Agenda
Below is the 2026 agenda, the 2027 agenda will be announced soon.
Day One Wednesday 27 May 2026
- TSThelma Schwartz, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS)
Join one of Australia’s leading changemakers, Stan Grant, as he talks to us about paving the way for our next generation with love and respect for one another and the collective strength to continue to fight for our communities and advocate for our culture, our way of life and our identity.
- Stan Grant, journalist, author, moral philosopher, thinker, film maker and communicator
Changemakers in Action
Join this panel of leaders as they discuss the power in coordinated action and collective strength from community, to influence policy and subsequent service delivery from the ground up.
- Moderator: Kerry Staines, Chief Executive Officer, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV)
- TVTahlia-Rose Vanissum, Strategic Director, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV)
- KCKyllie Cripps, Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
- Connecting communities to create change
- Creating cultural change in the way domestic and family violence is understood and responded to
- Drawing on lived experience, collective leadership and trauma informed practice
- YJYasmin Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Maburra Collective Inc.
Join Dr Marlene Longbottom as she introduces her recently released book and explores the journey of writing to amplify the voices of Indigenous women who have faced violence, and Indigenous families who have endured profound loss. Marlene's book is about enabling these women and families to take back their narrative and reclaim power.
- DMDr Marlene Longbottom, Professor, Indigenous Education and Research Centre, James Cook University
- Helping families with proactive and preventative measures
- Solutions that are grounded in culture and guided by community
- Advocating for recognition of institutional barriers to advance human rights in community
- TVTahlia-Rose Vanissum, Strategic Director, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV)
- ATAletia Twist, Chief Executive Officer, Mura Kosker
- JFJordyn Flagg, Manager, Community Strengthening, Wathaurong Aboriginal Corporation
- CHCandice Hughes, Principal Solicitor, YFS Legal
Join NAAFLS CLE team as they explore how they built community legal education strategies that reflect the communication styles of the remote communities they serve. Through engagement and community-led consultation, they have developed a program that aims to address the drivers of family violence and increase access to justice outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples living in remote communities.
- IPIesha Poyner-Gambley, Community Education and Engagement Officer, North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)
- MMMollie Middleton, Community Legal Education Manager, North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)
Indigenous trauma informed responses to violence: This culturally safe session is designed to empower and strengthen responses to domestic, family & sexual violence through, culturally safe, Indigenous trauma-informed training, community-centered approaches to supporting survivors and practical skills to enhance workforce capacity.
- MDMarnie Davis, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Learning and Development Lead, Women up North Housing
Join this yarn to hear how Lena Passi Women's Shelter and WorkUP Queensland are working together with community to develop resources for safer communities in the Torres Strait.
- RSRona Scherer, Senior Lead, Mamu – Kuku Yalanji, WorkUP Queensland
- TKTheresa Kellett, Senior Project Officer, WorkUP Queensland
- GBGeorgina Binjuda, Manager, Lena Passi Women’s Shelter
- JYJulia Yorkston, Project Officer, Lena Passi Women’s Shelter
Join Aunty Deb Munson, founder of Baagi Milaygiin Grandmothers Spirit. Aunty Deb will Share knowledge and cultural practices in a modern way through food and skincare with a focus on enhancing mental wellness both within us and our workplaces.
Attendees can move between the sessions. Select a stream to view its sessions.
Tracing the journey from individual harm to collective restoration
- GAGeorgina Ambrum, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Founding Practice Lead and Trainer – Domestic and Family Violence, Heart Based
Exploring an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander evidence based and led culturally responsive trauma informed training for skills development
- CMCasey McMurtrie, Training and Development Facilitator, Strategic Engagement and Innovation, SNAICC - National Voice for our Children
System Reform
- Exploring the continuum of harm when local and state responses fail to address root causes
- Centring Aboriginal lived experience and leadership
- Reimagining systems that move from control to care
- CTChristine Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Cygnet Centre for Peace Building and Transformation
- MBMurray Benton, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP)