

Day One | Tuesday, 17 June 2025
8:00
Registration and Networking
Coffee and light breakfast provided
8:40
Welcome to Country
8:50
Housekeeping and Chairperson Introduction
Kate Colvin, Chief Executive Officer, Homelessness Australia
Queensland in Focus
9:00
From Policy to Practice: How Queensland is Tackling Homelessness and Housing Insecurity
Government initiatives, priorities, and collaborative strategies to prevent and end homelessness
Expanding Coordinated Housing and Homelessness Responses in priority locations to support people with complex needs
Providing tailored housing solutions to demographics at greater risk of homelessness
Samuel O’Connor MP, Minister for Housing and Public Works and Minister for Youth, QLD Government
9:20
Keynote: Future Directions for the Homelessness Sector, a Queensland Perspective
Exploring a new homelessness practice model
Understanding new directions from the homelessness sector
Stephen Simpson, Chief Executive Officer, Homelessness Queensland
Foundations of Practice: Theories, Knowledge and Safety
9:45
International Keynote: A Systems Approach to Housing First: Learning From Success in the Netherlands
How to work collaboratively to realise Housing First together
Understanding the fundamentals of the Housing First model
What transitional changes are needed to achieve a systems approach
Anke Jansen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Housing First Nederland
10:30
Morning Tea
11:00
Keynote: Culturally Safe Homelessness Responses for First Nations Communities
How to ensure service providers are facilitating a culturally safe environment for First Nations clients
Understanding homelessness with a First Nations lens to ensure responses are reflective of community needs
Neil Willmett, Chief Executive Officer, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Queensland
11:30
Concurrent sessions
Attendees can move between the sessions listed under the three streams
New Homelessness Research
Presenting the latest data and findings to help deepen understanding and inform evidence-based practice
12:30
Lunch
1:30
Concurrent sessions
Attendees can move between the sessions listed under the three streams
Ending First Nations Homelessness
Centering culturally informed solutions and self-determination to achieve sustainable housing outcomes for First Nations people
2:40
Afternoon Tea
3:10
In Conversation: Ending Family Homelessness
Moderator:
Frances Crimmins, Chair, Homelessness Australia, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Canberra
3:40
Interactive Breakouts
Breakout A:
New homelessness insights from AIHW data
Nikki Schroder, Head, Housing and Homelessness Reporting and Development Unit, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
4:30
Panel: Getting to First Base with Philanthropy
Understanding philanthropic priorities and expectations
Creating a compelling funding proposal
Fostering on-going relationships with philanthropic organisations
Ryan Ginard, Advocacy & Engagement, Minderoo Foundation
5:00
Chairperson's Closing Comments
5:10
End of Day
Day Two | Wednesday, 18 June 2025
8:30
Registration and Networking
8:50
Housekeeping and Chairperson Introduction
Kate Colvin, Chief Executive Officer, Homelessness Australia
The Nation in Focus
9:00
Opening address: Speaker Incoming
9:25
Panel: New Directions for Community Controlled Homelessness Responses
Looking to an Aboriginal led homelessness system
Understanding place-based self-determined solutions to end First Nations homelessness
Moderator:
Zachariah Matysek, Acting Chief Executive Officer, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association (NATSIHA)
10:25
Morning Tea
10:55
Panel: “You Can’t Ask That”
Join Professor Catherine Robinson as she takes a deep dive with panel members to unpack some of the sectors' most complex questions.
Moderator:
Catherine Robinson, Associate Professor in Communities and Social Justice Lead, Homelessness ColLAB, University of Tasmania
11:45
Concurrent sessions
Attendees can move between the sessions listed under the three streams
Advocacy
Understanding the role of effective advocacy in driving systemic change to achieve long-term housing solutions
12:45
Lunch
1:45
Interactive Breakouts
Integration and Collaboration
2:45
Panel Q&A: Kicking goals with collaboration
Approaches across the nation
Exploring the change processes and improved outcomes achieved with collaboration in different forms
Shaya Nettle, Alliance Senior Manager, Toward Home Alliance (SA)
Maria Leebeek, Chair, Gold Coast Homelessness Network (QLD), Chief Executive Officer, Gold Coast Youth Services
3:35
Afternoon Tea
Advocacy
4:00
Panel: Winning Outcomes for Homelessness: Advocacy to Change the Nation
Moderator:
Dom Rowe, Chief Executive Officer, Homelessness NSW
4:50
Chairperson's Closing Comments
5:00
End of Conference