Australian Aboriginal Flag

Facts about the Flag of Australian Aboriginal Flag

1. Harold Thomas designed the flag in 1971 and retained copyright as its author, which for decades limited how freely it could be reproduced.
2. In 2022 the Australian government acquired the copyright so the flag could be used without licence — an unusual arrangement for any flag.
3. The black is the people, the red the earth and ochre, and the yellow disc the sun.
4. One of the official flags of Australia, designed in 1971 by Luritja artist Harold Thomas.
5. The flag is used in Australia.
6. The flag was adopted in July 12, 1971. It was designed by Harold Thomas.
7. The design is 55 years old as of 2026.
8. Construction: Black over red with a yellow disc.
9. It is normally drawn to a ratio of 2:3, which makes it rectangular.
10. The flag uses 3 colours: black, red and yellow.
11. The black stands for the Aboriginal people of Australia.
12. The red stands for the red earth and the spiritual relationship to the land.
13. The yellow stands for the sun, the giver of life.
14. Yellow disc: The sun, protector and renewer of life.
15. Design origin: Created for the land rights movement and recognised as an official flag of Australia in 1995.
16. The Australian government acquired the copyright in January 2022 so that the flag could be used freely by anyone, after years in which its commercial licensing was disputed.
17. It is filed here under Identity and Pride Flags, one of the categories of flag that belong to no country.