The National NAIDOC Committee has announced that NAIDOC Week will be postponed this year amid the escalating COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, released on Wednesday, the National NAIDOC Committee said the decision was made "in the interest of the safety of our communities" and had not been taken lightly.
"We have taken on-board the advice from the Federal Government, health experts, our key partners and from leading national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations.
"We all believe that an escalating COVID-19 crisis as we head into winter would have disastrous impacts on our mob - especially for our Elders and those in our communities with chronic health issues."
The postponement means the National NAIDOC Awards in Alice Springs will not go ahead on July 11 as planned and the nomination process for the awards has been suspended.
The 2020 NAIDOC Grant round has also been suspended.
The statement from the National NAIDOC Committee promised to keep communities updated on new dates for NAIDOC Week 2020.
'We are in the process of finalising a new date for NAIDOC Week 2020 - towards the end of the year - and we’ll continue to work closely with the National Indigenous Australians Agency and our partners for NAIDOC Week 2020," it said.
