9th National Child Protection Forum
Join friends and colleagues at the 9th National Child Protection Forum as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, governments and communities come together to share community-led solutions that strengthen families, uphold cultural authority, and create child protection systems that keep children safe, connected and thriving within their families, communities and cultures.
Held in Meanjin (Brisbane) from 15–18 September 2026, the Forum will bring together Aboriginal leaders, ACCOs, government, researchers and the broader child and family sector to explore what meaningful systems transformation looks like when communities lead the way.
The National Child Protection Forum comes at a critical point for transformation – a moment to move beyond crisis response and begin bringing a new culture of healing and care in child protection and safety. The programme has been deliberately designed to support this shift, bringing together leaders, practitioners and communities to reimagine how systems can better hold children, families and kin.
Centred on prevention, cultural authority, equity and cross-sector integration, the forum supports those working across child protection, family services, health, housing, disability, education and justice to move from fragmented and reactive responses toward approaches grounded in care, connection and shared responsibility.
Participants will leave with practical tools, real-world examples and strengthened partnerships that enable them to reduce harm earlier, strengthen families and communities, and contribute to a child protection system that is more relational, culturally safe and focused on long-term wellbeing rather than short-term intervention.
