Council to consider 192 days of significance calendar

The proposed calendar covers 192 dates in 2026—just over half the year. It includes religious and cultural observances, commemorations, awareness campaigns and community festivals.

The updated calendar includes public holidays such as Australia Day, Anzac Day, Christmas and Easter, including Orthodox observances. It also includes Diwali, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, St Patrick’s Day, Lunar New Year and Nowruz.

The calendar recognises National Sorry Day, National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week. It also includes month-long programs for seniors and young people, the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence and National Carers Week.

The calendar also includes numerous UN observances and LGBTQIA+ awareness days.

It’s presented as a powerful statement about diversity and inclusion. But …

Celebrating diversity – or diluting significance?

Is a calendar of significant days useful when it covers more than half the year—and what does inclusion on it really mean? The omissions raise further questions. Where are Hogmanay, major Hindu observances beyond Diwali, Buddhist festivals such as Vesak, secular spectacles such as the AFL grand final, or the commercialised pagan tradition of Halloween? Most strikingly, where is Remembrance Day on 11 November—the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month? With the Shrine just down the road, its absence is difficult to explain.

There is something remarkable, authentic and promising in our vibrant mix of migrant, colonial and First Nations cultures, endeavours and achievements. But does a municipal list of what is in and what is out serve a clear public purpose, or does it risk becoming another policy that lives only to be expanded and republished each year? Must Scots lobby for Hogmanay, historians for Remembrance Day, supermarkets for Halloween and AFL fanatics for the grand final? Can anything ever be removed from the list? If so, how? Without transparent criteria, the debate about next year’s list has already begun.

Council says the list was developed through demographic analysis, policy reviews and community consultation. It describes the calendar as a framework for recognising cultural, religious and community observances relevant to residents.

With about one in three residents born overseas, Council proposes using the calendar to guide planning, communications, events and community engagement across Port Phillip.

Council says the calendar is intended to support intercultural and interfaith understanding by explaining the history and context of observances. It could be used as an educational resource in schools, libraries and community centres.

The calendar is not intended to list every cultural event. Council says community-led activities could instead be supported through micro-grants and simplified permit processes.

Council proposes reviewing and republishing the calendar annually to reflect demographic change and update observances whose dates vary.

Proposed Days of Significance Calendar

*Note: Dates that vary each year based on lunar, religious, or cultural calendars are updated annually.*

Count check: unique dates covered in 2026

This check expands multi-day observances to their published 2026 dates and counts each calendar date only once where observances overlap. On that basis, the calendar covers 192 unique dates. Dates based on lunar or religious calendars may vary by a day.