October in Australia is hard to fault. It’s starting to warm up, and we’re not just talking about the weather. Outdoor gigs, markets and cinemas start popping up like tulips and there are some really significant National Days to get around. October is also Mental Health Month in Australia!
Some really notable dates in Australian history are in October, especially on the 8th. On this day in 1908, Canberra was chosen as the capital city of Australia, ending a feud between rivals Melbourne and Sydney. More recently though, Schapelle Corby was arrested by police in Indonesia carrying 4.1 kg of cannabis on this day in 2004. Corby now celebrates her freedom in aspirational ways on the web.
We’ve got plenty of animal awareness days headed our way in October, as well as some very important health days like National Bandana Day, International Stuttering Awareness Day, World Mental Health Day and World Smile Day.
Of course, Halloween gets a mention as it’s an increasingly popular thing to celebrate in Australia. It seems that each year there’s a bigger aisle dedicated to Halloween in our supermarkets. And even though pumpkins are out of season and not everyone is prepared with “candy” in the pantry on the 31st, more and more people in Australia are getting amongst it.
Howl-o-ween is also on the 31st of October. World Animal Protection call for animal lovers to bring together their friends, families, work colleagues and school buddies to host a Howl-o-ween event to raise funds to protect animals from suffering around the world. From holding an animal themed Howl-o-ween fancy dress party, to a scary movie marathon or a terrifying trivia night, there’s a smorgasbord of spooky options to get a frightening fundraiser happening. Whatever works really– it’s an occasion to eat, drink and be scary all in the name of animals in need.
World Mental Health Day on the 10th is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. But with the prevalence of mental illness in Australia impossible to ignore, why not actively focus on destroying the stigma and doing good things for ourselves and others every day? Approximately one in every five Australians experience a mental illness each year. And, since the pandemic started it’s more important than ever before to make sure you’re looking after you.
We’ve made a list of 10 tips you can try every day to improve your mental health:
- Practice gratitude
- Get creative
- Get a nurturing nature fix
- Move your body
- Write it out
- Set boundaries
- Find community
- Recharge the best way you know how
- Sleep
- Forgive yourself, forgive others
Our long list below contains all the days that matter in October!
All The Days is your authoritative source for commemorative, fun, unusual and national days around Australia. We create really interesting guides to national days that are inclusive, fun and relevant to Australia. We also list the school holidays and public holidays around the country by state, so you can be really savvy when planning ahead.
Plus, we continue to research new and existing national days that everyone can get around. Good for content creators and curious people, All The Days keeps you up to date on all the days of the year.
National Days and Days That Matter During October:
Days that vary in date each year have the year next to them.
| 01 October | International Day of Older Persons |
| International Coffee Day | |
| World Vegetarian Day | |
| Be Kind to Animals Week | |
| The 2005 Bali bombings took place place | |
| Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Week | |
| 02 October | World Statistics Day |
| International Day of Non-Violence | |
| World Animal Day | |
| 03 October (2022) | Labour Day |
| (2022) | Queen’s Birthday |
| 04 October | World Taco Day |
| World Space Week | |
| World Habitat Day | |
| 05 October | World Teachers’ Day |
| 06 October (2022) | Royal Launceston Show |
| The Melbourne Zoo is opened in 1862 | |
| 07 October (2022) | World Smile Day |
| Bathtub Day | |
| 08 October | International Lesbian Day |
| The capital of Australia was chosen in 1908, settling a feud between rivals Melbourne and Sydney. | |
| Schapelle Corby was apprehended by police in Indonesia carrying 4.1 kg of cannabis in 2004 | |
| World Sight Day | |
| 09 October | International Beer and Pizza Day |
| World Post Day | |
| World Migratory Bird Day | |
| 10 October | World Porridge Day |
| National Hat Day | |
| World Homeless Day | |
| World Day Against the Death Penalty | |
| World Mental Health Day | |
| 11 October | National Coming Out Day |
| World Day of the Girl Child | |
| 12 October | World Arthritis Day |
| 13 October | Breast Cancer Awareness Day |
| 14 October (2022) | Flinders Island Show |
| 15 October | International Day of Rural Women |
| International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day | |
| Global Handwashing Day | |
| 16 October | World Food Day |
| 17 October | International Day for the Eradication of Poverty |
| 18 October | Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day |
| 19 October (2022) | International Pronoun Day |
| 20 October (2022) | Royal Hobart Show |
| World Evidence Based Healthcare Week | |
| World Osteoporosis Day | |
| The Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973 | |
| (2022) | Spirit Day |
| 21 October | Apple Day |
| Reptile Awareness Day | |
| 22 October | International Stuttering Awareness Day |
| 23 October (2022) | Asexual Awareness Week ending October 29 (Ace Week) |
| 24 October | United Nations Day |
| World Development Information Day | |
| 25 October | World Pasta Day |
| Greasy Food Day | |
| 26 October | Intersex Awareness Day |
| Uluru is returned to traditional owners in 1985 | |
| Uluru climbing is finally banned in 2019 | |
| Cupcake Day | |
| 27 October | Big Cake Bake |
| National Kidsafe Day | |
| 28 October | Animation Day |
| 29 October | Day for Daniel |
| 30 October | The Racial Discrimination Act took effect in 1975 |
| National Bandana Day | |
| 31 October | World Cities Day |
| Howl-o-ween | |
| Halloween |
Feel free to use our FREE Social Media Marketing Planner to plant these dates into your marketing plan to grow some compelling, relevant, timely content. We get a whole lot of content creators visiting our site looking for specific dates of the year. So, we thought we’d provide you with a free marketing planner template. To use the template, click the “File” tab and select “Make a copy.”
It’s a really great tool to track your upcoming social media posts across Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Our weapon of choice is Google Sheets, as it’s intuitive to use and easy to access and share. The template is fully customisable. Go wild. It’s all yours.
Have we missed a date? Let us know on Instagram! We’re looking forward to hearing from you.