CREATE’s 2019 Conference: Nothing About Us, Without Us!

Planning your 2019 and looking for inspiring experiences?

CREATE has you covered with our 2019 Voices in Action conference, to be held at the Melbourne Zoo from the 14-16th November.

CREATE invites you to participate in a truly inspiring conference where young people, carers, professionals and sector leaders can come together to work on making the changes needed for children and  young people. The Voices in Action conference program is built on key priorities for change identified through consultations with children and young people in the development of CREATE’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan. Featuring keynote addresses from Australian and international change makers and workshops led by CREATE’s young leaders, Voices in Action offers you an opportunity to be part of the solution to improving outcomes.

The conference format will feature a daily keynote address from inspirational thought leaders in the care system, followed by a series of interactive, workshop style sessions focused on applying the insights of young people, carers and professionals to some of the key issues facing our sector.

Come and collaborate with the young leaders of Australia’s out-of-home care system as they explore, and discuss solutions for, the following topics:

• It’s my life and I won’t be pushed around: Creating the best outcomes for young people by demonstrating how to break through the complexity of including their voices in the decision making process. As part of this discussion, we will look at how information about children and young people in care can be managed with sensitivity and respect.


• Where do I go now?: How we can best support young people leaving care to improve outcomes, including a focus on providing the option for young people to be supported by the care system past the age of 18.


• Listen to me when something’s not right: Following on from the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, we will explore how the complaints process for children and young people in care needs to be improved so that we learn from the lessons of the past.

Who is this Voices in Action conference for ?

• Young people with a care experience between 12 and 25 years of age who want to meet others with similar life experience in a fun environment and share their wisdom about being in care.
• Carers and professionals seeking the views from the care sector’s young leaders about what works and what doesn’t.
• Sector leaders looking for a grassroots approach to tackling old problems with fresh perspectives

Here’s some of what participants had to say about our 2017 conference:

“ I really liked that young people were talking and being on panels also being able to talk to other important people in the area but the best part was talking to all different young people from different cultural backgrounds.”

“What I liked most about the Conference was the emphasis on young people participating and the way our opinions and ideas were respected and encouraged.”

“ Opportunities for professional development were great for me, as was the positive engagement between young people and the department, services and carers”

Registrations for CREATE’s 2019 Voices in Action conference are now open! For more information about the conference head to the Voices in Action website.