ACWA’s first Strategy to Action Day for 2026 brought together practitioners, sector leaders and regulators for a day of learning, reflection and collaboration focused on strengthening outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care.

Delivered in partnership with the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG), the event explored how the sector can move beyond compliance and embed a culture of quality, continuous improvement and relationship-based practice.

Participants heard from Children’s Guardian Rachael Ward, OCG accreditation staff, sector experts, and young people with lived experience, who shared practical insights on accreditation, quality practice and supporting successful transitions to independence.

A key theme throughout the day was the importance of genuine partnership with children and young people, ensuring their voices, aspirations and strengths remain at the centre of decision-making. Presenters highlighted the shared responsibility of providers and regulators in delivering high-quality care and achieving positive outcomes.

ACWA thanks the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian, panellists from CREATE NSW and Uniting, all presenters and attendees for contributing to a valuable day of discussion and knowledge sharing. The insights and priorities identified will help inform ACWA’s ongoing advocacy, policy and practice development work across the child and family sector.

Together, we continue to strengthen practice and improve outcomes for children, young people and families across NSW.

Resources from the day

• OCG Presentation Slides
  
• Mentimeter Advocacy Summary
  

Recordings from the day

Please also find the following recordings below:

• Welcome to Country by Michael West from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC)
  
• Introduction from Rachael Ward, Children’s Guardian
  
• Session 1: Looking through the lens of an assessor
  Preparing for Out-of-Home Care Accreditation using the OCG Code of Practice
  
• Session 2: Supporting Young People to prepare for Independence
  Brett Faggotter has worked as a Senior Accreditation Officer with the OCG’s OOHC Accreditation team for the last 10 years. Prior to his role as an Assessor, Brett worked as a Youth Worker supporting young people in residential care, before learning the ropes as a Team Leader, Caseworker and Manager.
  
• Panel Discussion: Applying a relationship-focused approach to supporting children and young people to prepare for independence.
  Panel members: Viliami Sika, Youth Development Coach, Uniting; Lachlan Hobman, CREATE Young Consultant; and Tasha Reynolds, CREATE NSW Advocacy Lead. Facilitated by Jo Roach, ACWA

These recordings are intended to support ongoing learning and conversation across the sector as organisations consider how to move from strategy to action to move beyond compliance to excellence in out-of-home care practice.