Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has flagged the referendum on an Indigenous voice will likely be held in October or November this year.
Mr Albanese reiterated he planned to set a date for the historic vote after football grand finals were held in September ahead of speaking at the Garma festival in northeast Arnhem Land on Saturday.
"Obviously when we get into December, you are into the rainy season, so that gets knocked out," he told ABC Weekend Breakfast.
"(As for) September, it could be held then, except we've the footy finals.
"So we will make an announcement soon, we will talk through with the Australian Electoral Commission and make sure it's an appropriate date that doesn't clash with other events."
The Garma festival is an annual celebration on Gumatj country hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation.
It holds a deep resonance for Nova Peris and her daughter Destiny.
"Yothu Yindi means mother and child," says Peris, a former Labor senator and an Olympic gold medallist.
"Garma is two-way learning, bringing all the knowledge together – it's not just Aboriginal people continuing their cultural responsibility, it's actually showcasing to the rest of Australia how rich our culture is."
Peris has been coming to Garma since the late 90s when it first began, but this is Destiny's first visit since she was a young child.
"I was really excited to be immersed in it," Destiny said.
"And also we have lots of connections this way with family.
"You come out here and you're not just learning about a culture but you're learning about your culture."
The festival is an opportunity to learn, catch up with family and friends and share stories.
"What I've learned in the Aboriginal way is you never learn anything in one day, in one week," Peris said.
"You learn over a long period of time - and that's been the way it's been for an eternity, but I never realised that until the last 10 to 15 years.
"You have to just keep coming back - and that's the process of how you learn, that's how you gain your wisdom, it's through experience."
Peris agrees with Mr Albanese's assessment that the festival was an opportunity to discuss the upcoming referendum on a First Nations voice.
"I think about the ignorance, about our non-existence in this country – terra nullius," Peris said.
"Every non-Indigenous person who comes up here has to walk away with a sense of wow, Aboriginal people, we thrive, we co-exist, we're welcoming and irrespective of the s****y past that this country has thrown at us, we still open our arms and try to educate the rest of the country."
Both women said they were honoured to be asked to walk with the Gumatj people, who host Garma, during one of the ceremonies.
"I was thinking today when I was watching the bunguls (ceremonies) that some of those kids can barely stand up but they're wanting to dance," Peris said.
She believes a 'yes' vote in the referendum later this year will help address inequality, and that acknowledging First Nations people in the constitution is vital.
"You can't plead ignorance any more," Peris said.
"It's 2023 and if you think that this country popped up out from the water in 1788 with the Union Jack being planted declaring terra nullius you need to go back to the hole that you came from.
"There are two histories here, there is 1788 and there is now.
"You can't change anything that happened in between but in order to progress this country, to unite this country, there needs to be an acknowledgement of our existence."