Policy Forums

This policy forum unpacked evidence-based solutions for engaging children’s voice and supporting their participation.

There are major systemic issues and challenges in how we prevent and respond to abuse and neglect in Australia, but whose voices are present when we seek to understand the problem of abuse and neglect and develop solutions? How are children and young people involved in decisions that affect their lives within organisations, government and the child protection system? How do we both draw – and act – upon what children have already told us are the solutions for child safeguarding and child protection in Australia?

This policy forum unpacked evidence-based solutions for engaging children’s voice and supporting their participation. The keynote speaker was Professor Leah Bromfield, Director: Australian Centre for Child Protection and Chair of Child Protection.

The panel members were:

• Aimee Hele, Policy and Engagement Officer, First Nations and Child Right Advocacy, Queensland Child and Family Commission;
• Rosa Hessabi, NAPCAN Youth Advisory Council;
• Kate Bjur, Executive Director, Advocacy and Research, PeakCare; and
• Phil Doorgachurn, General Manager of Strategic Child Safeguarding Initiatives, Australian Childhood Foundation

The plenary session was facilitated by Families Australia Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Crosby.

Hosted in partnership with leading child welfare organisation, OzChild, this online policy forum facilitated a discussion on the current situation and projected future of foster carers across Australia. The keynote speakers were:

• Simon Kuestenmacher, Co-founder and Director, The Demographics Group
• Dr Lisa J. Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer, OzChild

Forum conversations focused on the changing demographics of foster care in Australia, and the continued disproportionate number of First Nations children in out-of-home care (OOHC). Speakers discussed challenges in recruiting and retaining foster carers, particularly among millennials and Gen Z, and proposed solutions such as tailored strategies and authentic storytelling.

Speakers also highlighted the need for improved supports for foster carers, including financial and professionalised models, to sustain a foster care household and improve outcomes for children and young people. Speakers further emphasised the importance of addressing the systemic issues and engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to improve the current outdated foster care system.

This online policy forum, hosted in partnership with NAPCAN, aimed to foster dialogue by continuing discussions highlighted throughout NAPCAN’s 2023 National Child Protection Week series titled Where we start matters. As NAPCAN and sector leaders suggest, while great work supporting children and families is already occurring across the sector, it vital not only to respond to harm but to actually stop harm before it occurs.

This policy forum discussed the role of the broader social determinants of the wellbeing affecting families, children and young people. It further considered the importance of prevention in increasing positive outcomes for children and families.

On 14 October 2023, Australians will be asked to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in the Constitution for the first time and give them a say in the policies and challenges that affect their communities by enshrining a Voice to Parliament.

Led by Ms Tanya Hosch, Executive General Manager of Inclusion and Social Policy at the Australian Football League and Mr Richard Weston, CEO of Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation, this policy forum provided an opportunity to gain of a better understanding of:

• what is being proposed by the referendum;
• what a successful ‘YES’ vote outcome would mean for families, children and young people across the country (especially for First Nations families, children and young people);
• the practical outcomes we can expect, including the impact and opportunities of enshrining a Voice to Parliament; and
• why more than 80% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are supporting the YES vote

Significant growth of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) sector is envisaged over the next 5 to 10 years. This policy forum discussed the importance of the growth of the ACCO sector and how non-Indigenous controlled organisations can collaboratively support its development.

Following the Federal budget, changing economic circumstances and the development of responses to the long-term impact of widespread natural disasters, this policy forum continued the conversation on economic hardship and poverty faced by many in our communities.

This policy forum discussed ways of supporting children and young people with disability through a variety of challenging contexts such as family violence, the COVID pandemic and the challenges for families navigating systems such the NDIS.

This policy forum explored ways of addressing the challenges of the increased demand for child welfare services through a resilient and appropriately skilled workforce, which is inclusive of workers from diverse backgrounds, including First Nations peoples and those with lived experience.

Families Australia partnered with the Research School of Population Health at the Australian National University to discuss the vital role of families at the intersection of health and social policy, what we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for research, education, policy, and practice.

This policy forum sought to elevate issues around rights, safeguarding and policy gaps for children and young people with disability across a range of portfolios and professions and build understanding in national public policy settings. The forum was co-hosted by Families Australia and Children and Young People with Disability Australia.

Mr Joe Hedger, Director, Indigenous Sector Practice at EY, addressed Families Australia’s NAIDOC Week Policy Forum on ‘Reimagining Indigenous wellbeing now and into the future’. Joe is a proud Bundjalung man whose family come from the Aboriginal community of Baryulgil on the Far North coast of NSW.