I have the privilege this week of releasing the FRSA Conference concurrent session program for 2026! Showcasing the work of our members and others in the sector more broadly is something that FRSA takes significant pride in. My thanks to everyone who submitted an abstract, our Board and Conference Reference Committee and the FRSA staff for bringing this program to life! Once again – another amazing cross section of presentations will feature in our Conference 2026 Program, themed “Showcasing: Practice, Evidence, Impact”, at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre from 18-21 May 2026.
It is no mistake that Conference is held on these dates as it also signifies our contribution to National Families Week celebrations. (Technically we are one date late – but out intentions are solid!). More information below on how you can get involved in celebrating National Families Week.
We are hoping FRSA Conference 2026 will break all records! We had just shy of 200 abstracts submitted and at this point in time we have 231 registrations – a 100% increase on numbers at this time last year. We look forward to welcoming many more and encourage you to get the best deal by registering before the close of early bird rates – 2 March 2026.
Whilst a lot of commentary on Canberra over the last fortnight has had a heavy party-political focus, it has also been a significant week for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We saw the establishment of the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People legislation tabled; the release of a first standalone National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander plan to end family, domestic and sexual violence; significant events and announcements marking the 16th anniversary of the National Apology to Stolen Generations; and the tabling of the annual Closing the Gap report 2025 which demonstrates that we still have so far to progress across a number of socio-economic targets for First Nations peoples.
We know that many in the sector are awaiting announcements from Government following on from the DSS Consultation process “A new approach to programs for families and children”. Aside from learning that GrantConnect will release a “Forecast Opportunity” ahead of the Grant Opportunity release itself, we have no further information to share at this time, but it is of course clearly on our radar.
