About the Conference

The National Care & Support Sector Conference returns in 2026 as the flagship gathering of leaders, practitioners, policymakers, and people with lived experience from across aged care, disability, early childhood, community, and mental health.

Building on the pivotal conversations of 2025, this year’s program pushes the dialogue further — from structural reform to future preparedness. Across six engaging panels, the conference will explore how we can unite fragmented systems, rebuild a sustainable workforce, embed safeguarding cultures, strengthen resilience against pandemics and climate shocks, uplift the role of families and communities, and embrace ethical digital transformation.

With voices from across Australia — and insights drawn from lived experience, research, policy, and practice — the 2026 conference offers both vision and practical pathways. Delegates will leave inspired, challenged, and equipped with fresh ideas for reform.

Why this conference matters

Australia’s care and support system stands at a crossroads. Workforce shortages, fragmented funding, and rising demand are colliding with new pressures — from the lessons of COVID-19 to the realities of climate change and rapid digital transformation. At the same time, families, communities, and First Nations voices are calling for deeper recognition and genuine partnership in shaping the future of care.

The National Care & Support Sector Conference 2026 is where these challenges and opportunities meet. It’s the sector’s flagship platform for critical dialogue, shared learning, and collective action. By convening leaders, practitioners, policymakers, and lived-experience voices in one room, the conference seeks not just to debate, but to shape the reform agenda for the decade ahead.

What to Expect

• Six dynamic panel discussions tackling the most pressing issues facing the care economy — from building a sustainable workforce and embedding safeguarding cultures to preparing for climate shocks, pandemics, and the ethical use of AI.

• Cross-sector dialogue: aged care, disability, mental health, early childhood, and community services brought together to break down silos and imagine integrated solutions.

• Lived-experience perspectives woven throughout, grounding policy and practice debates in the realities of those who give and receive care.

• Forward-looking ideas that push beyond compliance and crisis management to bold reimagining of funding, governance, workforce, and technology.

• Opportunities for connection: networking breaks, facilitated conversations, and practical takeaways to support collaboration long after the event.

This is more than a conference—it is a national conversation and collective movement towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and future-ready care and support economy.