Today I was privileged to be in attendance at Minister Tanya Plibersek’s first consultation roundtable to inform the Second Action Plan under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.  This session brought together national peaks, national organisations, representatives from national reviews and Commissioners.  The formal consultation period opened on 22 May 2026 and will run through until 31 July 2026.  You can read more below.

I was also pleasantly surprised to receive numerous comments from many people in that room today about the success of the FRSA Conference – even some who weren’t there said they had heard great things about it.  I am extremely grateful to all those who attended and to the organisations who supported them to be there.

One of the key questions we have in our Conference Evaluation is ‘All in all, how useful was the Conference for furthering your thinking on adapting to new ways of working and engaging with children, families and communities to meet emerging challenges?’  (the takeaway question).  I am so pleased that just under 70% of respondents to that question answered ‘very useful’ and around 30% said ‘potentially useful for future consideration’.  This is fantastic to hear!

I thank the team here for pulling together a great snapshot of the Conference in this edition of the eBulletin. I believe the vast majority of concurrent session slides are up on the website but it does take a few weeks to get the plenary sessions which we record and edit published on the website (where we have permission to share). We did have a concurrent session at the Conference presented by DSS on relational contracting and DEX that we recorded due to the huge interest in the topic.  We are working on that as a priority and will get it published as soon as we can.

This week is of course National Reconciliation Week and the focus of our Member News feature this week.  For FRSA, we are in the final stages of having our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan approved and have been working very closely with the very talented and wonderful Leticia Forbes from Yirra Miya who has developed our RAP artwork and document.  I can’t wait to be able to share the completed work and RAP with you but I am delighted to share a snippet of Leticia’s interpretation of FRSA and our work.

This element of the artwork represents ‘Connection’ which for me is one of the key features and aspects of FRSA’s work.  Letitia describes this element as representing ‘our members coming together at FRSA and how they are all connected in providing better societal outcomes for improving the wellbeing, safety and resilience of families, children and communities across Australia’.

Kind regards,
Jackie Brady
FRSA Executive Director

On 18-21 May 2026, FRSA held its annual National Conference at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, on the lands of the Jagera and Turrbal peoples.

It is always a pleasure to bring the sector together to share research, practice learnings and insights and we were thrilled to have close to 600 delegates join us for this year’s conference. Practitioners, academics and policy makers working to support children, families and communities came together to share what is working in our sector, why it works, and to share the outcomes of these interventions.

The week started with four well subscribed pre-Conference workshops:

• Trauma and Healing Informed Care (Dr Carmen Cubillo, Healing Circle Mob)
• Embedding practice improvement and monitoring, evaluation & learning (MEL) for evidence-informed child and family services (Australian Institute of Family Studies)
• Family Law Workshop (facilitated by FRSA)
• Intersectionality in Practice (Drummond Street Services).

On Tuesday 19 May we were privileged to have proud Yagara, Koenpul, Ngugi, and Bundjalung woman, Aunty Sandra King OAM Welcome us to Country – to beautiful Magandjin / Meanjin. Our first two keynote speakers – Deb Tsorbaris, National Children’s Commissioner, and Sue-Anne Hunter the inaugural National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People – reminded us of the importance of centring children’s voices and children’s rights in decision making and ensuring that children and young people are kept safe and supported.

Corri McKenzie, Deputy Secretary, Department of Social Services then addressed the audience outlining the details of key relevant Budget measures, including measures that will underpin the new Children and Family Support program, due to come into effect on 1 July 2027.

Our sector is often asked to tell the stories of the people they work with – to gather case studies that can speak to the value and impact of our services. So, FRSA sought out an expert to help us in the art of storytelling – Kirk Docker, the mastermind behind TV series like ‘You can’t ask that’ and ‘I was actually there’. Kirk has a gift for asking curious and difficult questions whilst upholding the dignity of the individuals he works with. He joined the conference to share tips and techniques on the art of storytelling.

Day 2 of the Conference opened with another great plenary line-up. The Hon Michelle Rowland MP, Attorney-General provided a pre-recorded address and spoke to the value of community-based family law services.

We were thrilled to then welcome Judge Kylie Beckhouse, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2), who gave an address about exploring how reform and frontline practice intersect to support safer outcomes for families navigating increasingly complex circumstances.

FRSA was delighted to welcome back Micaela Cronin, Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner who provided an update on national priorities to address violence. Micaela emphasised the need to work with those using domestic, family and sexual violence as well as victim/survivors of violence if we are to make serious in-roads to reducing violence across the country. Micaela’s address set the scene nicely for the following panel discussion, Building the evidence for change: What does success look like in working with people who use violence?

The panel discussion, which was facilitated by FRSA Executive Director, Jackie Brady, provided thought-provoking insights into what works when engaging with men who use violence. Panellists included:

• Allison Wainwright, Family Life
• Professor Silke Meyer, Griffith University
• Michael Hawke, Anglicare SA
• Grace Jennings, Relationships Australia NSW.

On Day three of the Conference we were honoured to have the Hon Ged Kerney MP, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, address conference delegates. Minister Kerney shared recent Government’s commitments and outlined the National Healthy Men Community Conversations project to support the health and wellbeing of men and boys.

The final conference keynote was delivered by psychologist, author, podcaster and co-founder of three-time AFR Fast 100 company, Pragmatic Thinking, Allison Hill. Ali delivered a dynamic and engaging address on ‘becoming the boss of busy’ with practical strategies to keep pace with change and connect with purpose and progress.

The great richness and diversity of the sector was showcased each day in the concurrent session program. With 65 presentations and five symposiums delivered by FRSA members and stakeholders, we felt privileged to bring this part of the program to delegates. Slides from these presentations will be made available via the FRSA Conference page subject to author permission. Keynote presentations and the Panel Discussion will be uploaded to FRSA’s YouTube channel in the coming weeks.

Gala dinner

The Conference Gala Dinner provides an opportunity to come together, relax and celebrate all that the sector has achieved over the previous year. This year’s dinner was held at the beautifully lit Brisbane Town Hall and the FRSA Board and team were delighted to have close to 350 Conference delegates join us in an evening of music, dance and fine food.

We were thrilled to have the fabulous comedian and actor Steph Tisdall entertain the room with her trademark humour, warmth and generosity.

Local band, the Radio Club Band, kept people dancing till late in the evening!

Consultation on the Second Action Plan under Australia’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 has opened.

The Australian Government is working with states and territories to develop the Second Action Plan and wants to hear from a wide range of people. Government will be consulting broadly, including people with lived experience, frontline workers, peak bodies, policy experts, academics, employers, and the broader community.

A series of public webinars will be held over the coming weeks and there are a number of other ways to get involved. To find out more information about the consultation, please visit DSS Engage.

The consultation closes on 31 July 2026.

The Australian Communications and Media authority (ACMA) will launch the SMS Sender ID Register on 1 July 2026. Your organisation may be impacted.

The register is being introduced to protect Australians from scams that impersonate organisations in branded text messages (SMS or MMS). The register will help protect your brand and create a safer communications channel for people who receive text messages.

From 1 July, SMS sent using an unregistered branded sender ID will display the word ‘Unverified’ instead of the brand name. They will also be grouped with messages from other unregistered senders, including potential scams.

Who needs to register

You must register if you want to send text messages (for example, appointment reminders) using a sender ID, including if you are a:

• business, including a sole trader
• charity
• school or educational institution
• community group or club
• government agency.

How to register

To find out more information, including how to register please visit the ACMA website. If you have any queries please contact the AMCA SMS Sender ID outreach team at SenderIDOutreach@acma.gov.au

A new national report released by the Australian Human Rights Commission highlights the power of positive relationships, and the critical importance of listening to children, when designing the systems, services and supports that shape their lives.

We’re talking about stopping violence before it begins: Supporting Quality Engagement with Children draws on the insights of more than 300 children and young people from across Australia.

It offers a hopeful, evidence-based roadmap for building respectful, safe and supportive relationships and preventing violence before it starts.

At the heart of the report is a clear message: children understand what safe and positive relationships look like and they want to be part of the solutions that will improve the systems and policies affecting their lives. Children described positive relationships as supportive, respectful and kind, built on trust, communication and fairness. They emphasised the importance of being able to be themselves, work through challenges, and feel safe, heard and valued.

The report highlights the critical role of families, schools, communities, media and online environments in shaping these relationships and the opportunity to strengthen them through early intervention and prevention.

This week is National Reconciliation Week (NRW) from 27 May 3 June. The theme for this year is – All In – a call for all Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation every single day.

The Centre for Social Policy Research, Australian National University, wants to hear from all Family Law Professionals on 2023 changes to the Family Law Act which affect separating parents and their children.

The Centre has been commissioned by the Attorney-General’s Department to evaluate the impact of these changes.

You can share your views by responding to this online survey. The survey will take 15-20 minutes to complete and is open until early June.

The Australian Human Rights Commission, in collaboration with the Rights of Older Persons Australia (ROPA) network, is convening a webinar on the development of a UN Convention on the Human Rights of Older Persons.

This webinar will open with an in‑conversation session featuring the Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Rosemary Kayess, and the Age Discrimination Commissioner, Robert Fitzgerald AM.

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, 3 June, 1:30pm – 4pm AEST.

You can register here.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies has launched online training focusing on neurodiversity affirming practice.

The training introduces key concepts of neurodiversity and neurodivergence and supports practitioners to move away from deficit based approaches. It draws on contemporary evidence, practice wisdom and living experience to support more inclusive, respectful and strengths based practice with neurodivergent children, young people and families.

Infoxchange is calling for responses to the Digital Technology in the Not-For-Profit Sector Survey 2026, which will enable Infoxchange to advocate for the needs of the sector and direct their focus to where help is most needed, including the delivery of their newly announced NFP Digital Futures initiative. This year’s survey takes around 15 minutes to complete and closes at 5 pm AEST, 5 June, 2026. You’ll be able to save the survey and continue later if you can’t finish it all in one go.

If you have any events you’d like listed on the FRSA Events and Training Calendar or job vacancies you’d like listed on the FRSA Jobs Board, email Communications Officer, Vanessa Lam at communications@frsa.org.au. Please note that posting onto the FRSA website is reserved for FRSA Members only.

If you have an news item or event that you would like to be featured in a future eBulletin please submit your announcement via the form below or email communications@frsa.org.au with the subject “FRSA eBulletin submission”.

Please note FRSA members receive priority for items posted in the eBulletin. And to keep information current, relevant and useful, submissions will not be repeated from week to week.