Our commitment to Indigenous Australians

Acknowledgement of Country can be conducted by any person and acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land upon which this University is situated, the Wallamattagal people of the Dharug nation, whose cultures and customs have nurtured, and continue to nurture, this land, since the Dreamtime. We pay our respects to the Dharug people and the Wallamattagal clan.

We also wish to acknowledge the Elders of the Dharug nation, past, present and future, and pay our respects to them. We further wish to honour and pay our respects to the ancestors and spirits of this land, and humbly ask that all members of the Macquarie University community are granted with the capacity to wingara — to think, to learn and to walk safely upon this pemul — this land. The University continues to develop respectful and reciprocal relationships with all Indigenous people in Australia and with other Indigenous people throughout the world.

The Indigenous Strategy Green Paper, released in 2015, proposed seven strategic directions for our University that support and promote Indigenous inclusion, access and participation.

Following the green paper's consultation process, we released The Indigenous Strategy 2016–2025 which takes a long-term view and aligns with existing Macquarie University frameworks and strategic plans to enhance our aspiration to achieve Indigenous excellence.

The strategy provides a coherent vision for Macquarie University’s future across the major activities that lead to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander success. The strategy is underpinned by Macquarie University’s commitment to Indigenous access and participation at our University.

View our Indigenous Strategy 2016–2025.

Indigenous leadership is at the forefront of the University's commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive future for all. The Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous) sits within the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) portfolio. Sam Ricketts leads the portfolio, with an exciting and comprehensive mandate to create transformative experiences for our students.

Sam is leading positive Indigenous higher education reform through the establishment of structures, processes and relationships across the University and its community to provide a framework that incorporates Indigenous perspectives into all aspects of the University now and into the future.

In 2022, Macquarie University’s main campus in Macquarie Park adopted a new name – Wallumattagal Campus – to recognise the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the University is situated, the Wallumattagal Clan of the Dharug Nation.

The name honours Australia’s first peoples’ profound and lasting spiritual connection to country and culture, and acknowledges their contribution to sustaining our environments since time immemorial. It celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as a critical part of our national identity and history.

Macquarie aspires to be a university that integrates Aboriginal knowledge into our learning and teaching, and research. We are committed to creating opportunities for the continuation of Aboriginal knowledge and culture. The renaming of the campus builds upon mutually respectful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities and is one of a number of significant measures undertaken under the Macquarie University Indigenous Strategy 2016–2025 [PDF 1253KB].

Be welcomed to our Wallumattagal Campus