Equity Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) has created a culturally inclusive calendar to support our increasingly diverse student and staff population at UNSW.
This guide to significant religious and cultural dates in Australia will help avoid scheduling conflicts around exams and assessments, University events and activities, and religious holidays and observances.
EDI developed the calendar in response to feedback from students and staff across UNSW about the need for a culturally inclusive calendar to enable inclusive exam, assessment and other scheduling. They consulted various UNSW stakeholders, including Arc, who have noted the increase in religious and spiritual clubs over the past 10 years. EDI also consulted the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Standard Classification of Religious Groups to identify key religious and cultural dates.
The calendar also reflects UNSW Sydney’s 2025 Strategy, which recognises the diversity of our community and seeks to remove structural barriers to ensure everyone has a sense of belonging and inclusion.
This is the first iteration of the culturally inclusive calendar and isn’t an exhaustive list of significant dates. You are welcome to give feedback and input to help shape future version by emailing access_equity_inclusion@unsw.edu.au.
The culturally inclusive calendar is a positive and important step towards creating a greater sense of belonging for both students and staff at UNSW. We encourage you to use it as a resource when planning key events, while recognising scheduling clashes can’t always be avoided.