20th Anniversary Conference 2025

We were delighted to host our Listening, Learning, Leading conference and a day of practice workshops on 18 and 19 November to celebrate 20 years of research and collaboration between the ACT’s Health Community Services Directorate and ACU’s Institute of Child Protection Studies.

Over the two days we learned about new research that will shape our work in the years to come, and heard from experienced practitioners about what works to support the lives of children, young people and families.

Day 1 featured keynote addresses, research presentations and a panel discussion from experts across Australia. The presentations brought together research evidence to inform and support cross sector practice and conversations with children, young people and families. The day 2 workshops focused on key practice areas including bringing the infant and child alive in the minds of parents, workers and the system when working with domestic and family violence, grievance, trauma, gender, shame and masculinity, neurodiversity in the youth justice space and engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

We hope the presentations gave everyone a sense of invigoration and a renewed focus on how reform isn't just about fixing what's broken after harm has occurred. We were also reminded how important the work that you do, day in day out, plays in the lives of children, young people and families. Whether you are a service provider, case manager, researcher, youth worker, educator or policy maker, you make a difference.

Post-conference survey 

We would love your feedback on the conference. Your reflections, whether you are a service provider, case manager, researcher, youth worker, educator or policy maker, will help us plan for the future. 

Please click here to go to our short 5 minute survey

We will keep in touch

Stay tuned for resources and snapshots from the conference. Contact us if you have any questions: icps@acu.edu.au