The winners of the 2026 Yarning Competition will visit Canberra next week for a presentation event and the launch of the Yarning Exhibition.
The Yarning Competition is about storytelling. It aims to raise awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to provide a platform for secondary school students to connect with, and learn about, the work of the Australian Parliament.
Students are invited to share their perspectives and stories – through creative mediums such as visual art, video, photography, essays or audio – by addressing one of four themes: Country and Connection; Identity and Culture; Family and Community; Reconciliation.
The judges for the 2026 competition were the Speaker of the House, the Hon Milton Dick MP, the Member for Lingiari, Ms Marion Scrymgour MP; the Member for Grey, Mr Tom Venning MP and the Member for Curtin, Ms Kate Chaney MP. Entries were shortlisted by the Parliamentary Service Indigenous Employee Network.
The winners of the 2026 Yarning competition are:
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Year 7/8: Jaide (Kalkadoon Country)
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Year 9/10: Charlotte (Wiradjuri Country)
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Year 11/12: Lyla (Gumbaynggirr Country)
The winning artworks can be found at 2026 Winners – Yarning Competition.
The winners will travel to Canberra for the presentation event at Parliament House on Monday 29 June 2026, to be hosted by the Speaker.
At the event, the Speaker will launch the Yarning Exhibition, in which the three winning artworks will be displayed, and all competition entries will feature. The exhibition will run until February 2027.
“We had a record number of entries this year, with an exceptionally high calibre of talent, sharing very special stories” said the Hon Milton Dick MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Event details
Yarning Competition presentation event and exhibition launch
Monday 29 June 2026, 11.15 am to 12.15 pm
Senate side circulation area, Level 1 public area
Parliament House, Canberra.
Press Gallery note
Photography and interview opportunities: Presentation event hosted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Honourable Milton Dick MP: Monday 29 June 2026, 11.15 am – 12.15 pm, Senate side circulation area, Level 1, public area
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