As the home of First Nations storytelling, National Indigenous Television (NITV) will bring its 2026 Alway Was Always Will Be programming slate across NITV and the entire SBS Network from Sunday 18 January to Monday 26 January to shine a light on Australia’s shared history.
January 26 remains a moment of national conversation, one that asks Australians to reflect on the history and complexity of this date, examine identity and consider what this day means to First Nations peoples and contemporary Australia.
Across the week, NITV and SBS invite all Australians to engage with distinctive, authoritative, deeply personal and unapologetically Blak perspectives that illuminate the truth of our shared history. The curated slate explores stories of strength, survival and pride, offering audiences the opportunity to reflect, understand and connect with the world’s oldest living continuous culture.
Program Highlights
The Colleano Heart
A landmark NITV commission, The Colleano Heart traces an extraordinary First Nations family whose courage, creativity and resilience propelled them from early 1900s racism and oppression to global circus stardom at the cost of hiding their Indigenous identity. Warm, joyous, and deeply moving, the documentary uncovers a Hidden Generation story fuelled by love, ambition and survival.
The Colleano Heart premieres Monday 19 January at 8:30pm on NITV and SBS On Demand. It will also air on Monday 26 January at 7:30pm on SBS.
Upcoming On Demand
The Colleano Heart
Documentary • 2025
Documentary • 2025
WugulOra Morning Ceremony – Live from Barangaroo Reserve
A sacred and unifying start to January 26, WugulOra (‘One Mob’ in the Gadigal language) honours the culture, strength and continuity of the Gadigal peoples of the Eora Nation through dance, song and storytelling. Hosted by NITV’s John Paul Janke and Shahni Wellington and broadcast live from Barangaroo Reserve - a smoking ceremony and celebration of the world’s oldest living culture.
WugulOra Morning Ceremony - Live from Barangaroo Reserve will simulcast LIVE on Monday 26 January at 7:30am on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand
Upcoming On Demand
Wugulora 2026
program • Special
PG
program • Special
PG
SBS Elder in Residence Oration
Delivered by Widjabul Wiabul woman Rhoda Roberts AO, the annual Elder in Residence Oration reflects on challenges, aspirations, and the path forward for all Australians.
SBS Elder in Residence Oration will simulcast LIVE on Monday 26 January at 11:00am on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand.
NITV News: Day 26
Along with a wrap of the day’s marches and events from an Indigenous perspective, NITV News: Day 26 will be hosted by Natalie Ahmat and John Paul Janke and focus on truth-telling, historical context, and Australian identity in 2026. Filmmaker Rachel Perkins, historian Stephen Gapps (The Australian Wars), and comedian Dane Simpson will discuss the relevance of January 26, what it means to be Australian, and how our national identity has been shaped.
NITV News: Day 26 will simulcast on Monday 26 January at 5:30pm on NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand.
Additional Highlights
The Idea of Australia
Presented by Academy Award nominee Rachel Griffiths AM (Total Control, Muriel’s Wedding, Hacksaw Ridge, Brothers & Sisters), the landmark documentary event The Idea of Australia isn’t a retelling of history; it’s a reimagining of the future. This ambitious series features over 60 master interviews with historians, experts, and significant public figures, and features personal opinions, testimony and popular culture archives.
The Idea of Australia episodes air on the 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th of January at 7:30pm on NITV.
The Idea of Australia is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The Idea Of Australia
series • Documentary
M
series • Documentary
M
A Journey Between the Fires: Troy Cassar-Daley
A Journey Between The Fires is a deeply personal and compelling documentary following Award-winning singer-songwriter Troy Cassar-Daley as he navigates profound grief and sadness to embark on his most challenging and rewarding album to date.
A Journey Between the Fires: Troy Cassar-Daley will air Sunday 18 January at 8:30pm on NITV.
A Journey Between the Fires: Troy Cassar-Daley is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
A Journey Between the Fires: Troy Cassar-Daley
Documentary • 2025
Documentary • 2025
Our Medicine
Our Medicine is a ground-breaking observational series which takes viewers behind the frontline of our strained medical services and joins patients on their emotional journeys through the system. With unique access to First Nations doctors, nurses, paramedics, traditional healers, and other medical professionals, it shines an important light on First Nations professionals and communities taking back control of Indigenous health.
Our Medicine episodes 3 & 4 will air on Wednesday 21 January at 7:30pm on NITV.
Our Medicine is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Our Medicine
series • Documentary
M
series • Documentary
M
Earth Oven (Australian Episode)
Host Temuera Morrison visits Cairns in this episode of Earth Oven, a cultural, round-the-world series that explores the earth oven - a way of cooking that transcends location and time. Here he explores a UNESCO World Heritage site and reconnects with an old friend to delve into Aboriginal traditions, including the bang-gaa earth oven - a powerful expression of culture, connection to land, and the enduring spirit of the world’s oldest living culture.
Earth Oven's Australian episode premieres Wednesday 21 January at 8:30pm on NITV & SBS On Demand.
Upcoming On Demand
Earth Oven
series • Documentary
PG
series • Documentary
PG
Emily: I Am Kam
Emily: I Am Kam (pronounced karma) is a heartfelt documentary about internationally renowned artist, Emily Kam Kngwarray from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory. It examines Kngwarray's transformative impact on the international contemporary art world, providing a rare opportunity to witness her journey and the profound influence of her art and the power of her work to protect her Country, Alhalker.
Emily: I Am Kam will air on Wednesday 21 January at 9:30pm on NITV.
Emily: I Am Kam is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Emily: I Am Kam
Biography • 2025
Biography • 2025
Going Places with Ernie Dingo
Australian icon Ernie Dingo returns in another epic episode of the long-running Going Places, yarning with proud locals and exploring the idyllic locations this country has to offer. In this episode, Ernie visits the small community of Yirrkala in the Northern Territory to reconnect with some of the local Yolngu People and to learn more about what's happening on Country.
Going Places with Ernie Dingo is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Going Places with Ernie Dingo
series • Documentary
PG
series • Documentary
PG
Reckless
SBS and NITV Original Reckless, is a bold First Nations drama set in Fremantle where guilt, family and dysfunction collide in a wickedly funny, high-stakes thrill ride. When feuding siblings June (Tasma Walton) and Charlie (Hunter Page-Lochard) cover up a hit and run in their hometown of Fremantle, their lives spiral wildly out of control, and as the lies pile up, so do the consequences and soon, everyone in town has something to lose.
Reckless is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Reckless
series • Thriller
MA15+
series • Thriller
MA15+
The New Boy
Writer/director Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy is set in 1940s Australia, in a mission for Aboriginal children run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett). A new charge (Aswan Reid) is delivered in the dead of night – a boy who appears to have special powers – in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.
The New Boy will air on Thursday 22 January at 9:30pm on NITV.
The New Boy is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The New Boy
Drama • 2023
Drama • 2023
Rabbit-Proof Fence
This 2002 Australian film directed by Phillip Noyce tells the true story of three Aboriginal girls who are taken from their home and sent to a remote settlement 1,500 miles away. They embark on a daring escape and epic journey along the rabbit-proof fence to find their way back home across an unforgiving landscape that will test their very will to survive.
Rabbit-Proof Fence will air Friday 23 January at 7:30pm on NITV.
Rabbit-Proof Fence is now streaming at SBS On Demand
Upcoming On Demand
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Drama • Adventure • 2002
Drama • Adventure • 2002
This year's Always Was Always Will Be offering continues the work of SBS’s Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan 2022–2026, which outlines SBS’s commitment to reflecting, exploring and embedding First Nations stories, knowledges, cultures and languages across the network.
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