Schedule details

Event Agenda

Youth Justice

Pathways to a thriving future: strengthening youth justice

This dedicated Youth Justice preconference day brings together frontline youth workers, corrections leaders, legal practitioners, young people with lived experience, researchers, Aboriginal youth advocates, and policymakers for an honest, solutions-focused examination of what is working and what must change in Australia’s youth justice landscape.

7:00 AM Registration opens

8:40 AM Welcome to Country

8:50 AM Welcoming Remarks from the conference chair 

9:00 AM Opening keynote: From Detention to Lasting Change: MST and the Youth Advocate Program in Queensland

Delivering Multisystemic Therapy and the Youth Advocate Program to reduce reoffending and keep young people out of detention
Targeting the root causes of serious offending across family, peers, school, and community — not just behaviour in isolation
Delivering measurable outcomes: reduced reoffending, improved family functioning, increased school engagement, and less time in out-of-home placements
A cost-effective, trauma-informed alternative to detention that turns short-term gains into durable change

9:40 AM Case study: Developing bespoke, holistic, informal early intervention pathways to prevent offending and improve quality of life measures

Establishing a definition for early prevention

Working in and with the community and schools to meet high-risk youth before harm has occurred

Creating seamless case co-ordination case management frameworks to ensure no one ‘falls through the cracks’

Exploring pathways, programs and prosocial activities to re-engage youth from alternative education to working towards independence

Addressing funding challenges and lack of collaboration and discussion solutions that work

10:20 AM Panel Discussion: Developing innovative diversion models that keep young people out of the justice system

Exploring innovative diversion models
Engaging families and provide them with the tools to support prevention and reintegration efforts
Empowering community organisations to better support youth on court orders
Developing culturally grounded programs that uplift young people

11:00 AM Morning refreshments

11:30 AM Case Study: The role of youth justice leaders in taking action, challenging individuals to step up and make a difference immediately

“If not me, who? And if not now, when?” : powerful call to action that underscores individual responsibility and the importance of acting without delay.
Considering your own role in effecting change
Highlighting the need to seize the present moment to make a meaningful impact

12:10 PMPanel Discussion: Embedding youth voice and lived experience into service and policy design to end the cycle of offending and reoffending

Building trust and engagement with young people and communities

Embedding lived experience safely and meaningfully

Applying co-design approaches that improve outcomes

Understanding risks of excluding young people from decision-making

Panellists:

12:50 PM Networking luncheon

1:50 PM Case Study: Engaging with youth through drama and innovative strategies to deliver better outcomes from prevention, support and awareness

Exploring how drama is being used to uplift understanding of the justice system and rights

Evaluating outcomes and discussing how this can be scaled and replicated

2:30 PMCase Study: Building and empowering a coalition of young people and community organisations to advocate for and drive real change

How do you engage with young people as equals
Empowering and upskilling young people to work with decision-makers as equals
Follow through: creating a feedback loop and setting up an iterative process

3:10 PM Afternoon refreshments

3:40 PM Developing effective early intervention pathways to prevent young people from offending and reoffending

Identifying key factors that increase likelihood of criminogenic behaviour including school disengagement, challenging home environments and inter-generational trauma
How we build and implement responses in key settings for young people and their families to reduce the risk of offending and strengthen community connections
Emerging work in education and school settings to engage and support at-risk children and youth

4:20 PM Closing Yarning Circle 

5:00 PM Closing remarks

7:00 AM Registration opens

8:40 AM Welcome to Country

8:50 AM Welcoming Remarks from the conference chair 

Driving systemic change to drive better, fairer outcomes

9:00 AM Opening keynote: Implementing a service response to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility: the Therapeutic Support Panel for Children and Young People in the ACT

Unpacking the operations and functions of the Therapeutic Support Panel (TSP)
Identifying, understanding, and addressing complex needs
Linking emerging themes from individualise supports to identifying systemic recommendations

9:40 AM Case Study: Providing Koori men with the opportunity to learn new skills, strengthen culture and complete corrections order

Creating a culturally safe place from location in the bush to working with Aboriginal architects

Working in partnership with the Department of Justice and the community: building trust and respect

Providing programs and activities that help the men complete their orders and move away from the justice system communities

10:20 AM Morning refreshments

10:50 AMPanel Discussion: Developing holistic prevention, early intervention and reintegration to improve outcomes

Strengthening early intervention and prevention approaches across cohorts
Improving reintegration planning and service delivery
Aligning funding, policy and practice to long-term outcomes

Panellists:

11:30 AMPanel Discussion: Using strategic litigation to create systemic change

Understanding the harm and trauma caused by NSW strip search laws
Examining the beginnings of the campaign to change strip search laws
Driving a campaign that led the most impactful class actions against NSW police

12:10 PM Networking luncheon

1:10 PM Case study: Designing justice systems that prevent harm: a practice-based model from the Family Courts

Exploring how stakeholder engagement, including lived expertise, can shape more effective responses
Understanding how judicial and workforce capability can be strengthened to support consistent, trauma-informed practice
Investigating policy and procedural settings can be aligned to enable, rather than constrain, better outcomes

2:00 PMCase study: Disability and the justice system: Developing a co-ordinated, therapeutic response to people with disability under justice orders to prevent reoffending and improve health outcomes

Understanding the intersection of disability, justice, mental health and NDIS and how they can align to deliver better outcomes

Exploring clinical, justice and therapeutic responses, diversion programs and prevention programs

Mapping out systems, streamlining processes and mitigating risks

2:30 PM Afternoon refreshments

3:00 PM Roundtable Discussions

Topic 1: Practical strategies to deliver real Aboriginal community-led prevention and reintegration programs

Topic 2: Developing integrated employment pathways to prevent reoffending

Facilitator:

Topic 3: Navigating limited funding and short-termism to ensure reintegration and early intervention programs thrive

Facilitator:

Topic 4: Driving change to reduce the overrepresentation of people with disabilities in the justice system

Facilitator:

3:40 PM Case study: Reducing recidivism in high risk and complex needs cohorts by integrating disparate systems; creating a risk and violence assessment and assertive outreach model

Identifying key risk factors that lead up to catastrophic public crimes – singular events that force policy changes in community safety

Delivering a collaborative risk and violence assessment framework

Strategic service co-ordination – aligning systems across the health, human services and justice sectors – to prevent people from ‘falling through the cracks’

Outcomes in assertive referral and outreach – engaging the ‘hard to engage’

4:20 PM Case study: Implementing integrated, wraparound service models that improve outcomes post-release

Integrated models reduce fragmentation and break the cycle of incarceration and recidivism

Coordinating services across justice, health and community sectors that improve reintegration outcomes

Applying strategies to deliver coordinated care pre and post release

5:00 PM End of Conference Day 1

Improving service design, delivery and outcomes

8:00 AM Registration opens

8:50 AM Welcoming Remarks from the conference chair 

Optimising prevention and reintegration initiatives

9:00 AMOpening Keynote: Ending the cycle of incarceration: Designing a coordinated, trauma-informed justice system that delivers better outcomes

Identifying systemic gaps that create barriers to rehabilitation, diversion and reintegration (i.e. accessing Centrelink payments, education, health)

Strengthening cross-agency coordination and case management to improve continuity of care between services

Designing simpler service models that provide holistic support

9:40 AM Case Study: Rethinking reintegration support: delivering community-based, trauma informed and culturally centred care to prevent reoffending

Creating partnerships that work between Corrections, NGOs and ACCOs to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the community at large

Highlighting the importance of setting up reporting sites that are safe and culturally-grounded and its impact on progressing through community orders

Upskilling and supporting staff to a rehabilitative corrections response

Next steps: evaluating what works and what can improve

10:20 AM Morning refreshments

10:50 AMCase study: Exploring how the Cell Visitor Program provides delivers culturally-grounded supports for people in custody and help deliver better outcomes

Providing people in custody with a connection to families and communities

Helping them keep in contact with legal services, health services and much more

Building a strong partnership with police

11:30 AM Case Study: From Rights to Reality: Strengthening victim-survivor access to justice through independent, trauma-informed navigation

Bridging the gap between legislation, policy intent, and lived experience in the justice system

The role of independent, trauma-informed support in enabling victim-survivors to understand and exercise their rights

Strengthening coordination across justice, legal and support systems through relational, place-based models
The power of co-location and place-based support, including within Community Corrections, to reach those who fall through service gaps
Insights from frontline practice to inform system reform, early intervention, and integrated responses

12:10 PM Networking luncheon

1:10 PMPanel discussion: Breaking down siloes to improve coordination and promote harm reduction

Investigating how disconnected systems create inefficiency and retraumatisation
Understanding impact of repeated assessments and poor information sharing
Learning what effective cross-agency collaboration looks like
Applying practical strategies to improve coordination

Panellists:

1:50 PM Case study: Achieving social positive outcomes by working with those who may not have legal representation to understand the court process, their rights and their options

Understanding how to support respondents comply with court orders
Educating them on what family violence is and issues of coercive control – breaches of order and what constitutes a breech
The importance of reality testing
The positive outcomes on families and the courts system

2:30 PM Afternoon refreshments

3:00 PM Case study: Preventing recidivism though housing, healing and rehabilitation

Understanding the gaps in the justice system and how it contribute to, rather than prevents recidivism and disadvantage

Highlighting the importance of housing, effective reintegration support and healing post release and why the Rainbow Lodge model works

Investigating the systemic obstacles and how partnerships and collaboration are key to breaking the cycle

3:40 PM Case study: Rethinking the justice system to better support women and vulnerable cohorts

Understanding distinct pathways and challenges faced by women

Recognising impact of trauma, family separation and disadvantage

Designing targeted, cohort-specific interventions

Improving reintegration outcomes across vulnerable groups

4:20 PM End of Conference Day 2

9:00 AM-12:00 PM Workshop A: A framework to enable improved integration and co-ordination across the justice ecosystem

One of the biggest shortcomings of the justice system is that agencies operate within siloes and the is little opportunity to collaborate and develop sustainable solutions. This workshop looks to uncover and address those gaps with a view of breaking the cycle.

Learning outcomes:

Utilise a case study to explore barriers to information sharing and accountability across criminal justice and related systems
Explore the impact and sources of poor information sharing and integrated service delivery
Identify changes that can produce positive outcomes
Apply the use of decision trees for improved information sharing and joined up services
Explore frameworks and models that deliver consistent, person-centred outcomes
Set intentions to employ workshop learnings, including improving cross-agency coordination in your own workplaces

Facilitators:

12:00 PM Networking luncheon

1:00 PM-4:00 PM Workshop B: Improving harm prevention and early intervention strategies through a trauma-responsive justice system that moves beyond primary prevention systems

By the time an individual makes contact with the justice system, it is already too late. The sector needs to look beyond primary prevention towards harm reduction. This session examines a proactive, holistic approach to prevention and early intervention through harm reduction and trauma responsiveness. It moves away from a deficit mindset and takes the burden away from the victims and focuses instead on the justice system. This session will go beyond early intervention and prevention strategies.. It will address the importance of having safeguards in place and overall harm reduction by recognising risk early.

Learning objectives:

Identifying opportunities for innovative early intervention and prevention strategies by applying professional curiosity, beyond compliance
Strengthen trauma-responsive communication and procedural justice practices that improve trust, engagement, evidence quality/continuity and long-term survivor outcomes
Understand the organisational drivers of re-traumatisation, including fragmented systems, inconsistent practice and ineffective inter-agency communication
Apply practical strategies to improve collaboration, continuity of care and coordinated responses across justice, child protection and community services

Facilitator:

The program is currently being developed and will available shortly.

Enquire to Speak

Schedule details

Event Agenda

Youth Justice

Pathways to a thriving future: strengthening youth justice

7:00 AM Registration opens

8:40 AM Welcome to Country

Alex Weber

Sarah Mahony

Sharon Adams

Justine Marshall

Jamie Gibson

Dr. Annabel Prescott

11:00 AM Morning refreshments

Steven Pasene

Panellists:

Natalie Matulick

12:50 PM Networking luncheon

Jackie Galloway OAM

Kate Sinclair

3:10 PM Afternoon refreshments

Michael Livingstone

4:20 PM Closing Yarning Circle

5:00 PM Closing remarks

7:00 AM Registration opens

8:40 AM Welcome to Country

Caroline Hood

Driving systemic change to drive better, fairer outcomes

Justin Barker

Shaun Braybrook ACM

10:20 AM Morning refreshments

Panellists:

Caroline Hood

Juergen Kaehne

Samantha Lee

12:10 PM Networking luncheon

Hayley Foster

Dr Samantha Neylon

2:30 PM Afternoon refreshments

Facilitator:

Caroline Hood

Facilitator:

Juergen Kaehne

Facilitator:

Natasha Whitaker

Vaughan Winther

Charlie Rowe – Kamilaroi

5:00 PM End of Conference Day 1

Improving service design, delivery and outcomes

8:00 AM Registration opens

Caroline Hood

Optimising prevention and reintegration initiatives

Professor Susan Dennison

Natalie Veenstra

Leigh Thompson

10:20 AM Morning refreshments

Kristy-Lee Costello

Stephanie Bonney

Sophie Wheeler

12:10 PM Networking luncheon

Panellists:

Dr. Kate Davies

Jaime O'Donovan

Joharna Wynaden

2:30 PM Afternoon refreshments

Claude Robinson

Vanessa Hollis

4:20 PM End of Conference Day 2

Facilitators:

Professor Susan Dennison

Jaime O'Donovan

12:00 PM Networking luncheon

Facilitator:

Marley Basford

4:20 PM Closing Yarning Circle 

Sophie Wheeler