National Australia Day Council

This article is about the non-profit organisation that supports Australia Day events and runs the Australian of the Year awards. For Australia Day itself, see Australia Day. For the awards, see Australian of the Year.

The National Australia Day Council (NADC) is a non-profit social enterprise owned by the Australian Government and is the national coordinating body for the Australian of the Year awards and Australia Day. It was established in 1979 and incorporated as a government-owned business in 1990.

National Australia Day Council

Abbreviation	NADC
Predecessor	National Australia Day Committee
Formation	25 October 1990 (1990-10-25) (incorporated)
Type	Social enterprise
Headquarters	Old Parliament House, Canberra
Location	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory[1]
Region	Australia
Services	Australian of the Year awards[2] Australia Day celebrations[1]
Owner	Australian Government[1]
Chair	John Foreman[3]
CEO	Mark Fraser AO CVO[3]
Parent organisation	Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet[1]
Affiliations	Australia Day National Network
Budget	A$16.84 million[1] (2020)
Revenue	A$2.18 million[1] (2020)
Expenses	A$16.71 million[1]
Staff	12[1] (2020)
Website	australiaday.org.au/about/nadc/

Australian Natives' Association was one of the chief promoters of Australia Day as a national holiday, and in 1946 formed an Australia Day Celebrations Committee in Melbourne to formalise its efforts. Similar bodies emerged in other states, and a Federal Australia Day Council (FADC) was formed to coordinate their efforts. In 1979, with the FADC's agreement, the organisation was replaced by a government-sponsored National Australia Day Committee.^[4] The committee was initially headed by former Olympian Herb Elliott.^[5] In 1985, it was renamed the National Australia Day Council, with former tennis player John Newcombe as president.^[6] The organisation became an incorporated public company in 1990.^[4]

Structure and aims

The NADC heads a network of state and territory Australia Day affiliate organisations and local Australia Day committees and is designed to inspire national pride and spirit, and to enrich the life of all Australians. It aims to promote the meaning of Australia Day through activity, education, reflection, discussion and debate and to promote good citizenship, values and achievement by recognising excellence and service to the nation.^[7]

Headquarters

The NADC is housed at Old Parliament House, Canberra. The current chair is John Foreman (musician), and the chief executive officer is Mark Fraser AO CVO.^[8]

Chair of the National Australia Day Council

The following individuals have served as Chair of the National Australia Day Council:

Chairs of the National Australia Day Council
Chair name	Term
John Newcombe	1990–1992
Phillip Adams	1992–1996
Kevan Gosper	1996–2000
Lisa Curry-Kenny	2000–2008
Adam Gilchrist	2008–2014
Ben Roberts-Smith	2014–2017
Danielle Roche	2017–2023
John Foreman[9]	2023–present