CPD Policy Exchange Melbourne

When: Tuesday 3 March, doors open 5:00pm for a 5:30pm start, finishing at 7:30pm

Where: Laneway Room 2, Rialto Intercontinental, 495 Collins Street Melbourne, and live streaming online

Join us for an innovative public event as part of the inaugural CPD Policy Exchange—a new event series designed to bring changemakers, experts, policymakers and community voices into genuine dialogue about practical policy reform.

Andrew Hudson will moderate the event, joined by Benjamin Perks, a senior leader for the United Nations in New York. A leading global advocate for children and prevention, and author of Trauma Proof, Ben’s lived experience of childhood trauma brings a powerful and distinctive perspective. He'll be joined by Professor Sharon Goldfeld AM, paediatrician and public health expert specialising in prevention; and Rana Ebrahimi, a champion for the rights of refugee and migrant youth and an expert in social inclusion; and others. And importantly, we want to hear from you as part of the conversation.

At the heart of the event is a simple but important question: What would it take to make Australia the best place to be a child and raise a family?

We’ll explore practical approaches to reform; including the case for investing and acting early, how to build universal systems that support everyone while responding to different needs, and working more closely with communities so support reflects local challenges, strengths and opportunities. The focus will be on solutions that improve outcomes not only for children and families, but for communities, the economy and the country as a whole.

This will not be a traditional panel or lecture. The CPD Policy Exchange is designed to be genuinely participatory, with the audience treated as an active part of the discussion rather than passive observers. Before and during the event, attendees will be invited to share their perspectives, respond to key questions, suggest areas for discussion, and put questions directly to the panel. Contributions from the room will help shape the conversation in real time, drawing on the diverse expertise, experience and insights of participants.

The aim is not just to diagnose problems, but to test ideas, identify areas of agreement, and build momentum around practical policy solutions that can help government systems work earlier, work better, and work more closely with families and communities.

The CPD Policy Exchange is a week-long series of public and private events that aim to connect the thinkers and the doers at local, national and international levels to unearth practical, stress tested policy solutions to the most pressing challenges facing Australia and our region.

Building on CPD’s unique Create–Connect–Convince method, the Policy Exchange is built on our belief that real progress comes from shared understanding and a collective commitment to change.

From private meetings with policymakers and collaborations with public servants, to roundtables and public forums, the Policy Exchange prioritises genuine discussion over one-way dialogue—offering a diverse group of people the chance to engage, question, and contribute to practical solutions that can deliver real progress.

The Centre for Policy Development (CPD) is an independent policy institute based in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Jakarta. We seek a fair, sustainable society and wellbeing economy that serves current and future generations in Australia and Southeast Asia. CPD helps to create transformative systems change through practical solutions to complex policy challenges.

This event is likely to include discussion of childhood trauma, and other similar themes which some people might find distressing. Ben Perks is very adept at discussing these themes in a sensitive way but we want to forewarn all attendees.

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