Building Change Together

Published

Friday, December 12, 2025 - 12:00 PM

On 11 November 2025, the National Child and Family Hubs Network (the Network) brought together 150 people from across the Hubs sector, including 25 family and community representatives, for our first national Conference, Building Change Together.

The 2025 National Child and Family Hubs Network Conference marked the first event in a biennial series hosted by the Network. We wanted to create space for Child and Family Hub (Hub) leaders and practitioners, researchers, advocates, policymakers, community organisations, and family and lived experience representatives to come together to explore how we can strengthen Hubs as connected and high-quality places.

About the Conference

“It’s about the people, the people, the people.”

This was a clear and recurring message throughout the Conference and captured both the tone of the day and the shared mission of those in attendance – ensuring children and families remain at the heart of Hubs and service system change.

It truly was a special event. We saw attendees building meaningful connections, sharing challenges and experiences, stepping up to lead discussion sessions of their choice, and engaging with powerful performances from Djirri Djirri, Aboriginal Women’s Dance Group, and the Melbourne Playback Theatre Company. We extend a heartfelt thank you to all attendees for their enthusiasm and engagement.

Among the many highlights, the courage and generosity of our lived experience representatives in sharing their stories stood out as particularly powerful and inspiring.

Another key moment was the official Welcome from Senator the Hon Dr Jess Walsh, Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth, who spoke about the strong momentum in early years reform in Australia and the real opportunities this presents to strengthen and scale high-quality, integrated Child and Family Hubs. View the Minister’s Conference address.

Contributors

We are grateful to our contributors, speakers and panel members for sharing evidence, insights and stories to inspire action for children, families and Hubs:

• Uncle Bill Nicholson, Wurundjeri Elder, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
• Lee Constable, Child and Family Inclusion Lead, National Child and Family Hubs Network
• Prof Sharon Goldfeld AM, Director, Centre for Community Child Health
• The Hon Dr Jess Walsh, Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth
• Prof Edward Melhuish, Professor of Human Development, University of Oxford, and Birkbeck, University of London
• Mandy Taylor, Executive Director Office of the CEO, SNAICC – National Voice for our Children
• Lived experience and community voices panel: Kenny Duke, Heidi Denner, Lee Constable
• Hub leadership panel: Alex Blaszak, Cassy Bishop, Tracey Howard, Veronica O'Brien
• Policy, partnerships and advocacy panel: Dr Suzy Honisett, Mandy Taylor, Frances Martin, Prof Sharon Goldfeld AM
• Dr Suzy Honisett, Manager, National Child and Family Hubs Network

View the full Conference program and speaker biographies

Next steps

We are now reflecting on the day and consolidating the rich insights shared by attendees.

Despite participants coming together from diverse sectors and locations across Australia, there was a powerful collective vision for what’s possible for children, families and Hubs when we work together — and a strong determination to take action so all children and families can thrive.

As Network Steering Committee Chair Prof Sharon Goldfeld AM so aptly said:

“It’s a tough and complex road to get the work done for children, and to address the very preventable inequities we see in Australia. We won’t do it apart but maybe, just maybe, we can do it together.”

Stay tuned, we’ll soon be sharing video recordings from the day and exploring additional ways to share the Conference outcomes.