800km for truth-telling: Australia's Walk for Truth

This isn’t just a test of endurance.

It’s the National Walk for Truth, a First Nations-led mobilisation calling for a national truth-telling process and a path toward genuine healing and structural change.

Leading the call for a national truth-telling process

The walk is led by Travis Lovett, a Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man and Executive Director of the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Truth-Telling and Dialogue.

Travis and his team are spending 39 days on Country, travelling from Melbourne on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country to the steps of Parliament House, Canberra, on Ngunnawal Country.

The goal? To call on the Australian Government to commit to a truth-telling process developed in genuine partnership with First Nations Peoples.

To look back and listen honestly to form an agreed truth about our past and present, so we can move forward together in respect and care.

Walk For Truth is a collective journey that says, with our feet and our voices, that our country needs healing.  

It is a shared act of listening and, ultimately, national repair.

Travis told the National Indigenous Times in January:

“Truth-telling is not about blame. It is about healing.

"It is about finally listening to those who have too often been treated as a problem to be handled, rather than as sovereign peoples who deserve respect.

"Truth-telling is an act of national repair, so that we can walk a true path forward, together.”
— Travis Lovett, Executive Director, Centre for Truth-Telling and Dialogue, University of Melbourne.

Building momentum for First Nations Recognition and Respect

Truth-telling is the foundation of reconciliation.

Posting on his Instagram account on day 16 from the road, Travis said:

"Our country needs healing. Our country needs to come together based on truth, justice, healing and hope."

In 2025, we also saw the power of this firsthand when thousands of people joined parts of Travis’s 25-day 500km Walk for Truth through Victoria from Gunditjmara Country to Melbourne/Naarm.

That walk wasn’t just about distance; it was about the stories shared and the cultural sites visited along the way, helping to highlight the findings of the Yoorrook Commission’s report ‘Truth be Told’.

The 2026 National Walk builds on that momentum, supported this time by Common Threads and grassroots community groups, who are holding events across the country in support of the Walk for Truth on 27 May.

Why Bank Australia supports the Walk for Truth

“We see reconciliation and genuine recognition and respect for First Nations Peoples as a fundamental responsibility of Bank Australia.

"Supporting the National Walk for Truth is another way we are helping to support meaningful, long-term change.”

— Jane Kern, Head of Impact Management, Bank Australia

Through the Bank Australia impact fund, we’re proud to support this national journey.

We see this not just as a partnership, but as a fundamental part of our commitment to First Nations Recognition and Respect.

Real change happens when community action is backed by institutions willing to show up.

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How to participate in the National Walk for Truth 2026

There are two ways to stand in solidarity with Travis and the movement and support the call for meaningful change.

1. Walk with Travis

The walk departs Victorian Parliament House on Sunday 19 April and arrives at Parliament House, Canberra at 8:30AM on 27 May during Reconciliation Week.

Register to join in the 21-part journey.

2. Sign the open letter to the Prime Minister

Add your name to the letter calling for a national truth-telling process.

Add your name here.

Key dates and milestones

• Late April – May: Updates from the road as the walk passes through regional communities.
• 27 May: Final Day – Arrival at Parliament House, Canberra, coinciding with Reconciliation Week.

An 800km walk won’t solve systemic inequality and harms overnight.

But it makes the scale of the conversation tangible.

It reminds us that repair is a long road, and it’s one we need to walk together.

Learn more about and sign up to join the National Walk for Truth.

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