Centacare South West NSW colleagues, Stina, Kate, Codie and Sophie, recently attended the Family & Relationship Services Australia Conference on the Gold Coast. The FRSA National Conference is heralded as a highlight event for the Family and Relationship Services network and is one of the largest annual gatherings of practitioners, academics and policy makers working to support children, families and communities.
As a social service organisation, we are always at the cutting edge of emerging trends and changes in society – for the FRS sector, especially for vulnerable children, families, and communities.
This year’s theme focused on “Services within everyone’s reach: Choice, Connection, Collaboration”.
Connection is at the heart of all positive human interactions and the relationship between service providers and the children, adults, and families they work with, is no different. Establishing rapport and trust is integral to therapeutic interventions, while developing meaningful social connections helps build resilience in individuals and in communities. To enable connection, people may need choice. The opportunity to connect with the right service or the right practitioner and be met in their context – cultural, social, familial.
Workshops & Keynote Speakers
The team attended several workshops and sessions, including Ancient Aboriginal Mindfulness Traditions, and Family Law Workshops.
The below Keynote speakers were also a highlight.
- The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, Minister for Social Services
- Anne Hollonds, National Children’s Commissioner
- Catherine Liddle, CEO, SNAICC – National Voice for our Children
- Panellists: Samantha Page, Early Childhood Australia, Tarja Saastamoinen, Department of Social Services, Professor Ben Mathews, Queensland University of Technology, Professor Catherine Chamberlain, University of Melbourne and Annette Michaux, National Coalition on Child Safety and Wellbeing Steering Group
- Attorney-General, The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP
- Micaela Cronin, Commissioner, Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission
- Dr Rae Kaspiew, Australian Institute of Family Studies
- Panellists: Chris Collett, Attorney-General’s Department, The Hon John Faulks, Family Law Council, Dr Georgina Dimopoulos, Southern Cross University and Megan Solomon, Uniting
- Jess Hill, Walkley-Award winning journalist and author
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