Australia's Indigenous history has been celebrated on the first day of parliament with traditional ceremonies sparking pledges to progress reconciliation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley sat side-by-side while Ngunnawal elder Serena Williams led a traditional dance in parliament's Great Hall.
Aunty Violet Sheridan said her's was "a culture of strength, of resilience and of deep wisdom" as she delivered the welcome to country ahead of the official start of the 48th parliament following Labor's re-election in May.
"In keeping in the spirit of friendship and reconciliation, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all here once again to Ngunnawal country," she said on Tuesday.
The prime minister, flanked by son Nathan and fiancee Jodie, and Ms Ley were then escorted to the Parliament House forecourt for the official smoking ceremony performed by Ngunnawal elder Warren Daley.
Uncle Warren lauded the show of unity and said it was important to have such ceremonies to start parliament every year.
"It would be a good thing, they all come together which is a good thing," he told AAP after the ceremony.
The ceremony was also important for his community as it made them "damn proud as Ngunnawal people", he said.
Mr Albanese said the welcome to country ceremony was a powerful way to begin the new parliament and an opportunity to reflect on Australia's history.
"With every step, we feel the echoes through history, the footsteps nearly a century distant from us now of every First Nations person who trekked to the opening of the first Parliament House down the hill," he said.
Mr Albanese also issued a veiled swipe at the stance of former opposition leader Peter Dutton and some coalition MPs who branded welcome to country and acknowledgement of country proclamations as divisive and overdone.
"Like a lot of the more positive things about our nation, we shouldn't take it for granted," Mr Albanese said, adding the ceremony was not controversial and "nor should it be".
Ms Ley said the ceremony opening the new parliament should "set the tone as we re-commit ourselves to the taking of practical action to improve lives and expand opportunity for Indigenous Australians in every part of our great country".
The story of Indigenous Australians was one "unlike any other with an ancient culture" and the new parliament had a chance to add to it through lasting change, she said.
"Let us approach that work with resolve and with a shared commitment to real and lasting progress," Ms Ley said.
"That work of listening, of acting and of striving for better is at the heart of reconciliation and our national story."
