 August 2020|access-date=22 August 2020}}</ref>

===2022: copyright transfer to Commonwealth===
[[File:Australian Aboriginal flag on Sydney Harbour Bridge.jpg | thumb | On the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]]]]

On 24 January 2022, the Commonwealth government announced, after more than three years of confidential negotiations,<ref>{{cite web|title=Who is Harold Thomas, the man who created the Aboriginal flag?|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=25 January 2022|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-25/aboriginal-flag-who-is-harold-thomas/100779922|access-date=16 February 2022|archive-date=9 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809215932/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-25/aboriginal-flag-who-is-harold-thomas/100779922|url-status=live}}</ref> that Thomas had transferred the copyright in the flag to the Commonwealth.<ref name="pm">{{Cite web|last1=Morrison|first1=Scott|last2=Wyatt|first2=Ken|date=25 January 2022|title=Free use of Aboriginal Flag secured for all Australians|url=https://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/announcements/free-use-aboriginal-flag-secured-all-australians|access-date=28 January 2022|website=Prime Minister of Australia|archive-date=8 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108000600/https://www.indigenous.gov.au/news-and-media/announcements/free-use-aboriginal-flag-secured-all-australians|url-status=live}} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0|Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)]] licence.</ref> The federal government paid $20.05m to Thomas and licence holders (including WAM Clothing and Carroll and Richardson Flagworld) to extinguish existing licences and secure copyright. As part of the copyright transfer, Thomas retained [[moral rights]] over the flag (which include the right to be identified as its creator). Following the copyright transfer, Carroll and Richardson Flagworld continued to be the exclusive manufacturer, although individuals may make copies for personal use.<ref name=butler2022/><ref name=pm/>

The Commonwealth agreed to fund a scholarship in Thomas's name for Indigenous students to further the development of Indigenous governance and leadership and an online education portal on the flag's history. An original painting by Thomas detailing the transfer of copyright would be "displayed in a prominent location" by the Commonwealth. All royalties from the copyright are to be transferred to the [[NAIDOC Week|National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee]], and $2m would be devoted to establishing a not-for-profit organisation that will make periodic payments for activities related to the flag.<ref name=butler2022>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jan/24/australian-government-buys-copyright-to-aboriginal-flag-in-20m-deal|last=Butler|first=Josh|title=Australian government buys copyright to Aboriginal flag in $20m deal|work=The Guardian|date=24 January 2022|access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-24/aboriginal-flag-copyright-transferred-to-commonwealth/100778324|title=Aboriginal flag made freely available for all Australians, after Commonwealth secures copyright|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=24 January 2022|access-date=24 January 2022|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124114319/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-24/aboriginal-flag-copyright-transferred-to-commonwealth/100778324|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="SMH flag">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/free-for-all-copyright-for-aboriginal-flag-transferred-to-public-hands-in-20m-deal-20220124-p59qpb.html|last=Harris|first=Rob|title=Free for all: Copyright for Aboriginal flag transferred to public hands in $20m deal|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=24 January 2012|access-date=25 January 2022|archive-date=25 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125195422/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/free-for-all-copyright-for-aboriginal-flag-transferred-to-public-hands-in-20m-deal-20220124-p59qpb.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

About the use of the flag, the government statement reads:<ref name=pm/>{{blockquote|The Aboriginal Flag will now be managed in a similar manner to the Australian National Flag, where its use is free, but must be presented in a respectful and dignified way. All Australians can now put the Aboriginal Flag on apparel such as sports jerseys and shirts, it can be painted on sports grounds, included on websites, in paintings and other artworks, used digitally and in any other medium without having to ask for permission or pay a fee.}}

Many Aboriginal people celebrated the freeing of the flag; however, Bronwyn Carlson, Professor of Indigenous Studies and Director of the Centre for Global Indigenous Futures at [[Macquarie University]], expressed a contrary opinion, suggesting that to "free" the flag for all and sundry may demean it as a symbol of Aboriginal identity and history. She wrote in ''[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]'': "the Aboriginal flag has always been our flag. We didn't need an act of parliament to recognise its significance."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/dont-say-the-aboriginal-flag-was-freed-it-belongs-to-us-not-the-commonwealth-175623|last=Carlson|first=Bronwyn|title=Don't say the Aboriginal flag was 'freed' – it belongs to us, not the Commonwealth|work=The Conversation|date=25 January 2022|access-date=28 January 2022|archive-date=27 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127193932/https://theconversation.com/dont-say-the-aboriginal-flag-was-freed-it-belongs-to-us-not-the-commonwealth-175623|url-status=live}}</ref> Some Indigenous people are not happy to see the federal government have control of the flag, rather than an Indigenous organisation, and law professor Isabella Alexander said that some legal questions remained, for as long as details of the agreement were still commercial-in-confidence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/the-aboriginal-flag-is-now-freely-available-for-public-use-what-does-this-mean-from-a-legal-standpoint-175626|last=Alexander|first=Isabella|title=The Aboriginal flag is now 'freely available for public use'. What does this mean from a legal standpoint?|work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]]|date=28 January 2022|access-date=28 January 2022|archive-date=27 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127212011/https://theconversation.com/the-aboriginal-flag-is-now-freely-available-for-public-use-what-does-this-mean-from-a-legal-standpoint-175626|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon the release by the Australian government of the Assignment Deed following an [[Freedom of information|FOI]] application,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.niaa.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/foi-log/niaa-foi-2122-023.pdf |title=Assignment Deed for Copyright in the Australian Aboriginal Flag between the Commonwealth of Australia and Mr Harold Joseph Thomas |date=21 January 2022 |access-date=5 November 2022 |website=National Indigenous Australians Agency}}</ref> David J. Brennan has identified a likelihood that the Australian copyright in the 1971 flag as an artistic work expired upon transfer to the Commonwealth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://support.thomsonreuters.com.au/product/new-westlaw-australia/updates-alerts/section-180-copyright-act-1968-and-assignment-deed|last=Brennan|first=David|title=Section 180 of the Copyright Act 1968 and the Assignment Deed for Copyright in the Australian Aboriginal Flag|website=Thomson Reuters|date=4 October 2022|access-date=5 November 2022|archive-date=5 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105023825/https://support.thomsonreuters.com.au/product/new-westlaw-australia/updates-alerts/section-180-copyright-act-1968-and-assignment-deed|url-status=live}}</ref>

The flag's current legal status was debated in an [[Australian Senate committees|Australian Senate estimates committee]] in mid‑February 2022, when it was also revealed that the [[Morrison government]] had paid $13.75m to Thomas to assume copyright, and also paid $6.3m to two non-Indigenous businesses which held licences to use the flag. These companies are WAM Clothing, which received $5.2m, and Wooster Holdings, which was paid $1.1m. Interests in both companies are held by [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] businessman Ben Wooster, former director of Birubi Art (which was fined $2.3m in 2018 for selling fake Aboriginal art).<ref name="allam-2022">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/18/aboriginal-flag-colonised-senators-in-heated-exchange-over-governments-purchase-of-copyright|last=Allam|first=Lorena|title=Aboriginal flag 'colonised': senators in heated exchange over government's purchase of copyright|work=The Guardian|date=18 February 2022|access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Flags of Australia]]
* [[Ethnic flag]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite web|website=Adelaidia|url=http://adelaidia.sa.gov.au/things/aboriginal-flag|title=Aboriginal flag|first=Mandy|last=Paul|date=17 December 2013|access-date=15 December 2019|archive-date=17 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317093544/http://adelaidia.sa.gov.au/things/aboriginal-flag|url-status=live}}
*{{cite web|website=City of Adelaide|url=https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/australian-aboriginal-flag/|title=Australian Aboriginal flag|access-date=15 December 2019|archive-date=19 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719032604/https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/reconciliation/australian-aboriginal-flag/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.ausflag.com.au/debate/nma/smh950706.html|website=Ausflag|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609074118/http://www.ausflag.com.au/debate/nma/smh950706.html|title=Aboriginal flag a symbol of reconciliation|first=Patrick|last=Dodson|date=6 July 1995|others=first published in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 6 July 1995, p.&nbsp;13|archive-date=9 June 2007}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.ausflag.com.au/debate/nma/smh940903.html|website=Ausflag|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609153108/http://www.ausflag.com.au/debate/nma/smh940903.html|title=Aboriginal flag has many roles, says designer|first=Debra|last=Jopson|date=3 September 1994|others=first published in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 3 September 1994|archive-date=9 June 2007}}
* ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 3 September 1994. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. 1992, 'Torres Strait gets a flag and a major land rights victory', ATSIC News, vol.2, no. 4, p.&nbsp;5.
* ''Australian Flags'' 1995, Department of Administrative Services, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
* Horton, D. (ed.) ''Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia'', Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 1994.
* [https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/australian-national-symbols/australian-flags Australian flags] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041858/https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/australian-national-symbols/australian-flags |date=1 December 2017 }} Australian Government website, ''It's an Honour''
* ''[[The First Supper]]'':  painting, 1988, by [[Susan Dorothea White]]. Features an Aboriginal woman wearing a T-shirt bearing the Aboriginal Land Rights flag.
* {{cite web|url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/024548/toc_pdf/SelectCommitteeontheAboriginalFlag.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf|title=Select Committee on the Aboriginal Flag: Report|date=October 2020|publisher=[[Parliament of Australia]]|access-date=25 January 2022|archive-date=25 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125125841/https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/024548/toc_pdf/SelectCommitteeontheAboriginalFlag.pdf;fileType=application/pdf|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=The Burning of the Aboriginal Flag: A Study of Racism in Shoalhaven|publisher=[[University of New South Wales]]|year=1982|url=https://huskissonheritage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Burning-of-the-Aboriginal-Flag.pdf|archive-date=30 January 2022|access-date=30 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130025933/https://huskissonheritage.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Burning-of-the-Aboriginal-Flag.pdf|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Gallois|first=Matthieu|title=The Aboriginal Flag|publisher=[[University of Sydney]]|year=2017|url=https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/17227/2017_Matthieu_Gallois_Thesis.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y|archive-date=26 January 2022|access-date=26 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126221306/https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/17227/2017_Matthieu_Gallois_Thesis.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y|url-status=live}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* [https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/aboriginal-flag AIATSIS: The Aboriginal Flag]

{{Indigenous Australians}}
{{Australian flags}}
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