Media
Representatives of Change It Ourselves are available to provide expert comment, opinion and analysis on news stories relating to Australia Day and the #ChangeTheDate movement.
Media Inquiries: contact@changeitourselves.com.au
Australian businesses take action to Change the Date
22 January 2024
In the lead-up to 26 January, dozens of Australian businesses have chosen to Change the Date of Australia Day in solidarity with First Nations Australians.
Coming together under the banner of the Change It Ourselves Alliance, these businesses choose to treat 26 January as a standard work day. Staff are given the option to work as normal and take a substitute holiday at a different time during the year. Some businesses also take further steps such as supporting staff to learn more about Australia’s history, or donating a portion of profits for the day to Aboriginal community organisations.
These businesses recognise that 26 January is a day of mourning for many First Nations Australians. For Alliance members, the idea of using this day to celebrate national identity is offensive. Their response: give staff a choice about how they approach 26 January. Many businesses taking this step have seen most or all staff choose to Change the Date.
The number of businesses participating has consistently grown over the past five years. Companies taking part range from small start-ups to well-established national brands. Not-for-profit organisations have also been joining the movement in increasing numbers. From just a handful of members in 2018, over 50 businesses and NFPs are now formal supporters of the Alliance. The full number of organisations taking action is believed to be in the hundreds.
The Alliance identifies this notable trend among Australian businesses as indicative of a broader groundswell of public opinion, with many in the community seeing the need to find more respectful and inclusive ways to celebrate the things that bring Australians together.
“Australian business owners care about our community. 26 January represents colonisation, and all the injustice that has flowed from it. The idea that we should be celebrating this day is a slap in the face to First Nations Australians. It’s not something that our staff want to be part of,” said Change It Ourselves Alliance spokesperson, Martin Gleeson.
“The good news is there are simple steps that every business or not-for-profit can take to change the date in their own workplace. While MPs are busy with political point-scoring, ordinary Australians are taking practical steps towards a fairer society,” said Mr Gleeson.
-ENDS-
Volunteers Create Campaign Site for Supporters of #ChangeTheDate
5 January, 2018
Melbourne based designers, illustrators, and activists have banded together to create a set of powerful resources in support of the #ChangeTheDate movement. The abundance of resources help individuals both create awareness as well as make change themselves.
The website which houses the information, changeitourselves.com.au, provides clear and actionable approaches to supporting the call to celebrate Australia on a different day. From information on changing the date in the workplace to free downloadable posters, the site provides needed clarity on how individuals can constructively show their support and demonstrate their commitment.
The project’s lead, Dale de Silva, said “In researching how to support the cause myself, I found the only options seemed to be to attend the #ChangeTheDate march or complain on Facebook, but both of those felt like waiting for change from above”
“It occurred to me that workplaces can be very supportive of personal beliefs and there must be something in employee contracts to allow shifting of a public holiday – And as it turns out, in many cases there is”
As Mr. de Silva found, the possibility of public holiday substitution is not difficult to look into, so he set about creating the site to empower people to find that information for themselves.
In 2018, the site couldn’t be launched at a better time. With bold support from local councils and Triple J changing the Hottest 100, real traction is starting to form on the need for change. In the lead up to January 26th, we should expect to see many other businesses adding their voices to the cause, and with these added resources, those already making changes now have a way to be more noticeable.
The Change It Ourselves team hopes that a supportive community will help build on the site and take the movement further. Their focus in launching the site was to provide supporters with somewhere to turn, and now that it’s live, they invite supporters to take the next step.
-ENDS-
Supporting Assets
