The term Koori is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from the approximate region now known as southern New South Wales and Victoria, derived from the Awabakal language.

[6] The headline story in the first issue on 23 May 1991, which comprised 24 pages and had a print run of 10,000,[6] was about a recent report into violent racism in Australia and the high levels of abuse suffered by Aboriginal people in police custody.

At first it was only circulated only in northern News South Wales and Queensland, but within a few years it had built up a network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous stringers across the country and was distributed nationally.

[6] On 4 May 2011, on the date of the publication of the 500th issue of Koori Mail, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) launched its digital collection of the newspaper, in partnership with the Department of Industry and Science, CAVAL (a consortium of universities[8]) and the State Library of New South Wales.

Staff and volunteers coordinated by the paper distributed food (including up to 2,000 free meals per day, served from the adjacent Koori Kitchen), clothes, and other essential items for thousands of victims, as well as supporting them with counselling.

[2] The newspaper is published fortnightly and is available by subscription and in newsagents in every Australian state and territory,[11] as well as in PDF form online via the AIATSIS website (where all past issues are also available).

[7] The Lismore office established a studio for broadcasting radio and podcasts, from 2021, initially focusing on Bundjalung issues,[7] but the printed copy is still the most important component.

[15] Aboriginal journalist Todd Condie graduated from Griffith University with a Bachelor of Humanities majoring in film, media studies and politics.

[6] Kirstie Parker, as of May 2021[update] (since 2017) the Director of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation in the Department of Premier and Cabinet in South Australia, is a former Koori Mail journalist.