The Commons Social Change Library

14/10/2026

The Australian Ballet cancelled its season opening in Canberra on 15 October 1970 due to a one-day strike by its dancers. The 40 dancers held a stop-work meeting, decided to strike, and picketed the Canberra Theatre, demanding and later winning improvements in wages, work hours and other conditions.

To learn more about the history of union campaigns in Australia visit-https://commonslibrary.org/activism-and-campaign-history/

13/10/2026

Creative activism makes the most of one of the few resources social movements have in abudance: the ability to come up with imaginative means to challenge, resist and resolve social problems.

Join us next Monday 19 October & learn how to pair creative thinking with strategic action to create meaningful impact!

https://www.australianprogress.org.au/events/creative-action-design

03/10/2026

01/10/2026

The first-ever statewide strike by New South Wales public school teachers occurred on October 1, 1968, with roughly 80% of teachers refusing to work, leaving numerous schools across NSW and the ACT without staff. Over 10,000 educators gathered at mass meetings, including a major rally at Wentworth Park and the Tivoli Theatre in Sydney. The walkout was driven by mounting frustration over severe overcrowding, oversized classes, staff shortages, inadequate facilities, and poor pay, all set against a backdrop of a deepening educational crisis. The strike drew support from members of the Secondary Students Educational Union, pictured here. Ultimately, the industrial action pushed both state and federal governments to boost education funding, mandate a three-year training requirement for all teachers, and establish new teachers' colleges.

These images appear courtesy of and the State Library of NSW. To learn more about the history of school strikes visit- https://commonslibrary.org/when-the-bombs-drop-school-stops-eight-decades-of-australian-school-strikes-and-direct-action/

30/09/2026

On 30 September 1976 more than 18 000 university students took part in a national strike against budget cuts to education. Marches were held in capital cities and regional centres. Students from the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education, in Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser’s electorate, joined the strike and then protested again on 24 September when the PM came to open a new campus at Sherwood Park.

These photos from the Sydney rally appear courtesy of and the State Library of NSW. To learn more about the history of university activism in Australia visit- https://commonslibrary.org/tertiary-student-activism-in-australia-1989-2006/

29/09/2026

Cooking up a tasty tactics cake with Aoife

Recipe courtesy of Eleisha Mullane

For more visit the commonslibrary.org

20/09/2026

On 20 September 2019 an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 Australians took part in Global Climate Strike rallies, marking one of the nation’s largest demonstrations to date. The events were initiated by the School Strike For Climate and formed part of a global day of action leading up to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. In Australia, protesters also raised local demands, including a halt to new fossil fuel developments and a complete shift toward renewable energy.

These photos from the Melbourne rally were taken by John Englart. To learn more about climate justice and young people’s experiences of taking collective action visit https://commonslibrary.org/collection/striking-voices/

26/08/2026

From August to October 1988 protests took place around Australia against visits by foreign warships as part of Bicentennial celebrations. Issues raised included Australia’s complicity in the nuclear arms race, safety risks associated with nuclear powered and armed ships, and support for a treaty and the recognition of First Nations sovereignty.

On 26 August unions in Darwin shut down the port for 24 hours to demand that a safety plan covering nuclear accidents be put in place. On the same day a protest flotilla attempted to block two nuclear armed warships from entering Fremantle. A large rally opposed to nuclear weapons and militarism took place once the ships had docked.

On 4 September protesters on Cairns’ foreshore met the arrival of the USS Berkeley, which provided proof of the risks posed by nuclear powered and armed ships by colliding with a boat in the harbour. Rallies against visits by US and British warships were also held in Brisbane later in the month where protesters were arrested for blockading a bus full of sailors. During an open day Catholic Worker activists performed an exorcism on board a US warship, pouring blood and ash on the deck and unravelling a banner. A large “No Nukes” banner also appeared on the side of the ship one morning. Protests during September also took place in Victoria where the South Western District Trades and Labour Council called on unions to refuse to supply services to warships and 200 people rallied against their arrival.

The bicentennial event in Sydney, which involved close to 60 warships, was protested by 80 kayaks, 30 yachts and numerous other vessels belonging to the Sydney Peace Squadron, Auckland Peace Squadron, Paddlers for Peace, and Greenpeace. With the addition of five ferries hundreds of protesters gathered on water on 26 September to call for the ships to return home.

When US, French, Italian and New Zealand warships arrived in Melbourne on the 12th and 14th October two of their number were prevented from docking due to bans placed by the Seamans’ union. Rallies of up to 1000 people were held on land alongside two peace flotilla actions on the water. Banners reading “No Death Ships” and “US Bases Out” were also hung from the side of USS Ingersoll.

These photos originally appeared in Nonviolence Today. To learn more about protests against nuclear warships visit- https://commonslibrary.org/project-iceberg-fremantles-response-to-visiting-nuclear-warships-in-the-1980s/

25/08/2026

Join The Commons Library and Australian Progress this September for two hands-on training sessions designed to help you embed impact evaluation as a powerful movement-building practice across every area of your advocacy work.

Register Now: https://www.australianprogress.org.au/events/impact-evaluation-workshop

24/08/2026