About

The National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) provides a free and informed news service and 24-hour radio programming to all Indigenous Australians with the aim to be the “Voice of Our People” and to ensure that Indigenous perspectives are represented in the media. 

Brief history of Indigenous News

Prior to NIRS being established in 1997, there was a small number of Indigenous radio stations producing news bulletins with some stations swapping news content on a regular basis. Following Corroboree 2000, which brought together Indigenous broadcasters and journalists for the first time, NIRS coordinated a live broadcasts during the Sydney Olympics that same year.  More than 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander journalists from around Australia came together to cover the event from an Indigenous perspective with a major feature being the production of a national hourly news bulletin.  This important collaboration demonstrated the need and ability of the sector to work together to produce high-quality national broadcast content. Following these history-making events, NIRS began a national Indigenous news service.   

Today NIRS continues to provide a platform for Indigenous Australians, reporting on issues that are relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to share their perspectives on global, national and local issues outside of Indigenous affairs.  NIRS is designed as a news sharing hub between Indigenous and non-Indigenous community radio stations around Australia. NIRS works closely with radio stations and Indigenous broadcasters to ensure local and regional input into NIRS bulletins to meet our motto “Voice of Our People”.