The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) has announced that the national Aboriginal Flag is now freely available for public use following an arrangement entered into with its designer, Indigenous artist and activist, Harold Thomas.
Prime Minister, Scott Morrison said the Aboriginal Flag copyright had been transferred to the Commonwealth.
“The Aboriginal Flag will now be managed in a similar manner to the Australian National Flag, where its use is free, but must be presented in a respectful and dignified way,” Mr Morrison said.
“All Australians can now put the Aboriginal Flag on apparel such as sports jerseys and shirts, it can be painted on sports grounds, included on websites, in paintings and other artworks, used digitally and in any other medium without having to ask for permission or pay a fee,” he said.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt said securing the free use of the Aboriginal Flag was profoundly important for all Australians.
“The Aboriginal Flag is an enduring symbol close to the heart of Aboriginal people,” Mr Wyatt said.
“Over the past 50 years we made Harold Thomas’ artwork our own — we marched under the Aboriginal Flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride,” he said.
The Minister said that with the copyright issues settled, the Flag “belongs to everyone, and no one can take it away”.
He said as part of the copyright transfer, Mr Thomas would retain his moral rights over the Flag and the Government had also agreed that all future royalties the Commonwealth received from sales of the Flag would be put towards the continuing work of the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC).
Mr Wyatt said the Government would also provide an annual $100,000 scholarship in Mr Thomas’ honour for Indigenous students to further the development of Indigenous governance and leadership.
