Disrupting the narrative at the Australian Homelessness Conference

October 2026

In October 2026, the Australian Homelessness Conference hosted by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) was held in Darwin. Opened with a Welcome to Country from Edwin Fejo and traditional dance, Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter called on delegates to act on what we already know about young people and homelessness, and to place people with lived experience at the centre of how decisions get made on issues affecting them.

I had the privilege of leading a panel with Tina Ugle and Leonie Pickett from Noongar Mia Mia, alongside young advocates from the Foyer Foundation. Two young women with lived experience of homelessness sat alongside service leaders and spoke with great courage and clarity about what young people need to thrive and what services need to deliver it. One of them reminded the room that a single opportunity can change the trajectory of a young person’s life, and those words stayed with many of us long after the session closed.

The following day I joined Rebecca Pinkstone from Homes NSW and Associate Professor Catherine Robinson from the University of Tasmania for a plenary hosted by Natasha Mitchell and recorded by ABC Radio National. We spoke about homelessness prevention across the whole of life, from unaccompanied children and young people to people growing older without secure housing, and the many working families living only weeks away from housing stress. I brought the understanding that guided my work on Reimagining Indigenous Housing, Health and Wealth: a home is the ground on which health, culture and family can flourish, and First Nations leadership and self-determination belong at the heart of every solution we build.

My thanks to AHURI, to Anglicare NT for sponsoring the session, and to every panellist who shared their knowledge and their stories so generously.

Key words

Homelessness prevention, youth homelessness, Indigenous housing, housing and wellbeing, lived experience leadership, panel facilitation, First Nations self-determination, AHURI