Australia Day, 26 January, is a community day with formal and informal ceremonies for all Australians around the world.  It is the biggest day of celebration in Australia and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future.

In 2007, then Prime Minister John Howard said, "On Australia Day, we celebrate the Australian achievement and recommit ourselves to preserving this nation's precious gifts of liberty, opportunity, fairness and mateship. ... Wherever Australians gather - in parks, at the beach, or just at home in the back yard - this is a day to reflect on what being an Australian means to each of us." 

The significance of the date, January 26, was when Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and became its first Governor in 1788.