National Child and Family Safety Leadership Summit 2027

Leaders across FDV, child protection, housing, justice & First Nations sectors: one day, one national conversation. Melbourne, 10 Sep 2027.

ATTEND Online or LIVE -Stream – National Child and Family Safety Leadership Summit 2027

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Australia’s child and family safety system is fragmented. This summit is how we continue to fix that.

The National Child and Family Safety Leadership Summit 2027 is a national one-day gathering of leaders, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, lived-experience advocates and community voices working across family and domestic violence, child protection, housing and homelessness, community legal services, justice, health, education and First Nations community-controlled sectors.

This summit was built from evidence. Every panel conversation was shaped by data collected directly from 300 plus sector leaders and practitioners at our inaugural 2026 Perth summit. The sector told us what was broken, what was urgent and what remained unresolved. We listened, and we designed this summit around those answers.

What the 2026 data told us:

• 91% of 2026 participants rated Australia’s national child and family safety system as fragmented. Zero rated it as well coordinated.
• 0 participants believed First Nations cultural authority fully shapes the child and family safety system.
• 91% said safe, affordable housing for people escaping violence is critically or very inadequate.
• 72% said they have little or no confidence that national reform will meaningfully centre children’s voices in the next five years.

These are not findings from a government review. They are the views of the people doing this work every day. The 2027 summit exists because of what the 2026 room told us.

What to expect on the day:

Six national panel conversations exploring the most urgent and unresolved challenges in child and family safety — from closing the gaps between systems and services, to First Nations self-determination, perpetrator accountability, the housing crisis, digital harm and building one coordinated national system.

Three facilitated group activities where every table contributes practical insights, barriers and recommendations that will be captured in a post-summit national report.

A live audience survey tracking how sector sentiment shifts across the day — and feeding directly into the evidence base for future advocacy and reform.

Who should attend:

This summit is for anyone working in or leading family and domestic violence services, child protection, community legal centres, housing and homelessness, justice, health, early childhood and education, First Nations community-controlled organisations, multicultural and CALD community services, government at any level, research and academia, lived-experience advocacy, or peak and national bodies.

Whether you are a CEO, a frontline practitioner, a policymaker or a community leader — if child and family safety is part of your work, this conversation is for you.

Date: 10 September 2027
Venue: Metropolis, Melbourne, Victoria
Format: In-person and live-streamed nationally